Big Sky and a National Park

Location: West Yellowstone, MT

Hey everyone! This post is going to be a bit short(er) since someone is waiting for the computer. (It's the only one with a satellite connection so it works when nobody has wifi.)

So I'm not going to bore you with how amazing the scenery is. Even though it really is. Yesterday we got a tour of Bozeman's Eagle Mount facility, which was incredible. They have recreational and therapeutic activities for people with all sorts of disabilities; from swimming to horseback riding to downhill skiing (and so much more), they have tons of programs and as many ways to get people involved no matter what their disability might entail. I was pretty impressed, and they loved what we were doing -- it was the Journey of Hope's fourth time through there. After dinner and a tour, I got to pet and feed some horses. I felt like I was twelve. (Awesome creatures, those.)

I guess what I've yet to mention is how a typical JOH day works:

• We usually get up early, about 5:30 or 6:00, and get 30 minutes to pack up our things and get dressed.
  
• Then another 30 minutes is dedicated to breakfast which usually consists of off-brand cereal, an off-brand toaster pastry, half of a bagel, a splash of juice, and...if we're lucky...part of a banana. Not fancy by any means but it's loads of carbs and cheap (we don't have much of a budget I guess).
• We circle up for briefing about the day's ride where we learn about the length, terrain, checkpoints (if any).
• After that, we have Disability of the Day where someone researches a disability and tells the team about it.
• The Dedication comes next, where we name someone we've met or someone we should be thinking about when the ride gets tough. For example, one day happened to be a team member's friend's last day of chemotherapy, so we dedicated the ride to her; or also we heard about a Bob Mortimer who is cycling cross country as well -- only he is a triple-amputee and has a specialized bike which he cranks with his arm. (He was just north of us on Highway 2 the other day when a friend of his pulled up to our crew stop and we swapped stories. Kinda makes one feel lame to be bitching and moaning about how hard the ride is when one has all four limbs still!) Most often, though, it's someone we've met at a friendship visit earlier in the week.
  
• Then we take volunteers for the Sweeps positions. They're the two guys in the very back; they wear orange vests that say "Cyclists Ahead" on the back, and no cyclist falls behind them. Helps to denote the end of the pack.
• Then we split up into our pace lines of four or five guys and we're off! The pace lines are sent separately so we don't all get bunched up into one long mass of cyclists.
• There are crew stops about every 10 miles where we can fill up on water or grab a Clif Bar or packet of cheese crackers. It's also a good chance to rest the legs or stretch, so the days aren't as bad as they COULD be.
• If we have a long ride, or if nobody is sponsoring lunch, we have another crew-provided lunch: a sandwich (either PBJ or processed meat-and-cheese), chips, and sometimes a treat like an Little Debbie oatmeal cream pie. Or a ton of fried chicken that was leftover from a friendship visit like we've had for the past couple days. (I'll be happy not to see another piece of fried chicken until after the trip.)
• Lastly, we arrive at lodging and set up our things, get showered (we've had no warm water in our showers the past couple days...) and head out to our programmed activities, whether it be a friendship visit or a sponsored dinner. Then it's back to lodging where we have some free time to do whatever (I like to read)...then lights out and ZzZzZzZzZ...

That's pretty much it!

I also don't have a camera with me, but we have a team historian and he's taking lots of 'em. We also have journal entries for every day on the Push America Website.

Journals (Click "Team Journal Entry" on the right):
http://pushamerica.org/events/te_itinerary.cfm?ride_code=JOH&route=Trans
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pushamerica/collections/72157604901121186/
(...the journal entries also have links to the photos from that day.)

Okay I've spent time enough. We have a day off soon (I hope) so I'll write more then. I'm sure I'll have plenty more to say about Yellowstone National Park -- we get to ride through and do some sightseeing tomorrow!! I can't wait. Well, if it means a few more hours of sleep, I can...