August 23, 2017 - Yellowstone NP to Livingston, MT Yellowstone – Glacier Bike Tour

Looking out our window at breakfast this morning, we spotted this herd of 14  elk just across the road from our campground in Yellowstone. We enjoyed watching them graze their way up and over the hill before getting ready to hit the road.

Today is the “official” start to the Yellowstone to Glacier Bike tour for Tobey and Phil. They are being joined by Phil’s brother, Jon, this year.

Tobey suited up and he and Phil were ready to leave Mammoth at 7:45 this morning. It was pretty chilly, but they were off. Phil’s brother, Jon, decided to meet them in Gardiner where he would start his ride.

The guys stopped by Yellowstone’s old north archway entrance for another picture and then they were off!

Marcia and I spotted some antelope grazing nearby before we took off.

The scenery in Montana was beautiful and the temperature warmed quickly. We spotted some osprey along the way near Pine Creek. That was fun to see, but impossible to get a picture.

The route followed Highway 89 part of the way, then jumped over to Highway 540. Highway 540 didn’t have much traffic and was a much more pleasant ride. They had an elevation gain of 1640’ and loss of 3200’, and tailwind most of the way! They all enjoyed that. The guys took a few rest breaks along the way to Livingston, but they arrived about 2 pm.

When Hwy 540 joined back to Hwy 89, Marcia and I got stuck in a line of traffic following a road lane painting truck! The guys almost beat us into town.

Tobey rode all the way to the fairgrounds where we are camping tonight, logging 70 miles. As he rode through town, he spotted a quilt shop, so he and I took our bikes and we went back to check it out. He is the best husband ever! I had a great time looking around, even though I didn’t buy anything. I have yet to figure out why small towns always have the best selections of fabrics! We rode by a farmer’s market and took time to walk around and check out the vendors. He added another 3-4 miles his day!

The one really bad thing about this trip is our cell phone company doesn’t have good coverage in Wyoming or Montana, so we are often without service – even when the phone is roaming! We have had a difficult time finding anywhere that has WIFI, also, for posting this blog! It seems like we had better service when we traveled in Mexico!!

Tomorrow will be another 7:45 am departure, and there is a small chance of showers, so it might not be as pleasant a ride.