July 1, 2003

We made it to Belknap Hot Springs at the base of McKenzie Pass. As this was to be a climb to be feared we would take a rest day here before tackling the mountain. The place was pretty nice, except for the tent area. This was pretty typical. It appears that people actually seem to think that tenters like to pitch their tent in the mud, on rocks, etc. You can see here that our view is that of the resort's backhoe. On the other hand, maybe they have prior experience with the antics of bicyclists. The hot springs were a little weird. You actually got into a swimming pool that was fed from the springs. Getting in was a little like getting in the pool at your swim club. You might do it slowly and try to become acclimated to the cold water, or you might take the plunge. Same thing here only it was hot water. Skippy found where it was feeding into the pool. I think you could get scalded there.

Belknap Hot Springs Belknap Camp Site Why Bicyclists get crappy sites

I brought back a couple of CDs of pictures and thought I would go back to where they start. Although I'm home now, you might enjoy the show. My plan is to do two or three a week. Sit back and enjoy.

Well the fellowship is broken (sorry Tolkien). After over 1200 miles, I've had enough. Bit off more than I could chew, etc. I flew home on Tuesday, July 22. The captain pedals on.

The trip was alright for awhile, even interesting. Perhaps, the monotonous scenery of western Oregon, Idaho; perhaps the heat (must have had 8 to 10 days in a row above 100, at least one 110F day). At any rate, I decided that I wasn't going to do the whole thing as we approached the 1000 mile mark. Of course at that point we were in the middle of nowhere, so I had to wait until we got to Missoula, Mt to quit.

We got into Missoula around 5PM on Friday, July 18, exactly 1 month since leaving Seattle and 1,215 miles later. That weekend we rented a car and drove up to Glacier National Park. More on that in subsequent posts.

I have the pictures that were taken up to that point and will be publishing more entries in the upcoming weeks. For now, I'm relaxing and getting back into normal life again.

Here's the latest progress map. Well into Montana and headed for Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming!

Here's the first two disks of pictures. Lots of great shots!
Bob's Disk #1:
Lin's Disk #1:
Note that there are multiple pages to each link, so be sure to hit the arrow in the upper right corner to view the next page.