Mountain biking out West

Jon and I had such a great trip out West. It seems like forever since we went riding out in the mountains. It holds a sappy place in our hearts because the first trip we ever took together was to mountain bike out west. We had only been dating a month. This trip we spent two days biking the Maah Daah Hey trail in Teddy Roosevelt National Park. Think way western North Dakota in the badlands. It was really hot and really pretty. We camped along the Missouri River and got up-close-and-personal with some bison in the park. Next it was off to Bozeman, MT. I love Bozeman. I could live there in a heartbeat. They have a great co-op, a huge outdoor scene, lots of coffee shops, lectures, weekly outdoor music, and 4 bike shops. Everything a good community should possess! We had planned to camp but ended up in a great little motel with a fabulous mountain view, small kitchen, patio for cooking, hot tub, recliner chair (very important after a long ride) and a comfy bed...all for $69/night. God Bless America!

Here are some highlights from Montana:
- Driving along the Gallatin River and recalling a rafting trip I did with my Dad back in high school
- Watching Jon round a corner and meet up with a grizzly bear
- Watching two 70 year old men on 4-wheelers scold Jon for not having a gun or bear spray to protect himself from the grizzly
- Biking through the Bridgers and stopping at a gorgeous mountain top meadow - see the picture above
- People watching at Thursday Nights on Main - Bozeman's weekly outdoor music festival
- Biking 3 hours and 3,000' up Gardner Mountain and the 30 minute ride down the mountain

The final leg of the trip was to visit some friends. We started by driving from Bozeman to Red Lodge. Rather than take the short route, we took the long route through Yellowstone National Park and over the Beartooth Pass. There is a reason it is called one of the most beautiful drives in the US...amazing! Yellowstone was like a mini wildlife safari. We saw a black bear, many bison, antelope, a wolf (!!!!), a black bear with 2 cubs, black-tailed deer, birds I can't identify, and lots of tourists. We stopped in Red Lodge to visit Jon's old boss. He and his wife have started a really successful gourmet cooking shop. We loaded up on imported Italian pasta and headed west to Sheridan, Wyoming. Sheridan is the home of our longtime friend Ryan. Jon, Ryan, and I have a special bond. We met Ryan in a restaurant in Peru while we were having breakfast in the winter of 2004. We immediately hit it off and traveled together 24/7 through Peru and Bolivia for the next 6 weeks. We haven't seen him since and it was a great reunion. We just picked up where we left off. I really wish he lived closer.

We had planned to drive to Rapid City and spend one night before making the final drive. Silly Abra didn't think about it being the 4th of July weekend and that Rapid City is a major tourist destination - think Black Hills, Sturgis, 4 presidents' faces on a cliff. So needless to say, all the hotels were booked. We learned that the back of the Rav4 makes a pretty decent bed in a pinch. Sorry it is such a long post...it was a really great trip.