Today is a day of tootling! We tootle around the hotel room, knowing it is only an easy 14 miles to our campsite. We tootle into Yellowstone National Park, and remain unfazed by the first traffic jam of the trip so far at the park entrance. We stop at every information sign along those 14 miles to Madison and even make time for a short walk through the bush fire damaged woods, marveling at the length of recovery time, the fire was in 88, I guess the pine trees are tootlers too! With gear all unloaded, we take off to explore on bikes that feel light and jumpy, legs that feel strong and heart's full of excitement. We are not disappointed, the vast size of the park is awe inspiring, we stop to admire pools of blue blue water, edged by orange with sulfurous steam rising from the constant bubbling of the near boiling water. We join the throngs to view waterfalls, but leave them all behind for a hike upwards for a view of the edge of the caldera. We spot a herd of elk, are surprised by a marmot, and have the rare pleasure of the curiosity of a weasel, interspersed with plenty of cute little squirrels and chipmunks. The hiker/biker sites at the campground turn out to be just that and we are joined by Steve, originally from Nottingham, and thankfully still in possession of his excellent British sense of humour, sarcasm and a cynical eye have been rare to find amongst the locals. And Alex, riding to university in Chicago, post grad in Fine Arts, and writing a book, being brave and doing what he loves. An excellent evening of warm fire, full moon, the howls of coyotes and a random group of people with bikes and good conversation.
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