Zero Day in Jackson, Halfway Summary

So we are taking a zero day in Jackson Hole, WY visiting our old roommate Amy. It's great to see her again and she looks as spry and chipper as when she left Crested Butte back in 2003. We have checked out of our luxury hotel (Thanks Ron!) and moved in with Amy and Bryan for the night. The live about five miles from the center of town in a green valley with lots of room for dogs to roam.
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We have nixed all of Amy's plans to go do things, saying we really just need to rest with our feet up. She has been much accommodating. And we are doing just that.
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We head out tomorrow, July 3rd, for Teton Nat'l Park and Yellowstone. The only bad thing about this is the time of year it happens to be (4th of July), but we'll make do. Even when it's super crowded for cars, it's still relatively doable on a bicycle. At least that's what I'm hoping.
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So the BBT is officially 1/2 over. Three festivals seen and 1300 miles pedaled. Here's my halfway summary: I am loving being on my bike again and traveling. You reach such a good place in your psyche by bicycle touring (I believe), because you've got so little to burden you. You are really just worried about the weather, your food, and where you'll sleep. That taken care of, life is just a breeze. In fact, once you do land back into reality, say, by trying to navigate the streets of busy downtown Jackson Hole, you can snap out of your euphoric stupor pretty quickly. You yearn to be on the road, moving towards something, making progress. Living and experiencing life, without the baggage that normal, stationary life can present.
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I've really enjoyed that we have these festivals to head to on this tour. That is different from other tours I have done. I have really dug getting to the festival and then being "forced" to camp for 3-4 days with lots of fun people. The pressure is then, "officially", off to move forward with the bike tour and you can really relax and enjoy your stay even more than someone who just drove there. At least that's my perception.
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So in summary, at halfway, I'm very stoked with how the idea is panning out and I'd recommend it to anyone out there considering planning a bike tour. Think outside the box a bit. Throw some events into the mix. Doesn't have to be bluegrass festivals, it could be Arts Festivals, NASCAR, sporting events, county fairs, Burning Man, Film Festivals, whatever. It will just add some spice and anticipation to your bicycle tour.