Fun Times in West Yellowstone

Date: 6/24/06
Mileage: 60

Funds Raised:

$8,863.87 for Kupenda
+$100 thanks to Paul, Katy, Nathan, and Claudia,
+$50.00 from Jen Canatella,
+$15.00 from Joy,
+$15.00 from Hillary,
+$15.00 from Piper,
+$5.00 from DeeDee,
+$20.00 from a randomly nice guy we met in Grangeville,
+$20.00 from the Jim and Mary Cramer!!$20,000 is the goal for Kupenda. That is the amount needed to build a boarding facility so that 30+ children, who have disabilities, will get to go to school!!! It is a chance to really make a difference in a lot of people's lives!!!
$7,855 for ADA
+$50.00 from Jen Canatella,
Battling diabetes is something that is close to our hearts since Adam has Type I Diabetes. AFC's mission at it's core is to raise awareness, show other diabetics that anything is possible, and to do anything to combat diabetes!

When we arrived in West Yellowstone last night we heard that there was a street dance, whatever that means, in the middle of town hosted by a couple of the local bars. Although we had a semi-hard day of biking the next day we just had to go and find out what a street dance was!!

Jesse, Adam, PhillyK, and AndyK went out to dinner while I stayed at the campsite to finish the blog and do some laundry. At dinner their waitress who had three younger siblings with Type I Diabetes just like Adam. She also has a 90% chance of getting Type II within her life time. She was all about what we were doing and PhillyK interviewed her for his Documentary.

(Cool waitress!)

While I was doing the blog and laundry I met Paul, Katy, their son Nathan and daughter Claudia. They were curious about our bikes and asked lots of questions about our trip. They were so excited about what we are doing that they donated $100.00 to Kupenda!! They are on vacation and were planning on driving to Yellowstone State Park tomorrow.

I met the rest of AFC after dinner and we went searching for the 'street dance'. It was great!! There was a live band playing that sounded very much like Linkin Park. There were not many people dancing but PhillyK and AndyK were eager to join in the fun since they are KING DANCERS.

(King dancer AndyK)

After the concert ended at 10:00pm we left the street to go to the bar that was hosting the event. There we met a ton of new friends. It was a blast!! So many people were excited about what we are doing after we told them how we are trying to make a difference. I was one of our most fun nights out since we started the trip.

This morning we got a late start since we were up later than usual making new friends! We biked from West Yellowstone to Grant Village, a campsite in Yellowstone State Park. On the way we met up with Paul and Katy and their son Nathan and daugher Claudia, again, from the day before. We were happy about that because we wanted to give them an AFC T-Shirt. Before we said a final good bye they said a prayer for us, that we would be successful and safe in our journies. It was the nicest thing EVER!

(Paul and Katy with their son Nathan and daughter Claudia.. on their way to Yellowstone)

There was only one mountain pass. By far the best part of this day was that we met up with Adam's parents, his brother Alex, and our best friend Lauren! We biked into Yellowstone and met them at Old Faithful. They are going to be with us for the next week.

They rented and RV so we will be living like kings for the next few days. We are so happy to have friends join us in our adventure. The best part is that Alex rented a road bike and he will be biking with us!

(Alex, Pattt, Jesse, and Adam at Old Faithful)

-Pattt