Day 56: Madison, WY to West Yellowstone, MT (21 miles)

7/21

Israel Golden
Jul 25, 2017 · 3 min read

Today would be a really short day, so we took our time to pack up, hang out, and say our goodbyes to the other cyclists and the Portland car campers.

It was a lovely ride through the rest of the park, and I made sure to ride slow and keep my eyes towards the fields, just in case there were buffalo.

Alas, no buffalo, but the scenery was nice.

…Do buffalo really exist? ‘Cause we haven’t been convinced yet.

The town of West Yellow stone came quicker than expected. Suddenly, we were in Montana.

Hungry and (sad to admit it) wifi/service deprived, we headed to a popular pizza place just down the street.

I had the chicken parm, and it was SO GOOD. Yum. Food.

Both Izzy and Aaron had had tire trouble since Lander, so we sought out a bike shop so they could get new ones. We came across a goofy little bike shop, it seemed to be 30% bike shop and 70% toy store/knick-knacks. Izzy and Aaron walked away with new tires and spare tubes, and I finally purchased a kite (I’ve thought about getting one since Kansas).

West Yellowstone wasn’t an ideal place for camping (awesome town, but expensive sites & motels). After a few calls, we finally decided on a KOA campground six miles away.

Aaron being an adult on the phone

Luxurious.

We taste tested fudge, set up camp, flew my new kite, hung out in a teepee, sat in a hot tub, and cooked dinner on a real stove. A family cooking tacos in the same pavilion offered us their leftovers, so we had tacos and mac cheese for dinner. Thanks RV family!! Good stuff. More food.

Though we had a short day, we were still pretty tired, so we all went to bed after our food comas.

Lastly — today was also the first day I started putting thought into what I’m doing after the bike trip. It made me nervous, so after a few miles I stopped thinking about it. I schemed up a lot of different options… there’s a lot of opportunities for after the trip! It’s a matter of where I end up, what I want to do, what I can do, where I want to be, etc. Stay tuned!

I eventually settled on the fact that I don’t know what I’m doing in life, but I sure am glad to be doing it.

Lila

    Israel Golden

    Written by

    Bicycling, Music, Science

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