Sorry, We've Been Done

We stopped in Casper, WY because we thought it was the best decision. When were were riding in Nebraska, I realized how late in the summer it was getting for us. In order to accomplish everything we wanted and arrive in Michigan before August 1st with cash we needed to end sometime soon. We decided to stop in Casper because my grandma lives there and my parents were planning to meet us there anyway. They drove my car to us which eliminated our need to make arrangements for our bikes and transportation to a relative's house from some unknown location down the road. We visited with my grandma and parents and then we drove through Jackson, WY to Lima, MT to visit my friend Suzie. Then we drove through Missoula, said Hi to Mom & Dad, then to Post Falls where we saw my nephew Justin be promoted to Webelos in Cub Scouts. Then we drove through Spokane where we visited a brief moment with my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Sonny and my cousin Jim. Then it was onto Kenmore, WA to visit my friend Cindy, and we took her to her first 1/2 marathon there in Seattle. Then we drove to Redding, CA to spend some time with Jim's parents. After that we drove to Ojai, and we cleaned out Jim's storage unit, visited with childhood friends, visited with his brothers, helped his mom move. Then we took a budget truck full of Jim's mom's household goods and ours to Post Falls. We unloaded half of the truck in Post falls and the rest in Missoula where we stayed a couple days to arrange an apartment, a new budget truck, and relax while my parents were at work. We finally arrived in Michigan on the 23rd of July in plenty of time to get life together before school starts.

I apologize for the lack of posts since we entered Wyoming, but nothing has happened. We rode from Lusk to Douglas. I got sick, and we stayed there for two days, and I although I was no longer rejecting my insides, I still didn't feel up to riding. My mom came to get me and our gear, and Jim rode the distance from Douglas to Mills, WY light as a feather while I rode in the car.

We both had a great time on this trip. When someone asked us if we would do it again we surprised ourselves. In unison we both said "Yes!"

Welcome to Wyoming

Crawford to Douglas

Yesterday was hard and so was today. The headwinds and crosswinds slow us down by a couple miles per hour. A couple miles out of Crawford we saw a sign "scenic overlook two miles." it was a steep hill but we've done worse. The rest of the day was hilly and windy. Even riding downhill was challenging. When we got to Harrison it was tempting to stop but the winds today weren't expected to be better so we kept going. We crossed the border and stopped in Van Tassell which has only a couple people and the first American legion post. We finally saw Lusk and it looked only a few miles away but as we got closer it seemed to get further away.
Today we left late thinking the 55 miles would be easier. The winds kept the ride from being easy but there were more towns and we sat around here and there. After a lot of breaks and only 53 miles we stopped.
Two hard days mostly due to wind. Maybe we'll make it to Casper tomorrow.

Crawford NE

In the 60 miles between here and Alliance there was one town--Hemingford. Hemingford was only 20 miles from Alliance so we didn't really need much there.
The rest of the trip went through national forests. We were forewarned about the long steep climbs there but all we had were rolling hills that gave us enough speed to get over the next. Then we came to a long six mile descent into Crawford. It was an easier sixty miles yesterday. The only challenge was the lack of resources.

Dog

Alliance NE

We woke up to rain this morning, and I thought for a moment we would be rained in again. It looked like there were blue skies way off in the distance, so we left. We were hungry again when we left the hotel, so we stopped at the gas station for more food. We met a pack of bikers going east. They were putting on their rain gear over their chaps, but it sounded like it was the last of a short tour for them. We went west toward Ashby which turned out to be another small town but this time nothing was open, and I didn't see a post office. We called a few people and rested, then moved on to Bingham which turned out to be another semi-vacant town. Then we thought, oh, Ellsworth ought to have something. As promised by the billboard, the general store was there, complete with a guard dog. As we crossed the railroad tracks (all of these towns are by the tracks) the dog came barking up to us. We yelled at him "No!" because this usually works. He stopped barking and just sat there. He watched us walk our bikes to the picnic table, and then he started moseying toward us. When he got to us, he just circled around for a moment, then plopped himself down. He was pretty friendly, but a picky eater. I offered him some of my peanut butter sandwich, and he didn't want any. Jim offered him a Frito, but no thank you. Jim started making himself a cheese sandwich, and "Dog" started sniffing and looking and foaming. So Jim gave him some cheese and started making his sandwich. Dog wanted more, so Jim told him it was his turn. Dog still wanted cheese, so Jim gave him another slice. He hung out with us for a while sitting in front of our bikes or just looking at us. We needed to get water, so we knocked on a door to the ranch house there. It turns out the ranch house is the house that built the town. In some long ago time, the Spade Ranch covered over 500,000 acres in Nebraska, and the owners built the railways and telephone lines between towns. The ranch was later reduced after one of the owners plead guilty to illegally claiming government lands. So Kelly who now lives in the ranch house that built Ellsworth let us in to get water from her kitchen.
Then we went onward to Lakeside, again fairly vacant. There was a working post office, but today is Sunday. Some motorbikers stopped there as well. They were from Alliance, and they told us about Carhenge. Apparently it looks just like it does in the post card. Since it is 12 miles out of the way, I don't think we are going. They told us that the guy who built it on the corner of his property fought with the city because the attraction caused such a traffic jam. The city made him build a driveway around it for people to look at it. The next town we went through was Antioch. On the googlemaps it looked like a fair-sized city with lots of roads, but when we got there it was again just a couple houses. I guess there was a "post office" there was a blue postal drop chained to a fence. I guess they must be in high demand to have such protection. I checked the weather report there to see if we had any thunderstorms coming because the biker couple from Lakeside said there were rain storms coming. It turns out Box Butte County, where Alliance is located, is part of a tornado watch until 9pm.
Today was pretty interesting. I sort of miss Dog.

Even if the ride is nice the clouds add an element of stress.