Casper, WY to Shoshoni. WY


Today was a long, hot ride. As we were told by the Habitat people in Casper, ?_oFlat and hot.?__ They were pretty much right. It wasn?_Tt entirely flat; we climbed the first half of the day, reaching an elevation of 6000 feet then descended the second half down to 4820 feet. All of this was very gradual however. Essentially flat.
Anyway, I was worried that this day would be boring and I would have nothing to write about. I should have known better. No day with Bike and Build is ever boring. The first 45 miles I rode by myself and I was losing hope. ?_oI?_Tm going to have to write about herds of antelope and prairie dog towns,?__ I thought.

What I did learn in those miles was that the people in Wyoming are very friendly (with a couple exceptions who almost ran me off the road). I stopped a couple times to stretch and/or have a snack and each time someone pulled over to make sure I was alright. Brianne also discovered the friendly Wyomingers when a whole car full waved to her. In fact, all afternoon, there were friendly honks and waves. That wasn?_Tt the impression I got when we first entered Wyoming, so perhaps they?_Tre all tourists on their way to and from Yellowstone. Either way, it made the ride more pleasant.
First lunch came unbearably late. I had been really excited in the morning when Pat told us first lunch would be at Hell?_Ts Half Acre. Sounded pretty exciting. But as I rode, I began to ask myself, ?_oReally, is there a reason we have to eat at Hell?_Ts Half Acre??__ I resented Pat?_Ts clear determination that we should eat there, at mile 46.

But Pat knew what he was doing, as usual... With the restaurant closed, all that was left at Hell?_Ts Half Acre was a most spectacular view. Red, orange, purple stone jags rising inexplicably out of the ground. According to a blurb in the rest stop a couple miles down the road: ?_oThe fantastic colors and shapes are a result of erosion. Caps of red and brown sandstone protect certain spots resulting in spires and odd formations.?__
Another interesting tidbit: The movie Starship Troopers was filmed there. The landscape does feel of another world. ?_oIt looks like a layered jello mold,?__ Eric observed.

So that on its own was exciting enough for the whole day.
After lunch I caught up with Katie and Jackie at a rest stop and we rode the rest of the way together, through incredible landscape and blisteringly hot headwinds. Our second lunch stop was in Moneta, a non-existent town. Patrick was off to Shoshoni to get water because the water in Moneta is not potable.

From there we rode to Shoshoni with one thought. ?_oWorld renowned?__ malts and shakes from the Yellowstone Pharmacy were waiting for us. And they were fabulous. I had a boysenberry shake. They had so many flavors people wanted to go back later to have another. Alas, they closed early because of "lack of inventory". Very sad indeed.
Best of all was the cold glass of water that I drank first. Arriving in town, my throat was parched. My legs were coated in salt from sweat that barely even left my body before it evaporated away. The camelbak on my back was almost empty despite the fact that the tea water in there was not satisfying at all.

We were all in before 4 pm, sweeps included. It?_Ts incredible how we can all travel the same stretch of road but have entirely different experiences. While we came in through hot headwinds, the sweeps were pushed in by cool tailwinds from the storm brewing behind them.
We had an exciting home for the night- the Shoshoni Volunteer Fire Department. They had a room that was blissfully air-conditioned. Most people knocked out right away.

After a 100 miles in the heat, it?_Ts pretty much all you want to do.
~Katya