"This is the Post That Never Ends" (Set to The Song That Never Ends)

Apologies for the mega-post below. Feel free to kick back and settle in with your favorite beverage. In fact, have one in honor of us, knowing that we will be daydreaming of a nice cold one...whether it's a bloody mary, a cold Crispin at Elizabeth Station, or perhaps a Sessions lager...or if brevity's not your thing, how about a triple mocha with whipped cream? Scroll down to the comment section below and let us know which beverage you enjoy while reading of our adventures!

Along we went after an amazing stay in Helena. Day 21 started off great, with one of my favorite memories so far- my sister Jamie joined us for an added singletrack tour. The trails were so fun, and I was on cloud nine to be sharing a part of the journey with one of my favorite people. Halfway along, Jamie headed back to Helena, where she jumped in the car with the fam, and then met us at Park Lake. It was a simple day- 26 miles- which was great to get our legs back in motion. And the camping was deluxe- ciders, beers, and burgers. We all huddled under our holey tarp during a monsoon thunderstorm, and then Sol built us a fire to warm up by. Deluxe indeed!

Speaking of deluxe, we woke up to Jamie cooking us French toast, topped with dark chocolate peanut butter (!) and maple syrup....yum. We packed up somberly- it was hard for me to wrench myself away from family and such good food. But, away we went, ready for more trails. Fairly soon, we met Chris from Alaska, another North bound rider. We talked for quite some time, then eeked ourselves up a "road" that consisted of 4 miles of ladder like roots. The payoff was great- sandwiches (courtesy of Jamie and Sol, again) on top of Lava Mountain- a rare treat. Down and up and down and up we went, 56.7 miles to Butte. Thunderstorms threatened again, and we raced around town to find food before the downpour. 2 hours later, and grumpy, we ended up where we started, seeing a restaurant that I promise you wasn't there before. In we went, and down came the rain....I have never seen two people eat so much food! We recommend the Hanging 5 to any through travelers.

Day 23 led us to the Great Divide Legend: Fleecer Ridge. We were able to warm up on quite a bit of pavement, and easily crested our first pass of the day. After a yummy snack of avocado and potato chip sandwiches, we coasted down towards the base of Mt. Fleecer, mentally preparing ourselves. Up and up you go, trying to mentally picture what this legendary 2 miles of crazy must look like. Well, it looks like a wall- a mile long, steep, impressively beautiful wall. We took a picture, bid each other adieu, and started on. I was amazed, impressed, and flabbergasted- Josh climbed and climbed, never once putting a foot down. Myself, I made it halfway before I jumped off, and even then, had to take breaks from pushing my bike up. And man, o man, what a lovely sight. The top of Fleecer Ridge is the kind of place you conspire to build a cabin, and wonder if anyone would ever notice. It would surely heal any wandering soles. We sat and rested and gazed for as long as we could, then approached the real legend- the Fleecer Ridge downhill. I donned the video camera as Josh valiantly started down until I couldn't see him any longer. With a deep breath, a started walking my bike down, which is a feat in and of at self, and I silently said a prayer that I would find Josh at the bottom in one piece and smiling. Sure enough, crazy man that he is, he made it all the way down riding on his bike. I rode the last 100 yards, just to say that I rode part of it....47.3 miles that day, and camping at Parker Creek. A relaxed and happy night where we talked of sunsets still to be seen.

