This was a day I'd been looking forward to the entire trip - crossing the Continental Divide. We got a pretty good start riding out of the park with Frank who was going on to spend a few days in Yellowstone National Park. We scouted for wildlife, took some pictures, and really enjoyed our last morning in the Tetons. The climb up Togwotee Pass was steady and a bit longer than expected from Moran Junction (25 miles). The top was not as dramatic as we expected. Once we stopped, we felt the cold and wind. The descent was long, rolling and introduced us to some of the volatile weather. We met Jan, a cyclist from the Netherlands, who had taken shelter in some trees. Gusty winds and rain forced Eddie and I to dodge into the woods for shelter at one point. Hinding like 2 gnomes in yellow jackets, we were spotted by Dave and Don (father/son) from Amherst, MA heading up the pass. Jan zipped by and we followed braving the rainy and windy 30 miles into Dubois. We saw Carter drive by. He left work in Jackson to meet us in Dubois. Before reaching Dubois, we stopped for lunch only to be hissed at by an ornery badger, which added to the moose, pronghorn, deer, and rabbits we'd already seen that day. Carter introduced us to his friends and the Rustic Pine - a bar in town with dead animals and fish proudly mounted on its walls.

I've been looking at the topographic map of the continental divide now for about 4 months. What I saw was a sharp peak, a citadel of rock that reaches skyward. Beyond the Divide the land drops sharply to the large basin of the middle of the country. It almost seems that on a clear day you could see the Atlantic. It looks dramatic.

Riding out of the Park, we left Frank on his way to Yellowstone and headed west to Togwotee Pass. The sky was foreboding and the climb was gentle but long. We were riding skyward and my dreams of looking east from the top of some rock outcropping were vivid in my mind. Slowly a sign appeared and as we rode closer it stated that that location that unimaginative normal looking field with no grand vistas was the Continental Divide (9600+ ft above sea level). I acquiesced to reality. This must be it.

Not only did it not live up to my dreams but we then had to go forward for a number of more miles before reaching the top of the pass to start our descent into Dubois. I have to admit that the descent was satisfying even with the freezing rain stinging our faces. It was amazing to have moved from the Grand Teton range over the Continental Divide, through Alpine forests, sage brush and now badlands. Wyoming has my heart but she is a coy little (bleep).