that old wind again

so often i sit down at the computer, when i get to one, and don't really know what to write. i always figured that i'd have something to say, lots to say, whenever i would get to one, but i'm finding it to be otherwise. tonight we're in Douglas, WY and it's about as windy as i've seen it so far this trip. i just talked to dad about an hour ago and he said he'd been blown UP a hill at 35mph! i didn't get that kind of wind on my trip in, oh well. we've got 1-2 days left in Wyoming and then it's into Nebraska for a bit, and then on to Kansas, i guess.

we seem to be out of the major rains for now, just some thunderstorms that roll through rather quickly.

as i rode over what was likely our last mountain pass for a long, long time i was both happy and sad. i'd definitely rather ride up and down mountains for the duration of the trip, but mountains usually mean shorter days. so leaving the mountains means we should be able to move a little further across the map each day, and if the winds are favorable we'll inch along that much quicker, or at least with a little more ease.

a few nights ago we were in Jeffrey City, an old uranium mining town about 60 miles outside Lander, on the way to Rawlins or Casper. what a place that was. i met an artist-fellow who'd just bought a building and lot for $5000 and had to put a roof on the place that cost another $10K, twice the cost of the building and lot! anyways, the town population once was about 3-5000 and is now about 50. at the bar/cafe they won't take a credit card and charge $2.25 for a glass of whisky (Jack or Jim), everything else is cheap too and the breakfast was HUGE! i suppose it's the kind of place your could escape from the world, there's ranches, sage, some granite (i think) and that's it. no gas, no groceries, just about no nothing. oh, there's pronghorn deer too.

i'm sitting at this computer at the KOA and it's running SUSE Linux, what a surprise. and since i'm at a KOA i'm heading for the shower to wash away today's salt/sweat accumulation...i guess that last night we were camped at one of the premier river trout fishing in the country on the North Platte outside Alcova, fyi.

ok. be well,
ross