Fotografias!

3,000 miles!

We're just here chilling out in Montana with some friends of Scott. It's been a week of coincidences- I ran into a high school friend in the Tetons and was surprised here in Bozeman by some familiar faces from UNC. This past week we stayed in Grand Teton National Park and then rode through Yellowstone, drinking in the scenery. Beautiful though it was, we were a little disappointed (or relieved?) by the lack of wildlife we encountered. No bears, excepting the one below, a couple of bison, a marmot, and some elk. We've passed the 3,000 mile mark and we're still going strong.

Be Bear Aware

We did everything possible to prevent this sort of thing. We read the warnings and followed the recommendations. We made noise as we moved through hiking trails; we neither fed nor molested the animals; we stored snacks, water bottles, and toothbrushes in bear safe containers. But alas, we are in bear country, and my bike is sweeter than honey!

Sometimes mosquitoes are better than people

Wyoming! Home to only a half a million people, and they like it that way. As one fellow put it, "We've got only 500,000 people, so get out!" Another conversation with a road construction worker went like this:
Me: what a beatiful place to work, on top of the mountain and all.
Him: Yep. I've got the best office in the world.
Me: Yeah, just so long as you can stand the mosquitoes.
Him: [Long pause]The way I see it, sometime mosquitoes are better than people.

Of course, I can't blame these folks for the quiet pride they have in their beautiful outdoors and I respect them for surviving the harsh winters. I think the average low here in Grand Teton National Park is 1.5 F in January.

Looks like there's a line for the computer, more to come!

Goodbye Kansas. Hello...Nebraska?

Scott was loosening his mind from the Kansas monotony, a fact that will surely wound my grandmother's native Kansan pride. We did see an awful lot of the state, from the southeastern part of the state to the northwest. (Really, Nana, it was lovely.) I found it to be not quite as flat as I expected. Our route north and east took us through limestone bluffs and very gentle hills; we also saw the expected fields of corn, wheat, and cows--enough to feed a nation. Of course, it's all grid in the Midwest, no diagonals, which means we covered a lot of Kansas ground. While Scott is clearly thrilled to leave Kansas behind, Adam is in the background feeling pretty pleased to be adding an extra state to the list. We amended our route, blazing a trail through Kansas that will take us more directly to Fort Collins, where we will stop at New Belgium, a once micro brewery that started after a similar bicycle tour across Europe. Maybe Scott and Adam will be so inspired after our journey.

Stormy midwest

Recently have been overtaken by some midwest storms of biblical intensity. Our first Kansas storm came by night as we slept in a city park. One minute we were dreaming under the stars, the next we were dashing to an awning where we huddled behind a flimsy fortress of tarps and rain flies. The experience left me wary and has resulted in several calls to our on call weather service rep (Mom). Yesterday evening we cut short our plans for a 100+ mile day that was taking us right through the storm and turned in to a home with an open garage. Lightening, hail, and rain overtook the enormous sky, which was all much more enchanting from the safety of the Bean residence. They took us in until the storm passed...which turned out to be the next morning. The family lives along a natural gas pipeline in the middle of nowhere and are responsible for maintaining the compressor next to their house. You can see for miles out their front door. This morning Billy Bean could tell that it was still raining in the next town by glancing to the east. The photo below is the sliver of sky not swallowed by the evening storm.

Roadside finds:

A lovely moth

West coast stylez

If Portland won't take us, maybe we'll find our place at Laguna beach. For now we are still landlocked. As if our sizzling sense of style wasn't hot enough, temps hit the 100s today. We're managing pretty well. We started riding this morning at 7 and had 65 miles in by 12:30, landing at the water park in Great Bend, KS. We were a smash hit at the pool; the kids were curious about us ("Dude, what's up with your tan line?"), but once we had answered their questions they joined us for a lively game of sharks and minnows. After the worst of the heat passes, we'll crank out another 40 miles or so and call it a day.

Little house in the Ozarks

But alas, Laura Ingalls Wilder was not to be found. We made quick work of the "Show Me State" We didn't quite make it to Kansas by the forth, but we landed right outside in Golden City. The name suggested a grand independence day celebration, but by the time we arrived at 7:30 it was a ghost town on Main street. We celebrated nonetheless with brats and s'mores, and caught a some firework displays from the neighbors. The next morning we went to Cooky's for one of the best diner experiences of my life. They have 35 kinds of pies! I had the strawberry rhubarb, for breakfast.

Carrot juice + apple juice + ginger

The drink of choice for a rest day in Carbondale