Day 20 - Chimney RockAug 25, 2005
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Wyoming, driving toward Laramie
More Wyoming
The storm in the mountains I went through
| Day 20 Thursday, Aug 25 Today was a good day. I focused on the road. I rode at my own speed. I thought ahead. I think I'm getting the hang of it. And my weather strategy actually worked! I woke up to thunder and lightening about 3;30. By 5:30 we were down to a drizzle and the weather lady (we've spent a lot of time together lately) showed a 6 hour window before the next storm moved in and sun to the North. By 7:00 in was in the low fifties so I put on my woolies and my rain gear and started out for Muddy Pass (great name in a rain storm - gives you lots of confidence). I ended up going through the pass and over the continental divide in rain but not real heavy. The roads were almost empty and I never got out of third gear but I kept the shiny side up. When I got into Wyoming it became sunny and stayed that way although I had to outrun the new incoming storm clouds the last 90 miles to Ogallala, where I'm staying tonight. As Hannibal Smith said: "I love it when a plan comes together." On the other hand, Mary says: "God protects fools and small children." I'll take either one. To show you how close it was, I have now been in my room an hour and ten minutes and it's now hailing and winds must be at least 30-40 mph. The good news is that the room Mary booked me was on the ground level in front and my bike is parked on the sidewalk in front of my window under the walkway for the rooms above. Anyway, sightseeing today was limited to Chimney Rock. This is a stone formation that was a major landmark for about 500,000 emigrants who moved west through the Platt River Valley and on to Oregon (part of the Oregon Trail, actually.) I took pictures, and a few more to show that Nebraska is not completely flat, but today was mostly about getting out of Steamboat Springs and outwitting the weather. But tomorrow's another day and the weather station here is really bad, so I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow morning to see where I go. Mileage: 408 Total Miles on Bike: 5766 |
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