I was there - now I'm here

Dear All
Although in the last post, I was bemoaning my flat tire, I got the dinner and a movie after all - I went back to Sunny's Bike Shop and bought a puncture-proof tube - then bad Mexican followed by bad movie (Tarantino) - then a moon-lit ride back to the city campground next to the zoo. Funny falling asleep to the sound of a lion, or a jackal, or any large predator.

Wednesday, after being spoiled for days, I got a headwind. Hwy 26 into Wyoming was very busy and unpleasant with those Cheney lovers not giving an inch and the shoulder quite narrow by Nebraska standards. It was a thrill to see that Wyoming sign, though, and know I am inching along. In Torrington I found a bank which accepted my bankcard and now I am flush again. Access to money is a big concern for me since my Spanish fiasco. I have spent about $700 in the last 2 weeks which isn't much but then I have been living offbeat accommodations.

At the end of the day I was several miles west of Lingle in a campground (The Pony Soldier) owned by a woman from Naples, Florida. She invited me into the office, living room etc (It used to be a bar and her bedroom is the walk-in cooler) for chats and company. She got tired of Naple's congestion etc and now lives in the "Big Sky Country". The people camping next to me (Steve and I forget) came over to visit (everyone when they see the bike want to assure themselves I'm harmless) and told a great tale of their life. Lost jobs, house value in central Illinois approaching zero, they got work at a lodge in Jackson's Hole, Wyoming and were moving there to live in their 5th wheel - is this the American dream or what?

This morning a very early start as it is getting cold enough in the morning to see your breath and so I get up and move around. There was nowhere for coffee right through Fort Laramie (pop 250, elev 4200) so I went out to the historical site of the fort where they have several reconstructed buildings. Unlike Fort Kearney, many of the buildings were still standing (or leaning) and there is a sense of history. The only people there besides me were a couple from Bravaria, and I loved the solitude and the wind. There are no modern buildings around and you really get a sense of the isolation they experienced.

I went to the next town, Guernsey to see all the signatures carved into Register Cliff (today's graffiti is tomorrow's history) as well as the trail ruts. Then I ran out of steam at the thought of 30 more miles and hilly and 2 miles of this route would be gravel. Out of steam.

So I am camping at the town campsite beside the 10th hole of their golf course. My laundry is blowing in the wind beside where they get their carts. HaHa. There is a Mexican restaurant in town (I'm always hungry), and then to bed to dream of a light and fair easterly wind.

love
Laurence
ps Alain and Suzanne - roadkill today: 3 coyotes, 2 jackrabbits, 1 rattler (just the head).
ps Lee my access is 19471107 maybe you have to be administrator to post a link.
ps Andrew and Denise - why do people in Wyoming drive such big trucks?
ps Hi Kim, thanks for the note from you and Dad
ps Laura the poem is smashing. Thank you.
ps Scott and John - the Trailhead Museum in Independence sells books - one was
"The Donner party Cookbook"
ps Neil I'm probably going to take the bus to Vancouver since it is so much cheaper and I am on a fixed income seeing as how Ray won't pay union scale.
ps Colleen phone me 7 PM my time okay? I miss you

now all together everyone
The wheels on the bike go round and round
Round and round
Round and round
The wheels on the bike go round and round
Poppa's on the Trail.
L