Bike ride to Jackson Hole, WY

Aug. 10, 2010. We wake up and look at the temperature and its 40 degrees. Believe it or not but every morning since we have been here the a.m. temperature has never gone over 45 degrees. Our plan is to go into Jackson Hole, Wy., about 120 miles from our little home in YNP. We decided to layer up, jump on the bike and head off to Teton National Park. By the time we got started the air had warmed up to about 55 degrees. When you ride along the lake with all the trees blocking the sun, it is at least ten degrees cooler than anywhere else in the park. The feeling you experience when riding the bike in Yellowstone is unlike anywhere else! The smells, the views, the fresh air hitting your face, this is heaven on earth. When we approached Teton Nation Park we were able to shed some of our clothing as the temperature was now in the 60's to low 70's. We arrived at Moose Junction around noon and stopped off for lunch. Moose had become one of our favorite places, good food, awesome views, and fun times. We enjoy sitting outside, on the roof, with clear blue skies overhead and the Tetons so close you could almost touch them! After lunch I dropped Claire off at the visitor center, one of her favorite places to "book" shop. I went off to a location where the moose like to hang out. It was high noon and because of the warmer air I knew that I would not see many moose, but the location is very peaceful. I met a couple from Texas also riding their bikes. They had ridden over 1,500 miles with a few more sights still to enjoy. I picked up Claire and we continued on into the town of Jackson Hole. Did I mention that there is a Harley shop in the "Hole"? Should I mention that I stopped at the Harley Davidson shop? I guess in all fairness to Claire [re: Visitors Center], I will 'fess up. However, all I really ended up doing was sitting in their big leather couch where I could get a little "shut-eye" while Claire did her thing [re:shopping]. We left Jackson and headed on back into the park. Before long we were being drawn over to the side of the road where a small crowd was gathering. A beautiful moose was doing a very good job of lying down, camouflaged in the high grass. Her ears were very nice though! Back on the bike and on with our journey. We eventually came to the intersection where we turn to go towards Lake. We spotted a large bull elk who was huge! Incidentally, when we were in Jackson Hole the temperature was in the 80's. Now that we are back in the park and climbing in elevation the temperature was dropping. It was close to sixty degrees, time to get the jackets on. Once again we had a great day! Here it is in the middle of August, the forecast is for a 40% chance of snow, and we have been on the bike all day. Where did the summer go? At the present time the bison are mating, causing quite a number of traffic jams. Soon the elk will start their annual ritual. What a joy to be living in the "Stone"! I hope that you are reading my blog and perhaps you will feel an itch to come to Yellowstone. Don't wait, life is too short. Just Do It!