Day One: Grand Tetons and Yellow Stone Park

The day started at 7 am with the breakfast of champion riders.

That's right.  Mickey D's.  We didn't want to waste a lot of time.  We had some logistics and some more kinks to work out.  The secret service car needed to be returned to the airport.

See the NJ plates.  What else could this car be?

Actually it's how Cindy and Bill roll if they are not riding in a mustang or a motorcycle!

Julie rolls with her new backpack on her bike that actually holds all of her stuff for the entire week and that includes all her clothes, knitting, novel and journal.

Bill, on the other hand is concerned about his vitamin C intake and has done a "Lill enhancement" to his bike.  He rolls with his OJ.

So, after dropping off the Ford Expedition we made our way through the Grand Tetons on our way to Yellow Stone.  Breath taking!

Navigating the gate at Yellow Stone was made a lot easier since Cindy paid for all of us but we still needed to produce a photo id and to sign our passes.  We made a bee line for Old Faithful but stopped to view this waterfall along the way.

The crowd at Old Faithful was huge and parking was difficult.  We had settled into a space with the permission of a park ranger but his supervisor kicked us out.  I was so freaked out by the parking situation that I asked Bill to park my Bike!  We had just missed the last appearance of Old Faithful so we had lunch at a cafe.  Salad and Pizza.

And then it was follow the crowds of people to see Old Faithful which of course did not disappoint.

We headed out of Yellow Stone with a hundred mile ride to Cody.  This was everyone's favorite part of the day.  I personally had a number of firsts.  A hairpin turn, a tunnel and a steep grade down an enormous mountain.  All I can say, is Thank God for guard rails! Here are two videos.  The first is Maria taking a film along the road and the second is Maria taking a film going through the  Tunnel.

I didn't know we were going through a tunnel until I was on it.  I was wearing sun glasses and my first thought was I wasn't going to be able to see.  My eyes did adjust but it was a weird feeling to enter into an enclosed dark area.  Surreal.

This is Maria and I after the tunnel experience.

Now we are 13 miles outside of Cody.  The group converged to decide next steps.

No surprise, the decision was to eat at an authentic Wyoming Western Bar.

After dinner we adjourned to our cabin for the night.  We gathered outside for a meeting about tomorrow.  We will be going over the Big Horn Mountains with multiple hairpin turns and lots of altitude.  We were over 8000 feet today and crossed the continental divide.  Some of the twists as we call them were at high altitude with sharp drops.  Tomorrow is even more.

A look at our planning meeting.

The guy you don't recognize is one of the many people we have met during the trip.  We met a German couple yesterday on Harleys.  Of course the Americans were on the BMWs!  We gave them beer and they said we saved their lives.  Enough for now!

Yes, that is a Buffalo.  He comes with the room.  Only in Wyoming.  Good night!