Sunday, July 10, 2016

Short ride to Pinedale

Day 34 - July 10th
18.3 miles
Total: 1381.9 miles
Moving Avg: 10.7 mph
Overall Avg: 3.7 mph

This morning we treated Ville (not Phil) to breakfast. The day we met him at Diagnus Well was his birthday. He only remembered this fact the following day. It was our birthday gift to him, a hearty meal before a not-so-difficult 12 mile ride to Pinedale, Wyoming.

Even though our ride was along the highway between Boulder and Pinedale, it was not lacking in views. The road lay between the calm rolling hills of sage and grassland familiar to us from the basin, and the creeping foothills of the Bridger Wilderness. To our right lay pointed mountains carving at the sky with their sharp sawtooth peaks, gray and barren of trees. The peaks felt more like the Rocky Mountains I expected to see, than the Rocky Mountains I have seen. A few dark creases were highlighted with unmelted snow, hints of the strong winter which hasn't fully disappeared, despite the wind and heat that we are familiar with.

We sailed along the highway toward Pinedale, stopping only once at a roadside food cart serving burgers and ice cream. I am a sucker for ice cream, and Ville had already pulled in for a sweet treat. While we sat there enjoying our homemade ice cream on the side of the road, we watched a small Conestoga Wagon roll past, drawn by two horses. It was as if the history of the area we were passing through came to life. In reality, Pinedale was having its annual Rendezvous, a rodeo type celebration commemorating the days when the Mountain Ranchers would descend from the mountains to trade, drink, share stories, and hit on women.

Ville had arranged to stay with a WarmShowers host tonight. After taking a look at the camping accomodations, Apricots and I decided to go with Ville to his host and see if there was additional tent space. The hosts were extremely accomodating, inviting us in before we had time to ask.

The host showed us around the house. We have our own spare room in the garage with beds for the three of us. Then we went to the Laundromat and did laundry. The place was an exciting building full of hunting trophies mounted on the wall. See the attached pictures.

After laundry, we had lunch and returned to the hosts home for afternoon relaxation before dinner. Jay and Samantha, our kind hosts are out of town, so instead of Jay managing us, his mother and father are watching over the house and spoiling the grandchildren for their birthdays. As such, we had the joy of eating the dinner of choice for the birthday girl, a sphaghetti lasagna made with elk meat.

After dinner, we retired to the family room for evening social hour with sherbet  ice cream. Now bed time, with the pressing question... should we take a zero mile rest day tomorrow. Feel free to comment with your suggestions.

Live life at a slower place.

Sent From:
http://maps.google.com/maps?z=12&t=k&q=loc:42.85846+-109.86431

2 comments:

  1. You should buy the moose head and attach it to your handlebars.

    *Jillian

    ReplyDelete