Day 5 - Old Faithful to Grant Village, then drive to Jackson via Signal Mtn. and Jenny Lake

     After a long day of cycling and a late dinner the day before, we were happy to have a late start planned for our final day of cycling in Yellowstone.  After breakfast at the Old Faithful Inn, we explored the other geysers and hot springs around Old Faithful and got to see Old Faithful erupt two more times.
     The day's route had us riding east towards Grant Village, where we had started two days earlier.  From there, we would be driving to Jackson, WY, where we would spend the rest of the week.
    The weather continued to be beautiful, and we began climbing almost as soon as we started to ride.  We paused at the Kepler Cascades, a series of waterfalls with an wooden overlook built above them, for pictures.  Old Faithful sits at 7,365 ft (2,254 m).  Our first peak crossing Craig Pass was 8,262 ft (2,518 m).  Curiously, as we cycled eastward, we were crossing the continental divide from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side.  We had a long descent down to DeLacy Creek, followed by another long climb to the divide at 8,391 ft (2,558 m).  Just before the top of the hill we saw snow on the road side that had probably fallen the day we arrived in Wyoming (40º and raining at Colter Bay Village, more than a thousand feet lower, meant snow in much of Yellowstone).  
    Both of the other teams had brought along their drum brakes, but although we had one for the bike, I hadn't had time to install it prior to this trip.  The two descents from the continental divide were the only times during the week that I wished I had had it with us.  Since the front end geometry of the bike was out of whack, it didn't inspire confidence at high speeds.  Since riding the rim brakes the whole way down would have been a recipie for disaster, we instead let the bike get a little speed, then brought it to a complete stop and waited for the rims to cool.  We did this a few times on each descent, and managed to keep the rims from ever getting dangerously hot.  While we were the first to the top of each pass, we were the last to the bottom as the others used their brum brakes to maintain a reasonable speed and descended without stopping.
     We had lunch at the Grant Village visitors center, then changed our clothes and drove south out of Yellowstone towards Jackson.  D and Patty went ahead of us, but Roger lead Hal, Barbara, Dawn, and me to Signal Mountain, which sits in the middle of the Jackson Hole.  After driving up the narrow, twisting road to the top, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the valley laid out before us.  
     The 5 of us then went to Jenny Lake, where we took a boat ride to the other side.  We would have to hike back, since the boats would only be running a little longer.  
     The hike around Jenny Lake turned out to be one of the non-cycling highlights of the tour.  While we only explored a small portion of the trails that branch out from the lake, we had a great time and were treated to beautiful sights, sounds, and smells everywhere we went.

     There was a long line of people at the dock waiting to take the boat back across the lake.  We disembarked and headed up the trail.  We soon were greeted by the friendly little critter pictured at right.  While it is illegal to feed the wildlife in national parks, and there is good reason for the saying "A fed bear is a dead bear", you could tell that this guy was used to getting handouts from hikers.  We continued to walk counter-clockwise around the lake, and took a detour up the hill where the trail followed a cascading stream before returning down the hill and continuing along our route.
     Since her leg was still very painful from the crash that had happened only two days earlier (although it seemed like we'd experienced a week's worth of things since then), Dawn needed a break after a while.  Since the trail was narrow and we didn't want to block it, we decided that we'd stop for a while at the next open area we found.  Just as a good spot came into view, I noticed a foot path branching off from the trail.  I suggested we follow it, and just a few yards away we found ourselves looking at a breathtaking view of a small pond below and the sun setting behind Grand Teton above us.  We sat there much longer than Dawn needed for rest purposes, reluctant to leave such an incredible scene.
     Finally we made our way back to our cars at the other side of Jenny Lake and drove to the Red Lion Wyoming Inn in Jackson where we would be staying for the next three nights.  While we were getting settled in, Roger found a drug store that sold Spenco brand "Second Skin", a burn treatment product that also works wonders on road rash.  Dawn used the Second Skin until her road rash healed and reported that it was as good as Roger had promised.  We now carry a piece or two with us on the bike as part of our first aid kit.
     We ended the day at a way too trendy, way too expensive restaurant in Jackson where the prices for most of the wines would have been very reasonable prices for a bicycle, or maybe a used car.