The morning was a quick 8 miles that led us to breakfast at the Wise River Club, where Josh ate the "Garbage Omelette," and we listened to a blind cowboy's stories. Along we went, with a real treat- our first and probably only full day of pavement. As we inched ourselves up the Pioneer Mountains, I laughed to myself thinking, "Wow, I can pedal this slow, and still, I'll somehow make it to Mexico?!" Of course, we eventually summited, and then we went down. And down. I had never truly realized how much I appreciated downhill on pavement- to be able to sit down on your saddle and not peddle....When met Josh at the bottom, I dared him to wipe the grin off my face- which Josh paired with "I dare you to guess how fast I went on that!" It was a record 40 mps- so fun! Pit stop for lunch at Polaris, then on to Bannack State Park. After 64 miles we were anxious for camp, but we were appalled by the price of a campsite with no running water- $25?! We were about to ride on, refusing the fee, when we saw a group at a picnic table with bikes waving us down. We about-faced, and met George, Alice, Chuck and Adam from the East Coast, a group doing a section of the Divide. They invited us to share their camp, handed us beers, and we settled in. Little did we know, 100 yards down the road, Bannack State Park was actually a historic old Western town. Josh and I toured the old buildings, where I drank my first soda pop (sans Whiskey) in 8 years....good ol' 7-Up.

Early to bed and early to rise, we woke up with our campmates at 6:30, all of us headed to the same destination for the day- Morrison Lake at 52 miles. We said goodbye to the crew, and told them we'd save them a campspot. The ensuing country was beautiful, with ranches and pronghorn all around. It was a day easy in terrain, made difficult by the blaring sun and complete lack of shade. Our only pass of the day was tough and hot, and we were anxious to find this so called lake in the middle of nowhere. 3 miles off route and  up wall-like hills, we found the oasis. Our friends from Bannack never arrived, and we were told by a local cattle rancher that he had spotted them at the base of the road, which we were glad to hear. After an afternoon of fishing, napping, swimming and downright laziness, we watched the show of a lifetime. Our first real sunset was spectacular, and on the other end of the horizon, the moon rose amongst purple, orange and blue clouds.

I am laughing as I read my journal from Day 26, where the destination is labeled "Stupid Reservoir." More on that to come. We rode downhill towards Lima, through countryside that resonated John Wayne and ambushes of cowboys. Along the way we came across our friends, and we stopped to chat for quite some time, anxiously guessing what the restaurants would be like in Lima. Turns out, great! We ate great food, and said goodbye for good to our friends, and went in search of the Post Office. There, we found gold- a package from Amanda filled with treats to get us through the next remote stretch. Still not at our final destination, we headed out, and a little too full. I felt sick, and hot, but eventually felt better as we rode alongside the beautiful reservoir...which didn't last long. The road turned rough, and then rougher, which I can only describe as washboarded cobblestone, so bumpy you can't sit down, and standing up jostles every joint in your body. Finally, after 72 miles, we arrived at our so-called campsite....which was where?? We rode around in circles trying to figure out where it was, eventually setting up next to a very stinky river on what we hoped wasn't private land, but probably was. Not able to stomach making dinner with the muskrat infested water, we munched on caramel popcorn and sunflower seeds, while we watched beautiful birds fly around us during the sunset.

Day 27 was a big day for us- we reached 1,000 miles, made another Continental Divide crossing, and crossed the Idaho border.  The day's ride was beautiful, through the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, reminiscent of an African Savannah. As we were starting up the divide that would lead us to Idaho, we were met with the largest Longhorn you ever did see, and he sure wasn't happy to see us. His mooing was more like a bark/growl, and I was quivering in angst as I peddled so slowly past him (a rather steep uphill), trying not to look at him for fear of him taking me as a threat. I honestly never thought I'd be so afraid of a cow. We arrived in Mack's Inn, Idaho, where we feasted on Subway, huckleberry sodas, and probably way too much junk food. After a 56 mile day, we slept well.

The next day's route took us along an old railroad bed that was covered in deep volcanic ash. It was so tough to ride in, we opted for the paralleling road, and we zipped along to Warm River. Along the way, we met two French ladies hiking the Continental Divide via pack mules- a very impressive adventure indeed. The trek alongside Warm River was beautiful, and we arrived quickly after 34 miles to our destination. We were lucky to get the last campsite of the place, tucked away from the crowded RV areas. We had a very unusual guest for dinner- the most beautiful fox, apparently a resident guest to the area. We swam in the river- or rather, we were walking across it and I fell in- and then went to bed early, feeling refreshed.

