Back in Jackson Hot Springs I arranged to have my baggage tranported by van to Dillon. For several days -- Sula, Wisdom, and then Jackson Hot Springs -- I had been talking to Craig and Doug each evening. They are leading a group of 11 middle-school kids, from Palm Desert, California, on a two-week bicycling vacation in Montana. Each day, one of the adults bicycles with the kids while the other tags along in a support vehicle. When I realized that we were all going to Dillon, and that the route would involve two climbs -- through the Big Hole Pass and then Badger Pass -- I asked if they would let me throw my luggage in their trailer, which they did!
The climbs were still tough for me, but not nearly as exhausting as they would have been if I was hauling all my stuff.
This was an absolutely wonderful ride....each day seems to get better than the previous. The Big Hole, which I had never heard of before this trip, is an exceptional, remote, largely unpopulated region. As I was climbing through the passes I could frequently look back and see the road for many, many miles, without any cars or people in view.
After coming over the passes I had, of course, a long downhill ride into Dillon...very nice! And I saw my first prong-horn antelopes, grazing along with cattle on a ranch as I approached Dillon. They stayed still long enough for me to snap a picture with my phone camera (at too great a distance to be a good picture) but as I was getting out my good camera, with a 10x zoom, they took off. For those of you not familiar with this animal, they are the second fastest animal on earth, after the cheetah. So when I say they "took off" I mean it....they were out of range before I could get my good camera ready for a picture.
Dillon is a nice town. With a population of about 3,700, it is a big city in this neck of the woods. I am planning to spend two nights here, resting and using the library (as I am doing now).
I am having difficulting emailing photos to my daugher, who then posts them on the blog. But eventually I intend to include, below, three photos taken along the way.
Correction: In the post about the ride to Jackson Hot Springs I said that I started seeing prairie dogs. Someone near Dillon explained to me that these were actually gophers, which are similar to but smaller than prairie dogs.
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