May 20, 2015

Day 63: Cody

Phew ... So the night passed without incident; I was neither discovered by human nor bear! But on the way out I nearly bumped into a guy walking his two dogs in the campground: I managed to hide before either he or his dogs spotted me, and at the entrance I nonchalantly passed by an older official looking woman, wishing her a good morning.

But oh boy was it a cold morning. So it was straight to the Yellowstone Lake Hotel for breakfast and some warmth.

Back on the road, the was a strong cold north easterly wind, and I was mainly travelling in an easterly direction!. At the summit of Sylvan Pass I donned maximum clothing for a chilly descent into the Yellowstone Valley: A most pleasant ride, which obviously would have been even better if the sun would make an appearance.

Unfortunately, instead of the weather improving it deteriorated. However, I was nearing my planned destination, approximately 20 miles west of Cody, and as i pulled in it started to rain: A shower is what I was thinking). But no, it was most definately was rain, which meant that Plan B, to camp at the State Park was looking much less appealing (Plan A was to stay at my current location, but a $30 to pitch a tent, I abandoned it). So Plan C was hastily hatched ... to ride on to Cody (20 miles), which was supposed to be the following day's easy ride to give me some time to visit Wild Bill Museum of the West, and the town itself.

So here I am in Cody having gotten soaked through to the under garments, but with only feet having become very cold. It has rained all evening (currently 11pm). So I'm pleased that I'm in a motel and dry, but disappointed because these additional days I am spending in motels is very much outwith my budget. Hopefully, when the better weather does eventually arrive, I can get back on budget: I'm currently 10%-15% over budget.