Wyoming: Part 1

After an extra rest day in Rapid City, we headed toward Sundance, WY, 82 miles away. It was one of the most enjoyable rides we've had yet. It seemed downhill most of the time and we had a nice tailwind that added to our speed. In addition we enjoyed the beauty of the Black Hills. By the time we got to Wyoming the soil had changed from the black dirt found in Pine Ridge to red. Though I saw a few fields of corn that had been planted quite late, most fields were hay. 

 

Sundance is not a place we will soon forget. Our hosts for the night were members of St Paul's Catholic church. It's a small parish that shares a priest with 3 other churches, and one woman told me that the 16 pews in the church are filled each Sunday. These generous people welcomed us as we arrived throughout the afternoon and took us to their homes. It was a special treat to shower in a real bathroom, using a real towel (as opposed to the quick dry towel most of us have). Getting to sleep in a real bed was also wonderful even though I'd been on the road for only 18 days. You can imagine how much it was appreciated by those who have been at this since June 5. Diane was my host and seemed delighted to have guests. She gave us a brief tour of the town where she has lived for over 25 years before supper, which was generous portions of beef and/or ham along with an assortment of potluck dishes. No one went away hungry. After we finished, Diane drove us up into the hills so we could get a close up view of Devil's Tower. 

Wednesday we rode the 61 miles from Sundance to Gillette. As we circled up that morning, Dan promised 100% chance of rain. "There is a green blob between here and Gillette." We ended up riding in the rain for about an hour. When I stopped briefly at the first rest stop it seemed to be more of mist and the 59˚ was more chilling than the rain. Though my legs didn't feel so good on the first uphill, once I got going I did fine. Rain is a good motivator to just keep pedaling. As the rain stopped I pulled into a gas station along the route for a bathroom break. Gerry, who was close behind, followed. We both wrung the water out of our socks, much to the delight of the motorcyclists looking on. As we set off, Gerry discovered a flat, so for the third time in three riding days, I "helped" someone change their tube. By the time we got going we were just in front of the "sweeps," the two people designated to make sure everyone stays in front of them. 

In Gillette we stayed at a Catholic school. One of the main events of the afternoon was the bike washing party on the front lawn. 

One of the women who helped prepare our supper that night brought along her 4 year old son. Little boys are always fascinated by the bikes and "Papa John" who is missing his own grandchildren, was delighted to teach him some things about the bike.