The past week and a half has been a full force whirlwind of emotion, adventure, and scenery unlike any I’ve ever witnessed elsewhere in the world. While I originally intended to only stay in Sheridan for one night I was easily convinced to stay for another, and then for the entire week until the 3rd of July celebration at a ranch out in the countryside. After a much needed week off (my knees have been problematic but I just pretend they don’t exist so it’s alright) I ended up hitching a ride with fellow Couchsurfer David up into Yellowstone for a few days. Some people might view this as cheating, and while I’ve avoided accepting rides at any point up until now it was something I honestly felt was both right for the moment and would overall make the trip a more enjoyable experience. I will admit that I’m slightly down about missing two of the larger climbs of the trip (I’m not being sarcastic, I actually really enjoy insane climbs), but having someone to hang out and travel with for a few days was a welcome change after a mix of constant Hello, Goodbye’s in every town and Riding Solo for the past two months.

Needless to be said Yellowstone is breathtaking in its natural beauty, but unfortunately I found it to be somewhat floundered by the presence of constant traffic and an endless supply of tourists (the bad kind). As a visitor myself, I entirely understand why everyone wants to visit Yellowstone given the amount of unique and unparalleled scenery to be found, but it’s reaching the breaking point where the park service needs to implement stronger visitor population restrictions. As a national park its purpose is to remain as preserved as possible in its natural state for the benefit of future generations, a goal that will unfortunately remain only half fulfilled given its current visitor numbers (975,000 in July 2010 alone) and absurd extent of lodging developments situated throughout the park.

After spending two days travelling around Yellowstone with David I hit the road on my bike again, veering south past the park boundaries and directly into its neighbor, Grand Teton National Park. I find it odd how hyped Yellowstone is considering how incredibly more scenic I found its smaller cousin. While smaller and less “tourist friendly” with its lack of roads leading directly to parking lots next to every major attraction as is the case in Yellowstone, the breathtaking majesty that is the Grand Tetons across Lake Jackson is more than enough for me. Travelling along Park Road I found myself drifting through flat fields that intersect directly into the near perpendicular Tetons, a juxtaposition of horizontal and vertical landscape rarely found to such an extreme degree. With their steep snow-covered granite faces, the only comparison I can currently make is to the Swiss Alps, but even then they each have their own differences.

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