"We dun did it" Pete Moss June 2017
Well, we could not have picked a better week to slip out of St. George and head to Rapid City, South Dakota. With temperatures reaching 110 in STG, the 75 degree highs in S.D. were welcome relief. It also made the daily mountain bike rides comfortable. It was also Father's Day Weekend so what better way to show our love than to take Pete on a rigorous, treacherous mountain biking trip.
We picked Pete up at 3 AM and started our 14 hour drive. We did not hit him with the Dramamine/Benedryl cocktail as it was unnecessary. He was fast asleep soon after we left. The drive was fortunately uneventful but did not pass by nearly fast enough. We eventually entered Wyoming where we spotted numerous pronghorn (antelope) along the side of the highway. There is not a lot to see in Wyoming but wide open space. When we entered S.D. the scenery changed to rocks and rolling hills, our riding terrain for the next 5 days. We also saw an occasional buffalo which excited Pete. We eventually got to our hotel and then went to eat at the Firehouse Brewery.
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| Dave shows his love for Pete. Pete does not reciprocate! |
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| Dave and Julie |
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| Dave and Julie's child, Pete! |
Early Monday morning we met up with the Western Spirit guides, Terrin and Chris as well as the rest of the riders which included Dave's much older brother Randy and his lovely wife Lynne. There was also a lovely family from Vermont and a fun couple from Salt Lake City. "We" (actually Terrin and Chris) packed the truck with bikes and belongings and soon we were on our way to Mt. Rushmore.
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| "We" packed and unpacked the truck each day of the trip. |
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| L to R: Pete, Lynne, Dave, Randy and Julie |
And off we go! First stop Mount Rushmore. If you have never been there, it is a must. Not only is it a tribute to four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt and Lincoln), but it is also example of what is possible if you have a vision and the tenacity to carry in out against overwhelming odds.
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| Dave and Julie with four others... |
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| Dave, Pete and Julie |
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| Dave and Julie being photo bombed by Terrin, Pete and I think Randy. |
We have been on a number of Western Spirit trips and have enjoyed them all. If you are interested, you should check out there website. The guides haul all your junk while you ride your bike. Once in camp they cook amazing meals. Terrin and Chris made our trip one of the most enjoyable trips we have gone on. Terrin's enthusiastic and bubbly personality was so nice to be around. When we headed off on each ride she would shout "I will miss you!" and honestly sounded like she meant it. She also cheered us on when the going got tough and her laugh was contagious. Chris was a bit more subdued (as are most human beings relative to Terrin), but was patient, helpful and caring. Did I mention they are getting married?!!! September 16th!!!
After Mt. Rushmore we drove to our starting point where we would ride the rest of the way from lake to lake up hills, through streams and across vast meadows. We even road through a green tunnel which is exactly that, grass as high as your handlebars with a very narrow trail somewhere below when you could find it. Now for some pictures from our ride....
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| Starting point. Beautiful Skies! |
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| Pete on the trail |
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| Bridge crossing |
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| One day we had 42 crossing!!! |
Day 3 of the trip was entitled "A river runs through it" which was apropos given the 42 stream crossing we encountered. As you can see from the picture, most of the bridges were substantial and could be ridden if you could make the foot or more step up to get on it. We also elected to ride through the stream which was anywhere from tricky to dangerous depending on rocks. Each crossing was guaranteed to wet your feet if not your entire body depending what happened. My motto, "Once you get went it can't get any worse"... The trails were not extremely technical, although there was a half mile section where we were required to walk our bikes to avoid death and destruction. We ended up mostly carrying them as the trail was narrow, covered in large sharp rocks, downed trees and other various debris. Otherwise the trails were lovely.
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| The scenery on the ride was absolutely gorgeous! So was countryside. |
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| For Michael P. |
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| Abandoned Rail Tunnel |
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| Us! |
Food! The real reason for going on a Western Spirit trip is the food. I watched them prepare the food on grills, in a Dutch Oven or with a propane flame thrower, but I honestly do not know how they do it. The food is amazing and there is a LOT of it. Just ask Pete who had seconds and thirds of everything and still managed to lose a pound on the trip!
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| Dutch Oven Cooking |
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| Carrot Cake! That is a vegetable isn't it? |
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| Finished carrot cake. |
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| Pete ENJOYING another meal/ |
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Soft Tacos
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| Pete and Dave |
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| Pete had the time of his life. He also got his first bath on the trip, thankfully. |
On the third day we rode a pontoon boat around the lake. We also got to tube as the boat driver did everything she could to throw us off! What fun!
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| YOWZA! |
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| Pete, look at the camera! |
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| Terrin and Julie mixing it up |
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Terrin hamming it up in her fancy jacket.
Julie ordered one as soon as we had connectivity. |
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| George and Pete from Vermont. Two of the nicest young men you will ever meet. They gave me hope for the future! |
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| Bobcat ATTACKS! |
One last thing... Pete was lagging the group on the trail when a bobcat came out and attacked him. Fortunately he was going fast enough to escape serious injury, but did sustain a nasty scratch on the back of his leg. At least that is what we texted Cookie with the attached picture. Shortly there after we lost connectivity. The next day when we were able to text we sent her a note that Pete had been sprayed by a skunk! Once again we lost connectivity. On the last day as we were starting home we picked up a voice message from Cookie...
"Pete, where are you? I miss you so much. I'm so lonely... Call me please..."
I thought how sweet, after all this time she still misses him when they are apart. Well, we finally called Cookie and put Pete on the line.
"Paul, the TV is not working!!! No, How are you? How is your leg? Are you ok after the skunk spray.... I would even have accepted how is the trip going? But NOooo, just complaining about the TV. Paul helped her with the TV and she hung up. So much for everlasting love.
