DAY THIRTY-SIX 7/22/00
Rest Day in Rawlins
We bid another farewell to Chris and Mike after having breakfast at Cappy's. Their bikes were tuned up and that's what we needed to do today too. Ken went to the hardware store, got some chain cleaner, and went to work. Rita worked on the journal entries and answered email. We both ate lots of ice cream. While we waited for our clothes to get dry at the very congested laundromat, we talked with a former over-the-road truck driver who recently moved from Glendive, MT to Rawlins to accept a position at the Wyoming State penitentiary. She explained that she picked up prisoners from 23 counties of Wyoming as well as Colorado and New Mexico. She liked her new job and was anxiously waiting for her new double wide trailer so she could do laundry at home. When Rita had a fresh produce attack she sent Ken out to look for the supermarket. On his way, he stopped to ask directions from a scruffy, elderly gentleman sitting on a park bench (Rita wonders: can men really ask for directions?). During the course of the conversation, Ken learned that 78 year old Oscar Hall was a retired trial lawyer. He claimed to have defended more murderers than anyone else in the history of Wyoming. He conceded that several of his defendants did end up on death row.   

DAY THIRTY-SEVEN 7/23/00 16 miles 2030 ft
Rawlins to Teton Reservoir N41*37.2' W107*15.3'
After stopping at the Old State Pen, a State Historical Site since 1981, we were ready get out of town about noon. We should have known better than to start out with a 5 mile climb in 100 degree heat with a headwind. After just 16 miles we opted out for the day at Teton Reservoir. This BLM desert camp site, was shadeless and the water, when filtered, tasted like soap. We went for a dip in "medicinal" mineral waters, set up a tarp for shade and took a nap with hopes that tomorrow would finally get us back into some trees of Medicine Bow National Forest.

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT 7/24/00 38.5 miles 3210 ft 
Teton Reservoir to Little Sandstone Creek N 41*8.4' W107*11.3'
We were very well rested when we hit the road at 6:30 AM to beat the heat. After 10 miles of pavement we climbed 6 miles to Middlewood Hill (Divide crossing #14). As soon as we were over the divide we started to look for stream water that tasted better than the soapy water from Teton Reservoir. We never thought that water filtered while sitting next to cow pies could taste so good. It seemed like we rode forever over steep, barren, rolling hills before we finally reached Medicine Bow National Forest. When we arrived at Little Sandstone Creek, the Adventure Cycling Group came in right behind us. They had ridden the entire 53 miles from Rawlins today. A little later 4 more gentlemen, who were doing a 2 week segment of the trip arrived at camp as well. We all shared tales of the heights and depths of the day.

DAY THIRTY-NINE 7/25/00 45 mi 3460 ft 
Little Sandstone Creek to Slater Park N40*49.6' W107*8'
We needed our headlights this morning to break camp at 4:30. With 90-100 degree heat it seems that we just can't start early enough. We said goodbye to  Doug, Dewey, Dennis & Jerry, (the 4 segment riders) as they were taking the alternate route into Steamboat Springs. The Adventure Cycling gang is with us into Steamboat. We started the day riding through "Aspen Alley", a 1 mile tunnel of trees that made you feel like you were in an enchanted forest. When we hit 20 miles of pavement, were greeted by 2 gentle dogs only to discover, a short distance away, they were herding about 500 head of sheep, most of them on the road in this open range land. That nice smooth pavement dropped us about 2000 feet in elevation and we seemed to fall from WY into CO. Then we had to gain that 2000 feet back as we headed into Colorado's Rocky Mountain's High. The landscape is changing from the desert to more mountainous and the aspen, pine, & spruce afford us some occasional shade. About a mile before our designated camp we were greeted by Adventure Cycling guys, who were back tracking for reliable water. We opted to camp closer to the water and headed to a camp where some other tents were set up in a group of aspen trees. There was no one around, but we pitched the tent quickly to get out of the impending rain. After the storm, we heard voices and climbed out of the tent to be greeted by the Rocky Mountain Youth Corp (RMYC). This group of 2 adult leaders and ten 16-18 year olds spend 4 weeks in the National Forests building trails and gaining outdoor as well as life skills through hard work and play. RMYC, founded eight years ago, is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the Great Depression. Palmer and Lynn, the 2 adult leaders of RMYC, were kind enough to offer us clean drinking water to save us the trouble of filtering. Our filter has been clogging and pumping has become very tedious.

