A Word on Yellowstone

Shortly before leaving for China, Guy and Gal volunteered to help out with "The First Great Ride In The Last Great Place".

The event began in West Yellowstone at the beautiful community hall which was used for the registration of the 700 riders and 80 crew members, as well as the "welcome" dinner venue.

 Guy got hung up for awhile....

but eventually he and Gal got to the business at hand.

Over the next 2 days, people came from different directions, by different means to cycle the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

The participants were rewarded with good food, fun, entertainment and spectacular scenery.

At times, some of the riders would have liked to trade their saddles in for these, but the "caballos" were reserved for other tourists.

Gal was part of the "Course Monitor/Sag" team striving to keep the riders safe and going in the right direction, while Guy was answering questions and solving problems at the "Help Desk"

Or, so Gal thought.

Some of the vistas were softened by wild fire smoke.

The wildlife and friendly sags motivated the riders to carry on,

pausing long enough to take in the views of rivers cutting through deep gorges 

and crystallized cascades.

Greater Yellowstone is an area of unique geology,

small western agricultural communities,

and happy course monitors

pedaling up and down the mountainous byways.

Guy and Gal are off to see some sights in China, but are fortunate to have spent time in America's oldest national park before they went.