Wyoming---"Kid, the next time I say, "Let's go someplace like Bolivia, let's GO someplace like Bolivia."

You can't always have what you want. I laid in my tent last night trying to figure out which way the wind was blowing and willing it to blow north...as that was the direction we were riding. But I think sometime around 4 a.m. God said, "Sigh...buck up lil' camper...just go do it."





And it wasn't so bad. The ride into Thermopolis was a lot of downhill, with high walls of rock on either side of me. The Wind River (aptly named, I might add) gurgled alongside of me and outcroppings of rock stood out from the hillside. There is a world famous hot springs in town where you can go for a soak...it's free, but they weren't open until 8 a.m.



From Thermopolis, the ride is basically a long slog uphill to Cody. We saw a lot of antelope and deer along the road. I learned from Karen that while deer will stretch out their hind legs behind them when they jump a fence, antelopes tuck their legs underneath them. That is a big problem when the fence is barbed wire because sometimes they get their legs caught in it. :(

I finished the day with 100.3 miles, an elevation gain of just over 3200', and an average of 13.1.





We stopped in Cody at the Buffalo Bill Museum (there are 5 large buildings full of information plus a rodeo) but we decided we couldn't do it justice in the hour we had...so we went shopping at the Sierra Post Outlet Store. Laura and I didn't find anything we couldn't live without, but Karen found a nice camp towel.





We headed west towards Yellowstone and it started to rain. We saw cyclists in the park and I felt sorry for them...it's miserable when you have to ride and then camp in the rain. At one point, traffic slowed to a standstill and we were certain that there had been an accident. Wrong. It was a buffalo sighting.

We got to West Yellowstone and shifted into "git r' done" mode. We dropped Laura off at the laundromat while Karen and I got gas, ice, and take out for dinner. It was getting late so I also called the campground to let them know that we were, in fact, still coming.


We pulled into Kirkwood Resort and Marina around 8 and I have to say it is one of the area's best kept secrets. Oh, it could use some improvements...there is only one bathroom for all the campers, so it was a long walk for us...and we didn't have a picnic table, which would have been an issue if we had been here any longer than we were...but the setting along Hebgen Lake is magnificent and we had green grass on which to pitch our tents...WITHOUT sprinklers. :). There was a group of young people playing volleyball until it got so dark they couldn't see the ball. It reminded me of family reunions done at a campground, and made me long for my sweet family. I miss their faces. I know I am getting close to home. I can feel it in my bones.


maybe you can't...because you won't...