Our last day with cycling mate Sue! Let's enjoy it. Once again the weather is nice. A bit cold still, but it doesn't rain and isn't gray.
And again we need to climb a bit for our first crossing of the Continental Divide - the place in the USA where the rivers change their flowing direction:
OMG! One of those big brown animals... just stay calm now and don't get too close!
Sue and my boss are having a wonderful time and spend as much time in the park as possible. When we pass the Firehole loop and head down to the confluence of the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers, Sue has to end her trip. It's with a sad heart my boss says goodbye to her. She was a perfect cycling partner!
Now my boss is on her own for the last part of the ride. It's getting late in the afternoon, but she easily cycles along the Madison River (which is formed by the Gibbon and the Firehole). The Madison River is one of the rivers flowing to Three Forks where it joins two other rivers (see later in diary) to become the Missouri River, which of course flows into the Great Mississippi River. By following the flow of the rivers, my boss learns a lot of geography of the USA!
Out of Flagg Ranch on the John D. Rockefeller Highway to the South Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
It's a rolling uphill at first! But when you look back, the astonishing view is a great reward.
Up on top we see the scars of the wilfdfire of the summer of 1988. The Lewis river runs deep down.
The road rolls up and down for a while - past Lewis Falls:
Out of West Thumb we cycle towards Old Faithull. Yes... two more divides to cross!
At Old Faithfull my boss is so excited to be back! "Remember, last year... you said this was a once in a liftetime you'll see this. And already we are here again!", I remind her.
The view of the Firehole River with in the distance Midway Geyser Basin:
Near Midway Geyser Basin:
Meanwhile, some deer are at the point of taking a bath in the river:
Before we exit the park we notice the small sign we're entering a new state:
Too bad ... the trip through Yellowstone National Park is over, but my boss has lots of new memories she'll cherish for a long long time!
Once in West Yellowstone we are overwhelmed by the tourists again. "Get away, now boss!". We still have a 5-mile ride to the KOA where we'll camp for two nights.
Today's data:
distance: 131,8 km time: 7 hrs 02 minutes
average speed: 18,6 km/hr maximum speed: 52 km/hr
elevation gain: 3368 ft
Overall data:
total distance: 423,2 km
longest distance: 131,8 km (Flagg Ranch, WY to West Yellowstone, MT)
total time: 21 hrs 14 minutes
total elevation gain: 11247 ft
most climbing in a day: 3368 ft (Flagg Ranch, WY to West Yellowstone, MT)
fastest avg speed: 21,3 km/hr (Afton, WY to Jackson Hole, WY)
fastest maximum speed: 57 km/hr (Jackson Hole, WY to Flagg Ranch, WY)
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