Day 36, Lizard Creek Campground, Grand Teton Nat’l Park to Hatchet Resort, WY

Miles – 28

Ave Riding Speed – 6-25 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 3.5

Weather – Sunny and 84

We slept pretty good last night at the Lizard Creek Campground, with our bear spray lying between our sleeping bags in our tent. The sun was shining between the small pine trees of our camp when we woke up. We then rolled over and slept some more. Yesterday was pretty hard on us physically, but the mental toll from all the traffic through Yellowstone deserved a couple more hours of rest.

We were out of power on all our devices, so we estimate that we were up about 8:30am. We could also tell it was a little later than normal as I was able to walk around in a t-shirt instead of my winter jacket. I walked to the bathroom while brushing my teeth and met the new camp hosts. Bruce and Bonnie had the next few days off and they were cleaning there RV up for Bruce’s son, who was coming into town for some fishing.

I walked back to camp and took a look at my front tire. Flat! I turned my bike upside down and went to work. I pulled the tube and paid attention to keep the tire and tube in line so if I found a hole in the tube, I could trace it back to the tire. I pumped a little air back in the tube and did a quick visual and then I put my face up to the tube so I could feel, and maybe hear, air coming out. I found the very small hole.  After that I lined the tube up by the tire and began to run my finger through the inside of the tire. Bingo! I found the issue with my last two flats. It felt like a very small splinter. I looked and it was a little shining and thought I could grad it with my small plyers. Carefully grabbing the little nub, it pulled out easily, but now it was almost a half-inch long. Crazy as it wasn’t visible from the outside of the tire.

Bruce must have seen me from his RV and walked over carrying a mug of coffee. He smiled and asked if I found the problem. I showed him the silver metal piece of wire smaller in diameter than a office staple. I said I figure it was from a semi-truck tire that, as they have wire in them and we’ve come across quite a bit of it. Bruce asked us if we’d like a cup of coffee. We smiled back and said we’d love one. Kim walked back with him to help make it and they returned after I had my bike back together. Bruce brought his pump. I filled my tire the best I could.  We finished packing and said good-bye to our hosts and let them know that we appreciated their hospitality.

We figure it must have been 11am before we rolled out of the campground and heading south. Our first stop was south on Hwy 191/287/89 to the Coulter Bay area and getting something to eat. We pulled into a restaurant at a lodge and went inside. Anna, from Milli Lacs Lakes area, Minnesota, seated us near an outlet. She was taking the year off before deciding what college/career path she would seek out. We had burgers and split a salad. While we ate, I loaded the las couple days blogs and Kim searched for a place to stay. We found a motel/cabin deal about 18 miles down the road, past Moran Junction.

We arrived at Hatchet Resort about 3pm, an hour early for check-in, so we sat on benches in front of the small convenience shop/gas station/restaurant and made a few phone calls to the kids. We’re heading to the on-site restaurant for a small bite to eat. Looks like a small passing shower in coming in. I’m sure the locals are happy to see that.

Togwotee Pass is our early climb in the morning. It’s roughly 2,600 feet up, to 9,658. Should be interesting! We are planning on staying at a church in Dubois, WY, tomorrow night. They offer space to hiker/bikers inside the church and a goodwill offering. Accommodations through the July 4^th weekend are not looking so good. We may need to turn up the flexibility dial!