Ridge of the Rockies - W Yellowstone to Ennis MT

We are in Montana now - home of huckleberries and the big sky.  Continuing to be blessed with great weather, the tour took us from West Yellowstone to the little town of Ennis MT, where our accommodations are small cabins.

The route was relatively short - 71 miles, with about 3,000 feet of climbing.  This is about the same as the training ride I go on the most frequently, except the training ride has many more turns and a lot of short climbs instead of long gradual ascents.

A good part of the route goes along the shore of Quake Lake.  This lake was formed by a massive landslide caused by an earthquake in August 1959.  The Madison River was blocked by the slide and 28 people lost their lives.  The Army Corps of Engineers worked to create a spillway for the dam.

The course followed US 287, so navigation was pretty straightforward.  We did have some crosswinds and headwinds to deal with, but more annoying was trying to ride on a strip of pavement about 4 inches wide (what was left after the rumble strip was added to the shoulder).

Quake Lake

Quake Lake

US 287 going toward Ennis

Jack climbing a grade

This part of the shoulder of US 287 isn't bad, but imagine that pavement to the right of the rumble strip being about half as wide, and that is what we had for the last 15 miles