American Wonders and the Maiden of the North

18.5-18.6.2024

I woke up at dawn. After a good night's sleep, I found myself in a tent pitched in the mountains, as has usually happened on this trip. I pedaled along a nice little road over the rolling mountains. This road, at 2600 meters, had only recently been opened to car traffic after the winter.

I was far above sea level. So it was funny to see several cars pulling boats on trailers over the mountain.

What were the boats doing here? I found out that there were big fishing lakes nearby. I was now cycling through Strawberry reservoir, which was a huge. Despite the name, there weren't any strawberries this early in the spring .

I arrived in Heber City, where colorful flowers were blooming on the trees.

I now managed to buy bear spray. The salesperson at the camping store, like no one else before, didn't understand what I was talking about at all. Some words are extremely difficult to pronounce for Finns ex1actly so that an American would understand.

However, the store had a huge selection of different bear sprays on the shelves. It's a giant bottle like pepper spray that scares off an approaching bear, usually. I practiced removing the safety catch and aiming. I put it within reach of my hand on the handlebars so that I could pull it out in a couple of seconds if the situation required it.

On the outskirts of town rose a huge snow-capped mountain range. Behind it lied Salt Lake City. These mountains are particularly popular for skiing. The reason for this is found by observing local cars with license plates that say "Greatest snow on earth".

I got the explanation for this, that the dry air of the Rocky Mountains turns falling snow into perfect powder snow.

At the same time, the cities nestled in the mountains are pleasantly sunny all year round and the summers are long, at least compared to the bleak darkness of Finland.

I went to the city park to take some rest, where there were also other people picnicking on a warm summer day. The frosty beer in the bike bag whispered to its opener, but to my disappointment it got warm. Here you can't drink alcohol in public places and the penalties are severe.

I drove out of town for the night to camp on the side of a desert mountain, along a trail. I was very exhausted. I had been cycling here in the United States at about the same pace as in Patagonia, but now my body couldn't keep up with the pace.

The only explanatory factor was the sweltering heat and the high altitude. Being on average over 2 tons meters for long periods of time was exhausting for the body. Although the cycling went well, recovery was just slower and the cumulative load did its job.

I ended up taking an extra day of rest on this desert mountainside. Water was scarce, but I had bought so much fruits that the liquid in them saved me from having to descend back to the city.

Instead of the busy highway, I set off to pedal over a small mountain that was supposed to be full of mountain bike trails.

Surprisingly, on top of the mountain I found myself in the middle of an infrastructure construction site and big machinery. A worker came to tell me that a golf course was being built here. I wasn't allowed to move around on this blasting site and the mountain bike trails had already been swept away.

However, the car escorted me down the mountain to the right place, and I didn't have to go back.

I stopped at the supermarket in the small village to get a quick refill. The owner of the ranch, who where doing the the same thing, greeted me and said that he himself had traveled a lot by bike in Europe when he was young. I was invited to stay at his ranch for the night.

I had cycled quite a bit today, but I still had the courage to stop. It was also worth it. I got my own room with my own bathroom. This was a very rare opportunity to wash up.

I was also taken to the village diner restaurant, which was nicely decorated in an old-fashioned American style. We came along very well, because for some reason almost all the cyclists I met are very like-minded.

In the morning it was nice to continue the journey after this surprising meeting.

The destination was now Idaho Falls. My wife was arriving in Salt Lake City in a week and a half, so I could easily ride my bike directly to the neighboring city, which would allow me to arrive in time and well rested.

However, the 3-month visa waiver permit was tight, so if I wanted to reach Canada by bike alone, I would have to continue my journey much further. An intact route through America by muscle power was an obsession, so I set out to make it happen.

According to my plans, it is theoretically possible to cross the border to Canada from Idaho Falls after my wife's vacation. There are also bus connections to Salt Lake City from there, which I could use to organize the logistics of the vacation.

So the journey continued. In the prairie-like mountains, I saw a real cowboy herding cattle: leather boots, jeans, a giant shiny belt buckle, a proper collared shirt and a cowboy hat.

I also got to ride along an ancient cart path, which the first European peoples had used to travel to this side of the continent in the days of the Wild West. Then I got to Soda Springs. As its name suggests, there were carbonated springs here. A local host invited me to camp on the lawn right next to the springs. I then stayed here for a couple of nights to marvel and taste the famous spring water bubbling up from the ground, which was rumored to taste like beer.

Next, I arrived in Idaho Falls. I had found a promising place to stay for myself using the Warmshower app. It is a peer-to-peer service similar to couch surfing, but only for cyclists.

When I finally got there, I was really tired and exhausted from the heat. The family who was eagerly waiting for me had even bought electrolyte powders for emergencies and dinner was already being prepared.

I got my own room in a home, whose family of three was extremely nice and friendly. After a really fun evening, I went to bed with a full stomach. The host also took me to a local ice cream shop, where all the ice cream was made from scratch. In the morning, in addition to fresh pancakes, I was even surprised by canned fish, because the host had found out that people eat a lot of fish in my country.

I left my bike in the garage and was taken to the bus station by the host. The bus drove straight to Salt Lake City Airport, where I came to meet Jenny.

Here in the land of entertainment, there were others waiting in large numbers at the entrance gate for their acquaintances to arrive. Many groups had huge funny name signs, trying to embarrass their acquaintances, e.g. "Welcome back from the nudist camp".

We rented a basement apartment in the city for a week, which was great for day trips to the mountains and also for visiting the city center. I had already fallen in love with this Salt Lake City after watching the finnish tv-show Burgerimiehet Amerikassa.

Then we rented a peer-to-peer car for the rest of our vacation and set off to explore the wonders of the west for 10 days.

It was a long way from the city. On the congested 12-lane highway, drivers were speeding along, their stress hormones pumping. That kind of everyday rush seemed like a distant thought to me. I haven't been that busy in months.