The next day, Day 29, was one that will forever be etched in Josh's memory- the day he rode 50 miles uphill, in the hot sun, with food poisoning. But first things first- The first 15 miles were the most surprisingly beautiful scenes I've seen. We rode through bright yellow wheat fields that were in such contrast with the deep blue early morning sky. And even more impressive was the background, framed by the looming Tetons- very pretty. Unfortunately, it was hard for Josh to fully digest, as he was really starting to feel his insides start to boil. As we entered the Tetons, on what was one of the worst gravel roads due to 60 mph traffic kicking gravel at us, he hit a brick wall. We pulled over, trying to rest and problem solve. As he was losing his breakfast, along came a skunk, and Josh had to pull his strength together to escape the smelly creature. We inched ourselves along, riding 2 miles, and then pulling over to rest and be sick again. Eventually we stopped and both fell asleep in the sun. We woke up from our nap to cyclists trekking up the hill, who told us we should definitely head to Flagg Ranch, where there would surely be cabins available and good food. Josh pulled all the strength he had from the depths, and we arrived at the ranch, anxious and ready to pay lots of money for clean sheets. Sorry, no room at the inn. Depressed, and still not feeling well, Josh mustered through a snickers bar while I ate the most ridiculously over priced meal of my life. We bought even more overpriced junk food, and continued on to a hidden blessing. There was a mostly vacant campsite just up the road, $30 less than the Flagg Ranch campground. After setting up the tent, Josh laid down while I munched away on the dinner of champions: raspberry sorbet and peanut butter. We went to sleep, hopeful of a better day in the morning.

Sure enough, Josh felt better, but not at his best. So, we decided that Day 30 would be mostly a rest day. We rode 20 miles of pavement to Colter Bay Village, the tourist mecca into the Teton National Park. We rented a cabin, and ate more overpriced food, which included a rare treat of gluten free cookies. We rested more, and visited the gorgeous Jackson Lake, where we saw bear #2 of the journey- a small black bear, obviously in search of a picnic basket.

On Day 31, we stuffed ourselves at the restaurant buffet, peeking out the windows as the rain fell harder and harder. It would be our first day of riding in the rain, but we were ready to make up some miles. We trekked along as the temperature dropped, and I sincerely regretted mailing my winter gloves home. We pulled off at Moran Junction, to send a few more things home at the small post office. In we went, soaking wet, where we met Sara, the local postal manager. She laughed as we stuffed our drenched items in to a box and wished us good luck over the pass, warning us of snow. As we were getting ready to ride on, she met us outside and surprised us with her next words- "I would so love it if you all would ride on to my house where you can wait out the storm, do some laundry and enjoy hot showers." We were stunned! After a few days of low mileage, we were anxious to ride on, but how could we refuse such an amazing offer? So, we accepted, and we ended our day at mile 16, warm and cozy at Sara's house. What a treat, and what a great new friend. We snoozed, showered, cleaned our clothes, shared wonderful food, and swapped stories. Truly a memory that envelopes this journey- a trip filled with hospitable people, anxious to help us out whenever they can.

We slept well, and ate breakfast at the Buffalo Valley Cafe, a funky restaurant nestled in the ranch lands of Wyoming. Now, we were really ready to make up some miles. We crested Togwotee Pass and cruised down on paved highway. Our next pass was a little rougher, up steep gravel roads for 8 miles, and we were happy to crest the summit at Union Pass. There was still daylight, so we decided to eat dinner by the river, and then continue on to Whiskey Grove campground. There was very little downhill, and we were racing the setting sun on bumpy washboarded roads. We arrived at the campground just as the sun set, and after 94 miles, our longest day yet, we fell straight asleep.

