We started just off the Walcott exit of I-80, rather than ride the shoulder for 22 miles with all the I-80 truck traffic barreling past.
Brad and Sue called ahead from a comfy and tasty cafe in Saratoga, so we met them there for a break. We gave the local hot spring a miss because we wanted to beat the heat and we’d already had a delay as Mark repaired our third puncture of the trip (we’re very happy with only three so far, especially considering the amount of broken bottles in some of the shoulders).
All four of us enjoyed the scenery today far more than yesterday – more varied colors and textures, some nice ranches and quite a few antelope sightings. Unfortunately, we had major validation of the “don’t be a squirrel maxim” from day 7 as we saw dozens of prairie dog roadkills.
We completed the Wyoming portion of our journey at the Colorado state line and are now driving five hours to home for two days of rest, a massage, reading three weeks of mail, showing Sue and Brad around Park City and of course attending the neighborhood karaoke party.
We’ll drive back to the Wyoming/Colorado border on Sunday and resume our journey to Yorktown.
We have all vastly enjoyed the Columbia River Valley and the various subranges of the Rocky Mountains and are looking forward to a few more days of those glorious mountain views, climbs and descents before we head due east across the plains of southern Kansas.
