Today did not go as planned. I had hoped to start riding at 5am in order to beat traffic out of the park. When I woke up it was 37F and I only brought spring/fall gloves. At 5:30, I tried to roll out but my hands could not take the cold. I waited inside the Grant Village Lodge lobby until 7, when I actually started my day.
I made it to Old Faithful about an hour before an eruption and waited until 20mins after the eruption to continue do that departure traffic would subside. Riding through the park continued to be high stress all the way to the exit. There were shoulders just large enough to fit a bike, but still required cars to move to pass safely. Many many cars passed too close. I especially had problems with wide trucks towing even wider campers. I suspect the drivers forgot that the camper is wider than the truck. I do not recommend riding through Yellowstone.
Luckily, things calmed down once out of the park. I met another cyclist headed the opposite direction at the grocery store in West Yellowstone and we shared a can of refried beans. The scenery past the park is beautiful and you can actually enjoy it instead of being hyper focussed on riding in the world’s straightest line.
The area past Yellowstone is prone to earthquakes and has a lake that is particularly famous for a major earthquake that tilted the lake and swallowed several campers.
About 25 miles from my campground, the wind really picked up. It was so intense I was struggling to go downhill. I decided that I would not make it to my campground by dark. I pulled into a private campground and checked my map for public land and I was already past everything that was near the main road. The closer areas had a lot of loose rock and did not seem practical or safe to camp on. I decided it was worth at least finding out how much camping at the private campground would be. I couldn’t find a staff member, so I asked a camper who looked like they knew things. The camper works for a Yellowstone tour company and they all camp here for the summer. They told me to check the office for the camp host, but to just pitch my tent anyway if she was not in. I could not find the camp host and she didn’t answer the phone, so I pitched my tent. Which was a struggle with the wind.
I also got to take a shower, which was very exciting.