Day 72... What a Small World!

Day 72 ends with no word yet from Zac. He had been charging his phone at one of the bike shops a few towns ago and forgot his charger. So we have to rely on the pay phones until he replaces it... HOWEVER, today, I received the very nicest surprise. A wonderful woman from Clarks Hill, SC, Karen S. called to say that she and her family say Zac in a restaurant on July 8th in Virginia City, MT. Her son attends USC and had his South Carolina hat on, Zac was glad to talk to him. Mary and Bill chatted with him, came home, did alittle research and called me. Mary works at the University of South Carolina, The very nicest gift! Mary said he looks great and was in great spirits and I am sure, very glad to talk to someone from home. The road is getting long for Zac and he is anxious to get to the West Coast. I still believe that the Moms of the USA need to form a network to check on our children as they head out on their own.... We will wait to hear from Zac to see where he is travelling.

*Posted by a very grateful MOM of Zac!*

Day 71 Still In Missoula

Zac reunited with his Dutch friend Tjoan. Tjoan and his friend were biking together but had split up. Zac was glad to run into Tjoan in Missoula. Missoula truly is a cycling mecca. Zac went to Adventure Cycling Association headquarters, and yes, they did get their free ice cream, and their picture taken. He had the luxury of a motel room for a couple of nights and will leave Missoula for the trek towards the Ocean. He is estimating 10-14 days depending on the terrain through Idaho and then Oregon. He is anticipating that he will be riding most of the way with Tjoan as that is T's destination as well. So we leave them heading further westward.

Day 70 in Missoula, Montana

At the end of day 70, we found Zac reaching Missoula, Montana. We were very glad he was finally having phone service because of our new exciting news... Zac's sister, Erin became engaged to Chris today! We were unable to reach Zac until late evening to tell him. Missoula is known as the Garden City because of it mild winters compared to the rest of Montanta. It was founded in 1860 as a trading post and is strategically located at the head of 5 valley systems, making it the major commercial center for Western Montana. The US Forest Service has it largest smoke jumpers base here near the Missoula airport. The is also the mecca of bicycle travel because of the Adventre Cycling Association, the largest North American cycling association. Thousands of bikers travel through the downtown headquarters to have free ice cream, get photographed and compare stories. The first woman elected to Congress, Judith Rankin, 1880-1973, was from Missoula. We hope to hear more personal stories from Zac while he is in a strong phone connection zone. Zac heads west into Idaho and gets yet another state close to the west coast. This leaves him Idaho and Oregon yet to conquer. How amazing is that....

Day 65-67 Zac in Montana

Day 67 ended with Zac staying at a KOA campground in Dillon, MT, after completing 75 miles. He had shared a campgroud with two 50-year bikers who were biking their native Montana and sharing the same route for the past two days. There is quite a haze due to large wildfires, even as far away as California. The air quality has been affected. Zac says he is "high dry mountainous areas with incredible scenery".
Dillon, pop. 3800, is best known for the amazing amount of blue ribbon trout streams that surround it, but the area is also brimming with Native American and Frontier history, (it located along the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery trail and the Nez Perce Nee Me Po trail) and is in the heart of an area that was a highly lucrative gold mining deposits in the late 1800's. The terrain has granite peaks of 10,000 ft. to the east with gentle forest terrain to the west. Dillon is an agricultural valley that was at one time the biggest wool shipping point in the US. It was named after the president of the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad made it a major shipping point from Utah to the gold mining fields of Montana.
I have been trying to find out what a "Blue Ribbon" trout stream was. The best is as follows........ A Blue Ribbon Trout Stream must meet certain standards or criteria. It must be able to support excellent stocks of wild resident trout, have the physical characteristics to permit fly casting but be shallow enough to wade, produce diverse insect life and good fly hatches, have earned a reputation for providing an excellent (quality) trout fishing experience, and have excellent water quality.
We leave Zac travelling westward in high elevations, meeting new friends along the bike path of life and still doing well. He appreciates all the words of encouragement he has received. His arrival date at the Oregon coast will be delayed till the end of July, the date unknown at this time.

*Posted by Zac's mom who realized it has been two full months since we were able to hug those spandex'd buns*

Days 62-64 Zac is visiting Yogi in Yellowstone

Zac spent the 4th in West yellowstone town and is spending another night. We have given him the gift of a hotel room so that he could enjoy this wonderful holiday in what he says is the most gorgeous country.. Zac did say that the bears in Yellowstone do not wear bowties like they did in the cartoons, they do not eat from picnic baskets, and they do eat people. And, you can be blasted in the air by Old Faithful like in the cartoons... etc.. Those of you who know he sense of humor can appreciate how funny his take on the park has been.
Getting to West Yellowstone has been a challenge but Zac has seen the most beautiful countryside and seemed to always be on the Continental Divide. So I had to look the CD up and sure enough, it goes from Alaska to South America, only to be divided by the Panama Canal. In the American West, it twists and turns so that there seems to be a Continental Divide in many states. Will get a full review from Zac and hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend.

*posted by Zac's mom.....*

Day 61 Heard from Zac

We heard from Zac this morning and he has left Lander, Central Wyoming. He had a good day yesterday but complains of some back pain and needing new peddles. The Memphis Connection is sending him the new peddles and supplies. Mom now can chill!
Lander is the home of the National Outdoor Leadership School that was started in 1965by a legenary moutaineer, Paul Petzoldt. This was a year after the Wilderness Act and America was beginning to think seriously about protecting our enviroment. It was his dream to train leaders who would learn all about living in and protecting the enviroment and then going forth and teaching others to protect our land. This began with 100 male students in 1965, women and boys ages 13-15 were added in 1966 a international schools were opened,and now have 75,000 graduates. NOLS has expanded to Chile, Kenya, India, Australia, the Yukon territory in Canada, etc. The Kenya school had to be closed in 2003 due to political unrest. A college semester program of 16 hours credit is now available for a complete cost of $12K.
Zac spent last evening talking to many of the students from all over the world at NOLS headquarters in Lander, elevation 6500 ft.
Today, Zac continues to Colter Bay, WY in the Grand Teton National Park in NW Wyoming. This is directly under Yellowstone National Park. The most spectacular mountain in the Grand Tetons, located between the Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, is the Grand Teton that towers over Jackson Hole at 13,770 ft.
It is hopeful that Zac will continue on to spend the 4th of July in the town of West Yellowstone where we are going to surprise him with a hotel room and hot tub, etc. He has to service his bike and pick up packages at the bike shop. We are so very glad to have heard that he is fine and continuing on his mountainous journey. Thank you for all your interest, your many well wishes, and your prayers for his safety and success. He has raised 80% of his goal thus far and is encouraged by that as well.

*posted by his Mom who is back to chillin'*

Day 60 No word from Zac

We are trying to be calm but I am not doing my mother-getting-really-worried stage. We have not heard from Zac since the 29th, three days ago. I have also called his credit card co. and he has not had any purchases since that date. It is difficult to not be overly concerned. He had better call really soon! I know that he is travelling through uninhabited country and cell phone service is an issue, however.. Just needing the prayers for his safety and hope we hear from Zac soon. I am also going to call the Memphis Connection and when they last heard from him since Zac was needing to have them send him some bike parts... Prayers, everyone, for Zac and his Mom to be calm. Dad is doing a better job at this!

*posted by Zac's mom who is answering every cell phone call*