Day 0 / September 5 - Indy to Teton National Park at Colter Bay Campground
This is me after arriving in sunny and 60 degree day in Jackson Hole! It is smoky because of recent forest fires in Idaho. I am taking a 1 hour cab ride to the campground.
I was up at 3 AM having gotten 2.5 hours of sleep, but had 2 great flights to Chicago and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My cab driver Hal, who owns Marvel Taxi Service, gave me a great commentary on the area as we took the hour's drive from the airport to the campground. He noted that forest fires in Idaho were why the smoke was so thick and we couldn't see much of the mountains as we were driving. He also felt bad just dropping me off at the remote group campsite as no one was there and he'd recently seen a grizzly bear about 3 miles away from there! Needless to say, even though it was sunny and 12:30 PM, I was a bit spoked as I put up my tent and got my campsite organized. There was a bathroom nearby, so I went over that way to eat my granola bar and banana for lunch. I figured since I had no bear spray, I could dive into the concrete bathrooms if a "visitor" came upon me!
Things changed at 1:30 as a big truck pulled up and I got to meet some of The Great Divide Staff and help them unload luggage for all of the riders. Don, Anneke, and Elske were just so welcoming and nice to this slightly nervous old guy who doesn't know what he is getting into. Later in the afternoon, I unpacked my bike and Don put it together for me! Those of you who know me well know that I am not a fix-it or technical person, so him doing it for me took away a ton of stress! The riders, led by the "Dutch Peleton" of 5 riders started arriving at 2:45 and I believe everyone had arrived from their 64-mile ride by 5 PM.
Anneke and Elske served soup, bread, and fresh fruit and even encouraged me to join in, which was wonderful, even though I felt a bit guilty since I hadn't yet ridden a mile! Many of the riders went into the village at Colter Bay (about a mile away) to take a shower. Dinner was at an unusually late 7 PM, but featured burgers with tons of toppings, slaw, and cheesecake! Many of the riders went for a full plate of seconds and joined them! It was a special night since 8 riders were leaving the tour on Wednesday, and Edmond, one of the leaders of the guys from The Netherlands, stood up and gave a nice reminiscence of their 3 weeks on the tour! Also, it was an absolute pleasure to meet Jim and Jessica Malone, a doctor and nurse out of California. They had to drop out after 5 days, but came back to join the group for dinner. They were very interesting to talk with and I found myself wishing they had stayed to ride! Everyone stayed up late but most were in bed by 9 or 10.
As I lay down in my tent and prepared for my prayers, I couldn't help but think about who to be thankful for so this first day could even happen. First of all, my wife has been so supportive through these 2 years of dreams and training, and I can't thank her enough. My kids, Billy and Mia, have helped with occasional "you can do this Dad" and not with "you are nuts Dad", which may have been what they were thanking! And I appreciate the special friends and family members, who weren't "dream killers" and you know who you are! Special thanks go out to a long-time great friend Roger Huxhold, who picked me up at 3:50 AM yesterday and took me to the airport, my newfound buddy Bob Millard, who got me to go on this trip, and to Don, the GD employee and many time rider, who put my bike together and gave me some very helpful tips. So with that, I called it a day with lights out at 9:30 PM.
