5 miles Paddle/42 miles Pedal
TANDEM Pedal Time: 3 hours 19 minutes, average speed 12.6
Our adventure started early this morning with a 3-hour drive back to Yellowstone National Park for our O.A.R.S. Kayak tour on the West Thumb of the Yellowstone Lake and around the West Thumb Geyser Basin. We were at the Grant Village boat ramp by 9:00 a.m. for our 9:30 tour. April, Megan and Leah were there to welcome us and get us psyched for the trip. The ticket price for the two of us for this trip was $180 and it was worth it. Nowhere in the park could you get as close to the geysers as we did in our kayak. Yellowstone lake boasts being North America’s largest lake above 7000 feet and lies at the center of an immense caldera left behind by the collapse of the Yellowstone super-volcano during its last eruption 600,000 years ago. The volcanic activity continues to this day and there are many examples of the region’s characteristic geothermal activity along the shores of the Yellowstone Lake’s West Thumb, including geysers, hot springs and mud pots. We paddled a pine-fringed shoreline to view these geothermal features from the seat of an O.A.R.S. touring kayak.
We experienced beautiful views along with historic commentaries. The Fishing Hole Geyser was an interesting story. An explorer found he could cook a fish in a geyser and he began selling the idea to visitors who would come to cook fish and eat it as a novelty until it became too dangerous—standing over an active geyser was recognized as unsafe and the discovery of arsenic in the sediment put this sport to an end.
This geyser basin used to be the center of attention but now visitors flock to Old Faithful because of its predictability. The geysers here are now covered by the lake and our guides ensured we stayed a safe distance away by creating a barrier between us and these geological formations.
The kayak trip ended too soon but biking was planned for the afternoon and our kayak guide, April lead us south towards the Grand Tetons and Jackson, WY for a recommended route. We had a wonderful lunch in Yellowstone and then pointed the van towards the Grand Teton National Park for some more Wyoming biking.
We were elated to find a newly paved bicycle trail and got on it just south of Jenny Lake. The trail allowed us to view the Tetons from the seat of our tandem—what a treat! We biked 42 of the most beautiful miles at the base of the Tetons on a moisture-free day and even experienced a moose sighting. The temperature was in the upper 80’s with no wind making for a spectacular ride. We biked through the Teton Village and then on to Jackson for a light supper.
Jackson was a touristy town with many restaurants willing to quickly reduce a vacationer’s savings by asking $20-30 for one meal. We found a nice little Bread Company willing to serve us a sandwich for under $10 each.
It was now getting late so we began pedaling back on the trail to where our van was awaiting us. We still had a 4-hour drive to get us back to Big Sky and the sun was beginning to set. We decided to drive through the Teton Pass into Idaho so we wouldn’t have to follow the slow traffic through Yellowstone. This was sure a full day. We reached the Summit Hotel in Big Sky at 11:30 p.m. Mountain Time. We have now toured 4 National Parks on this western trip: The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and the Grand Teton National Park and were able to bike in 2 of them—life is good.
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