The next day, Day 33, was much easier and mostly on paved roads, and we found ourselves in Pinedale after a short 39 miles. We did a double take as we road through town at rare sight- Wind River Brewery! We stopped in for lunch, and a beer for Josh, which was he said was delicious. We had the rest of the afternoon to work on our bikes and swaped out the chains. I tucked my nose in the book that Sara had sent me off with, and guiltily soaked up the mystery and forgot where I was for a few hours. We happened upon a miniature health food store, where I glutinously divulged in gluten free snack after gluten free snack. Yum.

Day 34 was fairly uneventful (minus Josh's first flat, due to a hair sized wire), and we found ourselves quickly arriving at Little Sandy Creek after 52 miles. We sat by the peaceful little stream, where I finished my mystery, and Josh took a long nap. We had a very fulfilling meal of rice, hot dogs, mayo, hot sauce and sesame seeds. Sound appetizing?

The next day brought us through beautiful Wyoming countryside, full of sagebrush, pronghorns, and mountains in the distance. We rode into Atlantic City and had a yummy lunch inside a historic saloon building, full of antique treasures. There was another rare treat there- an old Fire Hall that had been converted in to a free community computer room. We sat down to real keyboards and emailed friends and family, and got a few things done with no time limit pressing down on us. After getting our fill of free internet, we filled up on twice the amount of water as usual- there would be no more reliable water sources for 140 miles. We climbed the hill out of Atlantic City, and cruised down to our campsite. I noticed my tire was low, but seemed to fill up and keep air in, so we let it be. We ate another dinner of rice, tuna, mayo and chili, and fell asleep quickly after a 50 mile day.

Day 36 turned out to be fairly epic. We staggered out of our tent at 5 am, anxious to cross the Wyoming Basin and to find water again. Rawlins was over 100 miles away, and we were weighed down with twice the amount of water we normally carry. The sunrise was truly magnificent- sun rays poured over the distant hills, with silhouettes of cattle and pronghorns amongst the green sage. On we trekked, anxious to make good time, when my gears stopped shifting. We troubleshooted, and eventually it was fixed, and on we hurried. 10 miles later, I noticed my tire was low again. We pumped it up, and continued on, with Josh ahead of me on the downhill. Unfortunately, half way down, my tire wasn't just low this time, it was flat. Unable to let Josh know to stop, I decided to air it up as best I could and continue on until I could tell him to stop so I could fix it, without him worrying about what happened to me. Unfortunately, he had made quite a bit of distance, and he couldn't see me waving at him. After airing it up 3 times, I eventually opted out to walk the bike, when I was finally able signal to him to turn around. We patched the tube, which took quite some time in the windy basin. We had lost so much time already, and still had 80 miles to go, so we hurried on, hot, hungry, and my knees aching. On and on we went, through the endless Wyoming desert. If a person were to be anxious, or fearful of wide open spaces, it would be here- easy to panic with no end in sight. Eventually we made it to paved Mineral X Road, where we cruised along quickly for 26 miles. The road was completely void of human life, but full of cattle that blocked our path. Eventually we found civilization, and a 6 mile uphill on highway. Up we pushed ourselves, dreaming of hot food and showers, and we finally found Rawlins. It was a 126 mile day, the furthest I've ever gone in one day. I won't go into detail about how sore I am, but I will tell you that I  iced my bottom for a long time. We treated ourselves to Thai food, cereal, popcorn, blueberries and grape juice. I honestly don't remember falling asleep, but man, did we sleep good.

So here we are in Rawlins, officially halfway into our journey at mile 1,500. We cross into Colorado in a couple of days, where we'll meet Josh's family and enjoy some rest days in Steamboat Springs. Today will be a short one, as I can barely muster to sit down on a chair....can somebody invent a Lazy Boy bike saddle? That would be truly appreciated. Happy trails all, and see you in Colorado!

