2) Arrivin' on a jet plane....Bike arrived in fine shape. Panniers are all packed and ready for the 10 mile ride into Jackson.
3) Paul the Bike Master master of all he surveys...the rest of the Divide Ride Dogs are inside having breakfast. (Paul joins in, of course.)
4) Is Carl paying homage to his bike as the trip begins?
5) Could this be Tom (Mad Dog)'s Wyoming home?
6) Group picture, Day 1. Tetons lunch stop at Moose, WY. Most of the Divide Ride Dogs, but not all.
7) Sometimes we walk. Carl and his bike reach the summit of Togwotee Pass (9,658').
8) Route planning. Susan studies the next day's route at Turpin Meadow campground.
9) Sometimes we hitch. Carl, Susan, Norma and Judy accept a ride up and over the last 8(?) miles of Union Pass (9,210').
10) Our rustic "camp." A sacrifice we felt compelled to make, staying inside; it was raining, and fresh grizzly bear scat was within 10' of the front door. Besides, the door was invitingly cracked open.
11) Contemplaing the cleaning of our night's lodging, apart from the rest of the group who camped at the top of Union Pass. Two small rooms, with a front door and back door (the better for grizzly visits in the middle of the night). And a good tin roof to hear the rain! Truly a case of leaving a place cleaner than when we found it.
12) Yummy! Grits for breakfast. Carl and Norma enjoy a hot breakfast of grits. (Breakfast choices being somewhere between slim to none considering what we were carrying while separated from the rest of the group.)
14) Al comes prepared to Whiskey Grove. He even offers to share his small supply.
15) Solar collection on a chilly morning. Whiskey Grove campground.
16) All lined up for the group food run in Pinedale, WY.
17) Sometimes we push. Outside of Boulder, WY. This is where we met Daisy.
18) Daisy and Carl. - the Divide Ride Dogs Plus One. My web page story describes our day with Daisy.
19) Wyoming! Cowboy on his horse, border collie herding cattle, mountains. What more could you ask for?
20) Is this Carl, a beaten man? Or merely someone carrying enough water for a 3-day bike ride across the Great Basin of Wyoming, while his bike awaits at the top of the hill?
20) On the road pannier fix at South Pass City, WY. Al and Carl (with my awe and appreciation and bits and pieces from Paul's fixit kit) fix my broken pannier rack-latch. (Photo by N. Ekberg.)
21) A different way to ride. Atlantic City, WY. Tom joins our new friend John while Melissa watches. Later, John invited the whole Dog kennel to camp out in his home for the night while he and his family left town. We were often the recipients of such kindnesses.
22) A magical herd in the middle of the Great Basin. (No, this isn't a telephoto shot...they were that close.)
23) Tie Drive sign. Historical information.
24) The Cora, WY, Post Office. About the only thing in Cora.
25) Inside the old Cora Post Office.
26) Ranch art.
26a) Desert camping. After pedaling over horrific washboard roads and through bike-toppling sand, this looked like heaven on earth at 6pm. (Photo by N. Ekberg.)
27) Sunset in Wyoming's Great Basin.
28) The Tire Master. Paul's usual good luck with tires....a flat before leaving camp. (Thorns right outside Ann & Paul's tent got both bikes.)
29) Traveling Tevas. Carl and Norm pack similarly.
30) Paul's kite soars above A&M reservoir (aka A&M big puddle).
31) The lunch wagon!! Rita and Dave drive out to meet the Dogs for lunch on the road prior to joining the trip the next day, supplying sub-style sandwiches, drinks, chips. Guard Dog (Rita) takes her moniker very seriously (guarding the pack and caring for it), and we were all thrilled to see the lunch wagon drive up.
32) Very appreciative riders. Al, Carl and Susan enjoy lunch.
33) The Rawlins Continental Divide.
34) Chores for a day off. Paul and Ann do laundry. (Along with the rest of us who hung out at the Rawlins laundromat for quite awhile.)
35) A REAL Bike shop of a bygone era. Rawlins, WY.
36) "Will Mow For Dough." And he did! Check out that loaded bike - panniers AND B.O.B. trailer AND the reel mower.
37) Serious map work. Is Rita pondering how much dinner to eat based on the next day's route? Dirtyman Fork where we enjoyed a soul-satisfying pre-dinner dip in an ole swimmin' hole.
38) Al The Pizza Man (love that Outback Oven!) Post-swimming appetizer.
39) Look at those TREES! After days in the desert, they looked pretty damn good.
41) Aspen Alley.
42) Cheesecake for dessert. How hard can this camping life be? Norma, Tom, Melissa and Paul dig in. Savery, WY.
43) All the Dogs.
44) All the Mascots.
46) Sore Saddle Cyclery, Steamboat Springs, CO. A very "interesting" building housing an incredibly knowledgeable and "customer service" oriented staff.
48) The Alan Bubna Memorial Mile. An honorary stop at Party Dog's sponsored mile.
48) Sometimes another camping spot looks better....
49) The rain goddess logo. Surreptiously placed on my pannier one morning.
50) Where are we? How could Tom and Melissa possibly be confused?
51) Melissa and her new phone. A doggie joke about Melissa and her proclivities for phoning home.
52) Daily water filtering chore. Tom, Melissa, Paul and Ann filter water at Williams Fork Reservoir.
53) On to Ute Pass. Norm gets ready to pedal up Ute Pass (9,524').
54) Silverthorne, CO. We're there!!
54a) Our final dinner with many, but not all, of the Dogs present.
55) Bye 'til next year. Paul and Melissa hug goodbye.
56) Bye bye, Big Duck. The party's over. Big Duck gets ready to go home.
57a) Outta here. Rita and Dave head out of Silverthorne.
58) Are Norm and Tom really THAT happy to be leaving?
59) Leavin' on a jet plane, from Denver.
Late updated: November 15, 1999.
