America's crown jewels - her national parks

May 24, 6:07 PMBoise International Travel ExaminerNancy Sathre-Vogel

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Cycling Teton National Park is incredible!

Editor's Note:  This is one article in an ongoing series of articles about my family's bike trip from Alaska to Argentina as my boys try to break the Guiness world record as the youngest people to cycle the Pan American Highway.

Spare tires? Check

Spare parts to rebuild the bikes? Check

Tent in working order? Check

Rain gear? Check

Passports? Check

We’ve been checking our list and checking it twice – gotta make sure we’re prepared for life south of the border. Bike shops will be few and far between. Replacement parts will be hard to come by. Life will be an adventure.

We’ve managed to make it to El Paso – more than 5000 miles from our starting point and just a stone’s throw away from Mexico – and are busy with all kinds of last minute preparations. It seems like nary a day goes by when I don’t think of yet another thing we need to buy, another email we need to send out, or another errand we have to run. Will we ever truly be ‘ready’ to head south?

It’s been a long journey through the USA to get here, and I feel like we’ve been putting out wildfires one after another since we entered our home country. John’s wheels have been rebuilt four times since entering the US (yes – you read that right), we’ve replaced brakes and brake pads, and we’ve spent a small fortune and oodles of time on shipping parts here and there. But I think we’re finally ready – ready to push on and get to know more of our wonderful world.

Our entire journey south from Alaska has been one of transition, but no place more so than here in mainland America. Way up north, in Montana, we cycled through mountains while surrounded by thick, dense forests. Now, at the southern end of the United States, we’re pedaling through desert filled with cacti of every conceivable sort. We’ve watched the terrain and vegetation change slowly, gradually, as we pedaled southward, reminding us constantly of just how varied this country of ours really is.

But the challenges we’ve faced pale in comparison with the good times. As we’ve made our way south through the United States, we’ve encountered more good people than we could have imagined, seen the most fantastic scenery ever, and had experienced all that America has to offer.

Perhaps the crown jewel of the United States is her national parks, and we’ve been privileged to visit quite of few in the past months. Glacier National Park in Montana challenged us with her Going-to-the-Sun Road topping out at 6,646 feet. And yet the spectacular views of the parks highest mountains kept us so enthralled and awed that the climb didn’t seem nearly as bad as we would have expected. It wasn’t until we snaked our way down the other side that we truly appreciated the extent of what we had already climbed up!

The next jewel we visited was Yellowstone – long known as one of the most fascinating places on earth. All four of us pedaled in awe as we watched steam hiss and spit from the ground, mud pots boil like witch’s cauldrons, and geysers shoot into the air like a gigantic soda bottle suddenly released. But what impressed me even more than those were the intense colors all around – deep turquoise blue in the deepest parts of the hot springs fading to jade green as the water grew shallower. Heat loving bacteria called thermophiles hugged the banks of hot springs, coloring the ground with bright, sunshine yellow right next to the water and fading gradually to intense orange as the heat level decreased farther away. The artist in me wanted to somehow scoop up the colors and keep them forever – and I did my best to imprint them in my mind’s eye for future reference.

Grand Teton National Park was next in line, and she was just as awe-inspiring as the rest. We slowly pedaled through a flat, easy valley right on the edge of the magnificent mountains – and I was ever so grateful for the unique geographic situation. The Tetons rise from the flat valley with no foothills whatsoever, affording incredible views of enormous mountains without having to sweat and grunt to get up in them. Fall was in the air, and there were times when we were simply overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding us – both in terms of the grandiose mountains and the sheer intensity of color from changing leaves.

Time passed and our wheels rolled until we found ourselves at Canyonlands National Park in Utah with its unique sandstone canyon to rival the Grand Canyon. We pedaled along the rim, marveling at the enormity of the canyon. I will admit that the thought occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, I was looking at a gigantic scratch in the earth’s surface made by some kind of ‘Dr. Suess-ish’ spaceship of fantastic proportions.

A few miles later, we entered Arches National Park and were astounded all over again – Dr. Suess had been at work with some kind of magical drill making colossal holes in the rocks. My sons had a blast climbing up and through the natural stone arches and scampering around the intriguing sandstone formations.

I am feeling more and more thankful with each passing day that we are having the opportunity to get to know our world. We’re seeing the world in the best possible way – up close and personal – and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, there are times when traveling by bicycle is difficult. There are times when the thought of setting up or taking down our home one more time is overwhelming. There are times when I look at a hill in front of me and think, "I really don’t want to climb that." There are times when my fingers are cold or sweat is dripping in my eyes. But all of those pale in comparison with what we’re seeing and learning. And that’s what life is all about.

You can read about our entire journey if you are interested:

Prudhoe Bay (June 2008)  
Alaska Highway (July 2008)  
Yukon (August 2008)
Northern British Columbia (August 2008)

Icefields Heartbreak (September 2008)

Cycling Montana (September 2008)

Wyoming & Utah (October 2008)

Exploring America's National Parks (November 2008)

On the US/Mexico border (January, 2009