Icons

Today was Wyoming. In the morning, I made it to Yellowstone by 8:30am, and now I’m in Spearfish, SD. It’s wild to see a thin slice of an entire state in one day. First of all, I used to say California had the most beautiful things. I was wrong. That award now goes to Wyoming, thanks to Yellowstone. It is pure natural beauty.

I had so many thoughts today, but I’m too tired to write them down, and the Internet speed in this hotel is worse than my phone most times, even at camp, except that my phone doesn’t have service at all right now, so I’m trying to upload photos and edit some of the unreal GoPro footage I have.

East of Yellowstone is absolutely one of the best motorcycle rides I’ve ever done in my live. In Cody, the Wild West is still very much alive. The space between Cody and Snowshoe Pass was grueling. Snowshoe Pass was amazing. Uphill through a mountain pass to 9,700 feet, incredible views, very fast riding up and down sweeping turns.

After I made it through the pass, Wyoming went from brown to green. Devil’s Tower was a nice treat as well.

Oh yeah, whatever, I went to Old Faithful in Yellowstone, but I almost forgot about that. I can’t believe people are waiting around for an hour to see it. Ok, it’s cool, but I’d rather see the hot springs, or be cutting around Yellowstone lake, the scenery is everywhere.

What was on my mind mostly today was that we thrive on abstractions. “Icons” that help is define a place or a concept. But like any abstraction, you lose all kinds of fidelity. I used to think of Yellowstone, and immediately think of “Old Faithful.” Now I will think of the smell of minerals, the ethereal mist of the springs and geysers, the way the sun beams through the trees. The lasting memory of Old Faithful for me will be how insignificant it was on the backdrop of Yellowstone, and how sometimes we get our icons wrong.

I’m really tired tonight. I did laundry in the shower, and now hopefully my clothes dry by the morning. Tomorrow, I hope to get through the better part of South Dakota.