Aug 17th, 09, West Yellowstone

I may be skipping a day or two of our trip, but this was too amazing to wait! Yesterday afternoon, 

Arch, Skip and I, made our way into West Yellowstone. (Granted, Arch and I made it a little earlier than Skip!)

After some exploring around town, and some research at the Chamber of Commerce, Arch and I checked into

the Three Bears Lodge. We settled in, unpacked, had ice cream, and got Skip soaking in an Epsom Salt bath, and

made plans to go into the park for some preliminary exploring. WOW! There really in nothing like this.

Our plan was to make it to Old Faithful before dark, with a couple stops along the way. Our plans didn't

quite work out that way, and it was amazing! Our first stop was at the Fountain Paint Pot.

 You can see one of the geysers going off behind Skip and Arch, and the mist from the boiling water bubbling out of the earth.    All along the walkways that took us through this small part of our adventure made it very clear with signs, that should you wish to explore off the beaten path,  it may not be in your favor...

                                                     

Maybe it wasn't clear to everyone...:)

I had been informed that if you took a drive down Firehole Lake Drive, and happen to see this particular geyser, overflowing with water, you should stop and wait!  This geyser goes off very 12 hours, give or take a couple either way, but when it does, the eruption can last up to an hour, and reach heights of 100 to 200 feet... So we waited, and as the sun set behind the mountains, and was reflected off the mirror surrounding this super heated natural hot tub, we had a moment to finally contemplate our journey.   Our journey started a long time before Skip got on his bike in Astoria, OR and still has a couple thousand more miles to go.  We have been supported by some great people, and also met so many great people along the way.  We can't wait to see what will be around the next bend, or over the next hill.  

To meet so many strangers on our travels that have been touched in some way by Parkinson's Disease, has shown us the bigger picture.  These miles on the road were inspired by one man's desire to honor his father, and is now growing hope across the country.  It may only be to a few, but tomorrow, it could be one more.

Our ultimate goal, would be to raise $20 000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF).  The money donated will go into funding research for a cure for Parkinson's Disease, and hopefully many others.  If you haven't already, and would like to donate, please click on the Team Fox link at on the top left hand side of our blog.  From there you can make a donation in Archer or Skip's name that goes directly to the MJFF.  Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts, every small donation will bring us that much closer to a cure