Into Wyoming … Cowboys, Jackalopes & Cycles

After four days at Williams Fork, we broke camp and headed to Wyoming. We’ve got a good system going now for breaking camp. While David dissembles the bikes for stowage in Blue, I pack up and stow the gear… camp stove, camp chairs, etc. We help each other as needed and stop intermittently for coffee breaks and teeth brushing and sometimes breakfast. We fill up the water jugs, empty the trash, sweep out Blue, tidy up and we’re off.

Brekkie with Becky & Dan

We’ve traveled US40 in this area many times before. David’s parents used to live in the little mountain town of Kremmling and in fact, they are buried there in the small town cemetery. We decided to stop to say hello and have brekkie with them. This seems strange in the USA, but in many other countries, people visit their deceased relatives on a regular basis. We enjoyed the visit and conversation, but not sure if they did or not. Knowing Becky, she was delighted with the visit.

Back on the road, I always get a kick out of the F.M. Light & Sons signs, spaced strategically along the roadside like the old Burma Shave or Wall Drugs signs. They advertise all things ‘cowboy’… Stetson hats, boots, ranchwear, Hudson Bay blankets, Levis, Woolrich, Pendleton, Wrangler. Some of the signs are corny… ‘Use Your Head When Buying a Hat’. Simple amusement counts while driving. We listen to music and sing along when we know the lyrics… and make them up when we don’t. Jim Croce, James Taylor, Alabama, The Beach Boys, Willie, the Beatles and we mix it up with a little Vivaldi and Ottmar Liebert once in awhile.

We turned off before Steamboat Springs, so no F.M.Light visit, but we did drive through Walden, Colorado… moose-viewing capital of the state. We saw no moose, however. This is ranch country. All the men wear boots and cowboy hats and it’s not for show… it’s for real.

We knew we’d arrived in Wyoming when the wind began to blow. Wyoming is one of the windiest places we know… always. We opted for a hotel night in Laramie for a hot shower, a re-supply at the local WalMart and a catch-up on the news and the New York Times. In the morning, the sun shone bright and we headed off to Douglas, Wyoming.

Why Douglas, you ask? It’s the Jackalope Capital of the world for one thing. But after some research, David also found that Wyoming has several small bits of the GART (Great American Rail to Trail bike path) and one small section was in Douglas. En route to Douglas, we noticed a small highway sign for The Medicine Bow Rail Trail and u-turned to see what it was about.

Medicine Bow Rail-Trail

The Laramie-Hahn’s Peak & Pacific Railroad (L,HP & P) ran between Laramie and Coalmont for 92 years moving lumber, coal, livestock and travelers from Laramie, through Medicine Bow to North Park, Colorado. It was sold in 1987 and ran as the Wyoming/Colorado RR as an excursion train until 1996 and then abandoned. In 2001, the forest service, and Laramie citizens transformed the abandoned railhead into 21 miles of Rail Trail. We walked about a mile on the compacted gravel railway. Old ties lay stewn beside the railbed, nestled between purple lupine and young aspens.

Home, home on the range… pronghorn antelope

This area is high prairie land with snow-capped mountains in the far distance. The buffalo no longer roam, the deer and the pronghorn antelope still play just like Home on the Range, which of course, I sang repeatedly to David’s delight. Prairie dog towns dot the landscape and we could see them standing sentry on top of their mounds. A few flat ones were scattered along the roadside midst the bright yellow of plains mustard.

The mighty jackalope in Douglas, Wyoming

In Douglas, after visiting the giant jackalope (first things first!), we found a cute little city park on the banks of the North Platte River. Riverside Park offered fresh water, showers, toilets, picnic tables, BBQ grills and it was free for a maximum stay of two days! It was perfect for us… thank you, Douglas!

Doulgas’ Riverside Park along the banks of the North Platte River.

The day was hot and dry… too hot for a bike ride. We opted to wait to ride in the cool of the morning and enjoyed a leisurely dinner under the shade of the park’s trees.

We rose early, dressed for a cycle ride and never even made it out of the parking lot… David’s bike had a flat rear tire. He determined a nasty thorn was the culprit. We hadn’t ridden much and had still not decided if we even liked biking or not. Hence, we did not have extra tubes or a tire repair kit. We were disappointed to learn that Douglas, jackalope capital of the world, had no bike shops and no WalMart. We decided to drive to Casper, about 50 miles away, to buy what was necessary to repair the tire.

We figured the day was pretty well wasted on our return trip to Douglas from Casper, so when we saw the signs for Ayres Natural Bridge, we figured it was worth a look. Natural Bridge is …’considered one of Wyoming’s first tourist attractions, drawing trail weary pioneers seeking reprieve from rigors endured along the Oregon Trail. LaPrele Creek flows beneath the rock formation, creating one of only three rock archways in the nation that span water.’ The road in was narrow, steep and downright dangerous. There were no guardrails for long stretches with sheer drop-offs as we rounded hairpin turns. Unmaintained shrubs and bush occluded the view around tight corners.

Ayres Natural Bridge

We climbed the steep ‘mini-trail’ to the top of the bridge, but the views from the bottom were definitely the best.

Fairy gardens and gnome homes

We walked around the park a bit, amazed at the immensity of the sheer rock cliffs. Some imaginative folks had turned tree trunks into fairy gardens and gnome homes which we imagine delighted the kids who visited.

Fixing the flat

Back at our park campsite, while I prepared dinner, David repaired his flat tire with a new self-sealing tube and replaced my rear tire with another seamless tube, just in case. We’re all ready to start cycling tomorrow.

Join us next time … no special equipment required.