DAY FORTY 7/26/00 40 mi 2620 ft 
Slater Park to Steamboat Springs
Today's 40 mile trip into Steamboat Springs started with a 5 mile climb with the last 1.5 miles being a pusher over a very steep, rocky road. A couple guys with the Adventure Cycling group were able to ride that entire technical stretch. We claimed our butts needed a break and that we really enjoyed walking while pushing our bikes. When we reached Watershed Divide we felt like we were back to the gorgeous mountain views we experienced in Montana. The long downhill from nearly 10,000 feet into 6800 elevation at Steamboat Springs took us into ranch lands, where haying is in full swing, and then into the upscale housing developments sprawling out from town. Steamboat Springs has the same advantages and disadvantages of most rapidly growing resort towns. The biggest problem is the lack of affordable housing for those people with an average income. On the plus side, the town has developed a wonderful free public transportation system to help deal with the growth and congestion. Although we haven't had a flat, the tread is nearly gone on our back tires. We are going to lay-over a day in to get new tires, to stock up on groceries, and catch up on mail.

Water Filter Problems: Other than Ken's rear rack breaking during the first week, our problems have been minimal. However, 3 weeks into the trip our PUR Voyager began to plug. When we arrived at Colter Bay, we called the PUR Company. They offered some suggestions as well as agreeing to send another cartridge to Pinedale. Just 10 days after receiving our new filter, again it began to plug. After concurring with Adventure Cycling, we found they were having similar problems. When we arrived in Steamboat we checked with the outdoor shops and called PUR again. PUR filters have received excellent ratings from several outdoor publications and no one seemed to have any answers. We have deduced that since it has been so hot, the stream water, which is warmer than usual because of the unseasonably hot temperatures, contains more algae which could be causing our clogging problems. We have decided to treat our filter daily with bleach solution and PUR, which has bent over backwards to help, is sending another new cartridge.

DAY FORTY-ONE 7/27/00 Rest Day
Steamboat Springs, CO
At dinner last night as Mazzola's Italian Restaurant we enjoyed our first glass of wine in 6 weeks with our all you can eat salad bar and lasagna. What a treat! This morning we took the free transit back downtown for breakfast at Johnny B Good. Life is good. After we checked out the bike shops, outdoor shops, and stocked up on groceries we headed back to camp to tune-up the bikes and catch up on mail. The bus driver told us that Steamboat Springs got its name from the hot springs that used to sound like a chugging steamboat until the railroad built the railbed over one of the vents. We had a very nice rest day in the shade along the Yampa River.

DAY FORTY-TWO 7/28/00 41 miles 3270 ft 
Steamboat Springs to Lynx Pass N40*6.3' W106*41'
The Adventure Cycling group decided to enjoy the activities in Steamboat Springs one more day, but we were ready to head back into the hills. As we rode through the rural housing developments leaving town we were greeted by two baby foxes on the road. Ken guessed Mama was close by. Despite a 3200 foot climb to camp at Lynx Pass at nearly 9000 feet, today's ride was not too long, not too steep, not too hot, and not too hard. When we reached camp, we were thinking that all in all we had a very pleasant day. We had ridden a single track trail along Stagecoach Reservoir, past dude ranches with children learning to ride horses, and through the shaded roads of the Routt National Forest. As the winds died down toward evening the skies became more hazy with smoke from distant forest fires.