I've Got Spurs, That Jingle, Jangle Jingle

Friday, September 1. West Yellowstone, MT to Ennis, MT. As we left town this morning, we encountered road construction right at the edge of town. We didn't have to wait long for the pilot car, though. Seems that there was a "government horse" with colic that needed to get to the vets. We had about 9 miles of smooth, new pavement before turning left to stay on Hwy 287. This is ranch country, and many times the only evidence is the log ranch gates with the ranch's name hanging from a wooden sign over the top beam. If these ranches have houses or barns, they're hidden back in the hills. I saw a ranch gate that identified the Lonesome Dove Ranch, but it looked more like a "ranchette" than a working ranch.

We soon found ourselves riding next to Hebgen Lake. This area is famous for a 1959 earthquake--an earthquake that was so powerful that it changed many of the geological features of Yellowstone Park.

Hebgen Lake is quite large, and we rode alongside of it for quite some time. It's a really picturesque area. Hebgen lake is held back by a dam, which held during the earthquake, but a mountain lost its footing and slid into the Madison River, blocking its route. The Corps of Engineers quickly opened up a channel to avoid flooding, and Quake Lake was formed. So now there are two lakes to enjoy right in the Madison River valley.

As we neared the Visitor Center, it's pretty obvious which mountain fell down. The rocks have been cleared off the road, but the rockslide is still very visible on either side of the road.

Today's ride is a long one--about 73 miles, with almost no services in between. Last night's weather forcasted SE 10-15mph winds. Today's reality is NW 15-20pmh--guess which way we're heading?

We stopped at an RV park after about 30 miles, but the cafe didn't open until 3pm--it was 2pm. We had made sandwiches before we left in the morning, so we had lunch on the cafe's porch. While we were resting, a man pulled up and announced that he was thinking of buying the place. "There's potential RV sites; it can only get busier" was his comment. Apparently, $3 for a gallon of gas isn't slowing down the RV traffic.

The map's profile showed a gradual descent into Ennis after the pass at the Visitor Center, but we found a couple of long uphills. Coupled with the headwind, we were having a grand day in the saddle. We finally reached Cameron, which is the first town after West Yellowston--62 miles after West Yellowstone. There's not much there--a Post Office, and a combination saloon, cafe, c-store, cabins and RV park. Of course we stopped in at the c-store for a snack; but as soon as we'd made our purchase we had to escape outside because of the dense cloud of cigarette smoke. MT law prohibits smoking in restaurants (yippee!), but everything else is fair game.

And speaking of fair game, the c-store had provided special restrooms for the local deer population. Doors labelled Doe and Buck were also labelled "For Customers Only". Deer? Do they get a lot of walk-in traffic?

After our snack, it's just 11 miles to Ennis. The shoulder has turned into a 3-foot obstacle course. Take your pick trying to ride the 6 inches between the white line and a 12-inch rumble strip or the 12 inches on the right side of the rumble strip that slopes precariously down the hillside. Oh golly this is fun--I can't wait to see what awaits us in Ennis. I still can hardly believe that we're riding our bicycles through Montana, but the song in my head is "I've Got Spurs, That Jingle, Jangle Jingle". I remember words from my childhood, which may or may not be the actual lyrics: I've got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle, as I go riding merrily along. And they sing "oh ain't you glad you're single"--and that song ain't so very far from wrong. Anyone know the next verse? Later I hear Matthew humming "Drifting Along with the Tumbling Tumbleweeds", but he tells me that during the ride, the song in his head is Frank Sinatra singing "Ain't That A Kick In The Head".

At a bend in the road, we saw a bunch of cars off to the side of the road, looking suspiciously like a Yellowstone wildlife sighting. It is. A black bear is reported to be visible in the foothills behind us. I don't see it, but I do run off the shoulder trying to look. So we stop and I still can't see it, but Matthew does. So now I guess the only major wildlife we've missed are moose. Maybe that's what waiting for us in Ennis.

About a half-mile outside of town, we see two very nice looking hotel/resorts, but there's no restaurants nearby, so we continue on into town. Just at the eastern edge of town is the Riverside Motel. It's right next to the Madison River, and looks pretty nice. What we don't know at this point is that there's big doings in Ennis this weekend--it's the annual Madison River Fly Fishing Festival (Tie One On). I don't know if the motel attendant felt sorry for us because I crashed in the 4 inches of soft gravel that covers their parking lot, but we do get their last cabin for half-price. The cabin sleeps six and has a full kitchen, including a single bed. There's a living room with pull-out sofa and another single bed, but we decide to sleep in the one single-purpose room--a bedroom with a double-bed and direct access to the bathroom.

Once we get cleaned up, we walked into town for dinner. The town has two Chinese restaurants, both of which have been recommended by the motel staff. Interestingly, both of the restaurants are inside the town's saloons. We chose the Chinese Garden (just through the Longhorn Saloon, they'll seat you shortly), and were pleasantly surprised by the large selection and great-tasting food. My fortune cookie says: "Everything will now come your way". At first I'm thrilled, but then I remember that headwinds and moose are in the category of "everything". Matthew's fortune reads "You have a winning way. Keep it." Good advice, I guess.

Ennis is a cute Western town, and one of the few we've seen lately with a movie theater (other than the IMAX). The pharmacy also claims to have a real marble soda fountain inside the pharmacy's cafe. We'll check it out for breakfast in the morning. I really can't wait to just sleep--today's long ride against the wind with no real breaks has left me doggone tired.