The view from Mt. Ascencion (Day 21)

Singletrack with Sis (Day 21)

Camp de Deluxe at Park Lake (Day 21)

Old Tunnel #9 to Butte (Day 22)

Steep frontage road to Butte (Day 22)

Active mining country (Day 22)

Mined hills of Butte (Day 23)

Continenta Divide hiking trail (Day 23)

Descent from pass #1 of the day (Day 23)

Views of the valley and the hills to come (Day 23)

Water source in an empty campground (Day 23)

Fleecer Ridge ascent (Day 23)

Looking over Fleecer Ridge descent (Day 23)

Cool breeze and hot sun; nutella and PB break on the ridge (Day 23)

The last section of THE Fleecer Ridge descent (and the only part Jenny rode) Day 23)

Parker Creek Camp in the morning (Day 24)

Breakfast at Wise River Club (Day 24)

The Pioneer Mountains (Day 24)

Views before the glorious downhill to Polaris (Day 24)

Sunset from Bannack State Park (Day 24)

The East Coast gang (Day 24)

The road leading out of Bannack....no shade in sight (Day 25)

Awesome diversity of birds (Day 25)

Beer break in the only shade for 50 miles before the big climb- a special treat (Day 25)

Crossing into another basin (Day 25)

Sunset from Morrison Lake (Day 25)

Moonrise from Morrison Lake (Day 25)

Canyons full of bat caves and swallows (Day 26)

Lunch with the crew in Lima (Day 26)

The reservoir outside Lima (Day 26)

Moonrise from our wetland campground (Day 26)

Breakfast courtesy of Jones Creek....clean water finally! (Day 27)

Nothing but abandoned houses for miles (Day 27)

..... (Day 27)

The wildlife refuge (Day 27)

Goodbye Montana! Picture of Hells Roaring Creek. (Day 27)

Idaho and 1,000 miles (Day 27)

Rest and relaxation at Mack's Inn (Day 27)

Les Femmes Francais (Day 28)

Warm River leading to camp (Day 28)

Fantastic Mr. Fox on the run (Day 28)

Impressive farmlands and Tetons from the Idaho side (Day 29)

Gorgeous lake filled to the brim with lily pads (Day 29)

mmmm....... (Day 29)

Jackson Lake (Day 30)

Sunset at the lake (Day 30)

Yogi (Day 30)

Ahh....how romantic. Bicycle kickstand (Day 30)

Rain. (Day 31)

More rain headed from the Tetons (Day 31)

First good turn on a rainy day (Day 31)

Postmaster Sara says "You looked like drowned rats!" (we preferred drowned swans...)

Thanks for a wonderful new memory Sara!!!

Wonderful breakfast at the Buffalo Valley Cafe (Day 32)

East from Togwotee Pass (Day 32)

Views into Wyoming and Shoshone National Forest (Day 32)

Far views of Togwotee Pass from the Union Pass approach (Day 32)

Dear Sara: this is what Union Pass looks like- you should visit it someday!

Views of the Wind River (Day 32)

Chasing the sun to camp (Day 32)

Seeing our camp for the first time in daylight (Day 33)

Wind River Brewing Distribution. "A beautiful sight."- Josh (Day 33)

Josh is amazed how many different types of flies he's seen in over 1,000 miles (Day 34)

Enjoying some of the first expansive views of....well, nothing (Day 34)

A common view of emptiness being beautiful (Day 34)

The last of the mountains for quite some time- Bridger Wilderness (Day 34)

Little Sandy Creek = nap and book (Day 34)

Little Sandy camp in the distance. A view of how rare water is Day 35)

Riding towards Atlantic City, which is.....somewhere. (Day 35)

Josh's flat #1 (Day 35)

Chatting with locals outside the community center (Day 35)

Filling up extra water reserves....so heavy, yet so important (Day 35)

Hard to believe this road goes somewhere worth going (Day 35)

Sweetwater Camp (Day 35)

6 am start of our 126 mile day (Day 36)

View of the early morning basin (Day 36)

Sunrise in the basin (Day 36)

Jenny approaching- she has no idea how much more her bum will hurt today  (Day 36)

Gravel road and pavement junction in the basin (Day 36)

No cars for 26 miles, all to ourselves....and the cows (Day 36)