I just finished a great ride. A quickie hour and a half. I put my bike into the van and rushed towards the front door. It was about to storm and I wanted to stay dry.

I heard that noise. Something like tires in gravel slowly coming to a stop. But I made nothing of it and just wanted to get inside.

As I was jumping inside I saw the Ranger. I thought to myself, “cool, my partner works in Yellowstone, maybe this person knows the van and wants to chat”. I waved and headed over to chat.

“Did you see that note”, gesturing towards the van. It started raining.

“No, I was…. out for a ride and just got back”

“My colleagues left it. They knocked and knocked. You would not answer the door.”

“BECAUSE I was out riding my bike”

“Yea well … now that I have you here, what do you know about the new trails at Travertine?”

I was still confused why he didnt believe me that I was out riding.

“Someone hand built trails … on private property! What do you know about that?”

I got into our van and texted Mo what happened. I joked that if I was not home in ten minutes, then I needed to be bailed out of jail.

Private land? What the hell, I just parked on a public road in a pullout to go for a ride.

When I got back home snuggles shown photos of a place, we used to adventure at. Taken over by telecommunication companies with cell towers. In Yellowstone Park, no less. What is going on?

The rest of the night included beer and ranting. Even the grilled burger didn’t improve the mood. Usually the evening spent preparing for the next adventure. Pouring over maps. Deciding where to go.

I fell asleep planning to leave Gardiner. Broken hearted. I thought it was so cool here. But I do not belong.