What a day this has been! First some random thoughts though. I finally had time to read through my blogs and I can only say that the typos, short, clipped sentences, and rambling paragraphs are all the consequence of exhaustion. I really have had a difficult time getting into writing the blog this year. It would probably be more fun if I can download pictures as I write, but despite the purchase of a new computer, we still cannot seem to figure out how to do it until we get home.
More random thoughts: There are many, many groups of riders. Large groups. Riding in a group is challenging. You have to stay together, agree where to eat, sleep, get gas, and sleep. You also have to agree on a route, when to stop for breaks, sight seeing, and so much more. The other thing we have noticed is that there are a lot of trikes (3 wheeled bikes) and Spiders (two wheels in the front bikes) out there this year. Lots.
Life is filled with irony. We finally have a morning when we can relax a little before heading out and we stayed in a dump. A dry dump, but nevertheless a dump. Riding through Cody this morning we encountered bikes everywhere. Restaurants, hotels, motels, campgrounds, and in long lines at gas stations. We were also convinced that today would be a relatively short ride giving us a chance to relax and possible take a nap. Ha! Wyoming is amazing. There is just nothing out there for miles and miles and miles. Just long empty vistas, or farmland, or geological formations, and the occasional cow.
Our route took us through Bighorn National Forest and we stopped at Shell Falls to take a look at the beautiful waterfall located there. We were able to walk down and get some great pictures of the waterfall and the beautiful rocks surrounding it.
While we were there I was able to enlist a guest blogger. She is a ranger at the station and had the following story to share:
One of the limestone promontories located miles above the ranger station was called Copman's Tomb. It was named after a gentleman whom moved to the area in the 1800's. He was said to be an eccentric and an inventor. He was also a farmer and became very well known for inventing items that helped with farming. He also believed that people would one day fly. He talked about the limestone structure and said if someone could erect the right equipment, they could soar off of the giant rock. He loved it so much that he asked his friends to have his ashes scattered on its top. He passed away and his friends had him buried in town, but named the rock formation after him. Copman's Tomb.
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| John & George at the Shell Falls overlook |
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| John & Dee |
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| Copman's Tomb |
We stopped for lunch in a forgettable little town, hoping to get something decent to eat and then complete our journey to Gillette. We entered the diner, found a table, and waited. I finally got us some menus and noticed that not many people had been served food. A waitress finally noticed us and took our drink and food orders. About 20 minutes later we received two cokes, and two ice teas. Now this is important because it was the beginning of the comedy of errors. Two cokes, not diet. No waters. Doris takes a sip of her ice tea and comments on how it tastes like iced coffee. (I am laughing as i write this) John says it is tea and shows her the color through his straw. About, maybe 15 minutes later, a young bus girl comes over and asks if the tea tastes like coffee. There was some confusion about setting up the tanks and they were misplaced. Of course this prompted Doris and me to comment that she should never have doubted herself because women are always right. More laughter. Ok. No food. Finally a couple who came in way after we did got their lunches and so I had to say something. I called the waitress over and mentioned that we had not been served and she asked what we had ordered. I didn't even remember by now! By the way, as we were waiting the waitresses would come out holding plates of food going from table to table asking if anyone had ordered the food on the plates. So, out comes Doris's lunch without fries. John's lunch, George's lunch......according to the owner mine was on the grill. At some point a barely melted grilled cheese sandwich arrives without fries. Now I did not need the fries, but REALLY! I nicely mentioned it and was told they were being cooked. A basket of greasy, undercooked fries was brought to the table (I had ordered waffle fries) and so it went. The saving grace was the pie. Doris and John shared coconut cream and George and I shared banana cream pie. There is more to the story, but after two hours we had to get on the road, and I have to get on with the blog.
We are finally getting close to Gillette. A mere 66 miles and we can relax. The view is great, the weather is nice. The speed limit is 80 MPH. I notice George is not taking advantage of the freedom to speed, but I was reading and preoccupied. Pretty soon he says that he hopes we don't run out of gas. Hmmm. He waits for John and Doris to catch up and they signal that they too are very low on gas. Now, we are in the middle of nowhere. Desert. There is nothing but cars, trucks, and bikes hurtling by at high speeds. John starts drafting off of a large delivery truck hoping to save some fuel. George and I are going about 40 by this time. Another sign telling us that the next services are 37 miles away. Again, desert, nothing. I start thinking about items we can toss off the bike to lessen the load, but we have packed so little, there is nothing to throw. Finally civilization looms in front of us and we make it to the turnoff where we see a gas station. And John runs out of gas. Right on the highway turnoff. Right across from the gas station. So, Doris and I take our positions behind the bike, John steers, and we push that bike across the offramp, up a hill, and over to a pump! Where was George during all of this? Getting gas.
Crisis averted we stop by the Harley dealership and head to the Arbuckle Hotel. Nice place. Nice staff.
We decide to have dinner at Chops which is a few miles from our hotel. Doris recommends that we take a cab instead of getting back on the bikes. The cab driver, who I never did really see, was wearing a white tank top. George has to sit in front with him due to the cramped conditions in the back seat. George tries to engage with Mr. Cabbie to no avail. Mr. Cabbie is a large man with a really little voice. We had quite a discussion about him over dinner. So, after dinner, we call for a cab and Mr. Cabbie shows up. Of course George gave him a $7 tip so of course he was coming back. This time John sat in the front. Mr. Cabbie talked the whole time! We would hear his little high pitched voice in the back and John's comments to him. He never stopped talking. George was crushed. He thought he had lost his magic touch. Of course while Mr. Cabbie was blabbing up front, the windows in the back were down and I was getting blown to bits. I could not roll the window up and apparently Mr. Cabbie could not hear me over his conversation. This does not sound so funny now, but we laughed all the way home and to our rooms. It was worth every penny!
I told Doris I had blogged about her pictures of the buffalo and her bison lunch and how the two were incongruent. She pointed out that she didn't say she was taking pictures of the buffalo because they were so sweet or cute, but because they were so big, and tasty looking! John said he would have to watch out if she started taking pictures of him!
Well, it was another awesome day. I can't really explain it all here. The laughter, the stories, the sights. We are so lucky.
Tomorrow: STURGIS
Good night Gillette, Wyoming
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