Missoula Montana

Life on the bicycle highway has been real good lately.
I'd post pictures but I don't really have to time to let them all load right now, if were facebook friends well then you'll probably see them all by now.
     Since jackson I've been riding through some of the most scenic countryside I have ever experienced in my life.  It's hard to just keep riding some day because all I want to do is stop and take pictures.  Along with the incredible riding and camping and swiming in rivers everyday, I've been meeting all sorts of really great people.
     Riding through the teton national park introduced me to a young couple riding the great divide mountain bike trail and re introduced me to chris riley, who I rode with a few days in Kansas and hadn't seen since.  Him and I Rode into Yellowstone National park together.  It rained later that day so I didn't get much sight seeing in, and decided to set up camp at the first campground you come to upon entering the park from the south.  This was the first time since leaving Richmond that I actually paid to camp somewhere. I'm pretty proud of that.  I have since had to pay two more times. Bringing my tally to THREE paid campsites from the atlantic coast to here. NOT BAD if I do say so...
    Anyways, I shared that first site with another mountain bike traveler off route of the great divide mountain bike trail and we really got along well.  The next day we rode all over the southern area of yellowstone together.  Watched Old Faithful shoot off twice, and explored all the different thermal pools and geysers we could find.  Saw Bison, Heard a pack of Wolves, and ended our day fly fishing(he was traveling with a rod) and swimming in the Madison River.  Along the shore were piles of Bison poop the size of frisbees...
     We parted ways halfway through the morning of the next day. Crossed into montana together and reached the tourist trap town of "west yellowstone" which was where I went North and he continued west. We toasted with a shot of Whiskey outside a grocery to a solid two days of exploring and hanging out.
     I have since been riding my way through the state of montana, probably my favorite state of bicycling and camping so far. There are mountains in every direction split apart by long wide valleys. Natural Hot Springs and Cold rivers every which way, And nice friendly people that live along the roads I've been riding that move over when passing me on the road, wave, or give thumbs up when passing me while I'm Pushing hard over a pass.  Historically it's packed as well.  I'm following most of what was part of the Lewis and clark expedition. So there are mile markers with info about the area all over the place. Thanks to a zine I read a year ago i've been educated about the Nez Perce Indian Tribe that Lived in the area for a very long time.
     Climbing up and over Chief Joseph's pass was a highlight of my life.  It was a 10 mile climb up followed by a 30 mile downhill...  The first 8 miles were at a 6% grade allowing me to coast the entire 8 miles and never drop below 30 mph... I pulled over a mile down where I was along the boarder of Idaho and Montana, put on a full album to listen to on my ipod and then surfed my way down the next 7.5 miles with only 2 cars passing me the entire time...  That day was ended by swimming around in the river that ran along the camping area I stayed at. besides the many mosquito bites I acquired that evening, it was a pretty perfect day.
     So anyways, Im currently in Missoula, Montana.  It's rad here.  I'm stuck for a few days waiting for DZR to send me a new pair of kicks due to some issues I have had with the pair i've been wearing. But there are way worse places to be stuck... So far I've really come to like this town and can see why people want to live way up here in the mountains. I've been lucky enough to meet some friends of friends and am staying with them a few days. This is also the town where Adventure cycling association is located so seeing traveling bikers on a daily is a pretty common thing around here.  I've had fun meeting a few and sharing stories about the roads that lie ahead of us.
     I see myself being here till at least tomorrow or the next day, then I am less then 600 miles from the city of Portland and I have a beautiful ride between here and there. I'm excited to see what's next.