AND THEN THIS HAPPENED

Leaving Walden, I felt like I was getting Russ’s cold.  Great, I thought. By the time I arrived at Saratoga Lake on Friday, I was well and truly sick: headache, congestion, sore throat, the whole package. When Russ arrived the next day, I sent him into town to get groceries: I was in no condition to get up, much less drive. He stayed overnight and took off the next morning for Rawlins, WY. 

That’s as close as igot to the lake
Stayed in the camper except to stagger outside with the dogs
At least there was a nice sunset!

Two days later, I felt a bit better, and left for an RV park 8 miles southeast of Lander, WY. Russ planned to stop but not to stay, as he would need to go all the way in to Lander in order to make the very long stretch to Dubois the next day.  

So much for well laid plans. That day, I lost my sense of smell—one of the symptoms of Covid. I’d brought a home test kit with me—it came out positive. 

Notify Russ, notify the camp host (the only person I’d been in close contact with in the last few days), call my brother Jeff, the doctor. Russ changed HIS travel plans, I got banned from using the showers or laundry at the RV park, and my brother told me not to panic unless I started getting short of breath.

Too bored to sit in my camper, I drove to nearby Sinks Canyon State Park, viewed the Popo-Agie River sink, and walked (slowly) around the nature trail. A beautiful area.

Popo-Agie River Sink
400+ million years of geologic history on that wall
Wobbly suspension bridge


Antelope Bitterbrush—important graze for antelope, deer, and sheep.
Deep blue larkspur
Oregon Grape—produces berries eaten by bear and moose
Such pretty lichen!
A beautiful tapestry of purple, yellow, white and green.
Aspen grove


Russ had just arrived when I returned, and we sat down to calculate our next steps. 

AND THEN THEY CLOSED YELLOWSTONE PARK. We would have reached Yellowstone this coming weekend, but now no one is allowed in, due to flood damage caused by heavy rains. More rain is expected, so there is no telling when the park will reopen. 

(On a brighter note, I can stop trying to find a campsite in Yellowstone over the weekend: a near impossible task.)

Before Russ could panic about the change, I called Adventure Cycling and got their alternate route, texted our tech-savvy friend CK, and asked him to send the new routes to Russ’s RideWithGps program. We will head south to Jackson, then west and north into Idaho to rejoin the route in the town of West Yellowstone. (Note to self: probably best not to try to find accommodations in West Yellowstone, since they’re evacuating everyone out of Yellowstone.)

I do have reservations Weds and Thurs in the town of Colter Bay, in Grand Teton National Park. As of today (Tuesday, June 14) they are still OK. Keep your fingers crossed.