I was up and at 'em early, ready to attack the two passes. Cycling so far had been pretty easy. I was ready for some real riding to test my mettle.

Riding was flat until I reached the intersection 5 miles down the road,taking the turn toward Jackson. Then the road took a definite uphill slant. There was very little traffic. Cows and horses grazed in the fields.

The first pass was Badger Pass at 6,760 ft. We had about five miles of down hill before the longer climb up to Big Hole Pass 7,360 ft. The climbs were both of reasonable grade, or maybe I was just in great shape! The terrain was mostly without trees and had open green grassy areas. There were a few aspen at the top of Big Hole Pass. Oregon John and Tom both caught me near the top of Big Hole Pass. We took a rest break at the top and ate our PB&J's.

The downhill wasn't as good as it could have been with headwinds. There were also mosquitoes to entertain us. I hadn't had much trouble with mosquitoes so far this trip. I did carry some bug repellent and stopped to apply it.

The map lists Jackson as having a population of 38. There were perhaps 6-8 buildings in town. This was the Fourth of July weekend and the town was full of motorcycles. All of them were staying where we were. Oh,boy. I did have a nice conversation with some riders outside of the hotel/restaurant/campground/hot springs. They compared my long wheel base recumbent to their Harley's. We agreed it was the same smooth ride. I was just human powered.

Jackson was quite chilly. I hurried through my housekeeping chores and took a shower. I was hungry and ate a grilled chicken sandwich at the restaurant. While I was waiting I read several newspaper articles on the infamous lodge. It seems two brothers inherited the building. They cut it in two and one brother hauled his half off. The remaining brother added a second story hot springs to the remaining lodge.

After the sandwich I changed into my swimsuit and took a dip in the pool. It was very, very hot and I could only stay in for brief periods. I tried different areas of the pool, but the entire pool was hot. I tried taking a nap pool side. It was a bit chilly out of the water and the mosquitoes were annoying.

Inga, the lodge owner, did allow camping, but did not allow cooking. Since the lodge restaurant was the only game in town, she had captive customers. $10. per day per person doesn't allow for restaurant meals. Ryan had negotiated a deal for our dinner - chicken sandwiches! Ah,well. It was good the first time too.After dinner we crossed the street to the little store and had ice cream. Had we been allowed to cook, the store had a fairly good selection of foodstuff.

We were camped in the backyard with two small full restrooms. There were a fair number of motorcycle riders camped also. Officially, we were in the area by the volleyball court. But in reality, we were all together. This proved to be a real issue all night long as one very drunk woman kept ranting the ENTIRE night. When I got up in the morning at 6 AM I was very tempted to start banging pots and pans loudly. The bar at the lodge had live music until some wee hour. Between the music and the crazy woman, I didn't feel as if I'd slept at all.

I slept with my long johns and balaclava on. I zipped my zero degree sleeping bag up rather than using it blanket style. I was still cold all night. In the morning there was heavy frost on my tent. I ate my oatmeal in the warm restroom. Ambiance at its finest. : )

Jackson, MT was out in the middle of nowhere. It was great. One of my favorite spots of the trip. I can't explain why. there were certainly negatives. The cold. The mosquitoes. The lack of sleep. Much of my pleasure came from having a good cycling day over two passes. I enjoyed the hot springs. It was just a really great place and I'd love to stay there again during our 2006 trip. I can't find the name of the lodge in the ACA maps or with a google search. That is strange. Ah, in another crazyguy journal, 25th Anniversary Tour, I've found the name of the lodge. Jackson Hot Springs Lodge. I feel better now. : )

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