In the evening we had gotten away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. Jenny was terrified as we climbed the little serpentine gravel road up the mountain. I ride these exact routes every day by bike, but now by car it was so effortless and easy. I was left to think about my own life choices.

We found a great tent spot on the top of the mountain towards the sunset.

In the morning we took a walk to the hot springs, where an impressively large snake also wriggled to stop by. Some people took pictures of the snake really close, which was a bit terrifying. However, we heard that it was a "toy snake" that was not poisonous.

The second day we drove to Canyonlands in the desert for the evening to camp.

This place reminded us a bit of the Grand Canyon, as it was formed by the same river.

The park ranger gave a very illustrative and entertaining presentation, made by himself, about how the canyon was created over time during different stages.

In the afternoon we explored the nearby Arches National Park. As the name suggests, there were gigantic stone arches with incredible shapes.

The heat was now really scorching and the car's thermometer showed over a hundred degrees! These Fahrenheit readings mean just under 40 Celsius. I could only leave the air-conditioned car for a maximum of half an hour at a time into the sun before my body started to twitch.

In the evening, we explored dinosaur tracks along the drive. This dry desert had once been a muddy beach where dinosaurs had scuttled for the last time, before the area was covered in ash, preserving the fresh tracks for 112 million years. Then erosion had exposed these tracks for us to see.

We pitched our tent on the Colorado side. It was here that I realized how well the name describes the state. I would describe the place as an Eldorado of colors.

The straight roads gave way to an exciting serpentine road that climbed over a steep mountain pass. We then arrived at Dinosaur Village National Monument.

This excavation is one of the most significant dinosaur discovery sites in the world.

Most of the bones have been taken to museums around the world, but the excavation has been beautifully preserved. We even got to touch a real, 150 million year old dinosaur bone.

We then drove a long day north towards the forested mountains of Wyoming. Along the way we found a quiet place to sleep for the car on the bank of a forested river. We had to drive further than planned, because the forest was being burned and the flames rising from it were really fierce and the air was too smoky.

In the morning we drove towards Jackson. Grand Teton, that majestically steep snowy mountain range, was gradually approaching. On the way, we had to listen to the Jackson song by Johnny Cash and June Carter a few times. The outdoor-spirited tourist camping village surprisingly reminded us of Lapland.

Based on the name, we chose Jenny Lake as our day trip destination.

The path went around the lake in a coniferous forest and the majestic mountains rose right in front of us. Nature was like Lapland on steroids.

Photo: Jenny with the Jenny Lake shirt at the Jenny Lake after the Jenny Lake loop.

We drove to Yellowstone for the evening. When we got there, we noticed that all the tent sites inside the national park were already sold out. The evening was starting to get dark and after a moment of wondering, we got an unofficial clue that you could spend the night in your car in the post office parking lot.

We folded the back seats down and there was just enough room to sleep in the back. In the evening, elk came to stroll along the parking lot peacefully and was often right next to the car.

I wondered if this was the same fearless individual that had licked the bike of a Japanese traveler I met all the way to slime and chewed on his shoes during the night.

In the morning, we watched the famous "Old Faithful " geyser erupt. On average, every hour and a half, it shoots 15-30 thousand liters of boiling water into the air.

During the hour-long walk, you could see countless other sites nearby, such as ponds spraying acid and mini-chimneys puffing steam.

This area is located on top of a supervolcano, from which these nearly 500 geysers originate.

Here in Yellowstone, the animal population density is enormous. All kinds of animals were constantly around, and they didn't really care about people.

We saw bisons, a big moose, and marmots.

The Yellowstone waterfall was amazingly perfect. The 94-meter-high waterfall was so harmonious that I thought it only existed in cartoons.

The park ranger also gave an interesting lecture at this viewpoint:

This particular place is where the entire national park was founded, and Yellowstone is the first national park in the United States.

At one time, an artist painted a picture of this waterfall that received a lot of attention. The name Yellowstone also comes from the yellow cliffs along this river.

The national park was established in 1872 after exploration of the area. No valuable natural resources, such as gold or diamonds, were found here. The terrain is also challenging, so the only option left was recreation. However, Native Americans had already lived here for at least 11,000 years.

We drove to Montana for the night. Then we drove a long day back south through Idaho. The route was straight and flat. Idaho is said to have good soil for growing potatoes and the license plate even says "Famous potatoes".

Also, every bag of chips and mashed potato powder always advertises that it is made from Idaho potatoes.

In the evening we took a dip in a hot spring in the small village of "Lava Hot Springs ".

We also stayed overnight in the car nearby. There were other people there resting overnight, as this is a fairly common way to travel in the country. We ordered a raspberry milkshake with a mound of goodness at the Bear Lake gas station. The employee used a special sleeve during the preparation so that the lumpy milkshake rose three inches above the edges of the cup. Even the cashier said, "Well, that that is big."

The politeness and entertaining nature of the cashiers here is great, because it always puts you in a good mood.

The milkshake tasted really real raspberry, and not at all like essence. The best I've ever had.

The spectacular route took us on a winding little road between steep mountains back to Utah, to the shores of a salt lake. The drive just to get from one place to another was forgotten, as the scenery was so amazing.

We arrived at the large Antelope Island in Salt Lake in the evening, where there would have been more to explore.

I tried to take a dip in the water, but it was freezing cold. The strong wind was also cold, and there was no real beach atmosphere. The sunset, however, was a great epic.

In the morning we returned the car. We had driven 2400 kilometers in 10 days. It was a small scratch of this country. Gas cost 70 cents per liter, which is only about a third of what it costs in Finland.

We took an Uber to the airport. Jenny jumped on a plane and I jumped on a bus to Idaho Falls.