Just got off our rest day, so most riders were feeling pretty fresh. We left Casper just after 7:00 this morning with nice skies, not too hot and favorable winds. Actually the first 65 miles were pretty easy today and lots of fun. The scenery was not quite as boring as on Thursday. We saw a river much of the morning, which meant a lot of vegetation. Also saw several deer and even a herd of 20 or so running across the fields. We started out in a pace line of about 10 riders, so it's pretty easy to sit back in the middle, with the wind at your back and go 20+mph with working at all. Shortly after the first SAG, though, we had to get back on the interstate for almost 15 miles. That pretty much broke up the nice pace line.
After the second SAG at mile 65, the winds shifted a bit and the road turned slightly, making for a pretty strong cross wind to fight. En the road turned bad so the next 20 to 25 miles were a challenge. But we had four of us working together to make it a bit easier. We got into Lusk shortly after 2 p. not too bad.
We saw a lot of very long trains today, all hauling coal or going to get coal. We were told that they run all day long, sometimes up to two miles long.
Lusk has the distinction of being the county seat of the least populated county in the least populated state in the US. Lusk has under 1600 residents. We went through one town today where the sign said "population 4." But it did have a bar. In comparison of size, though, the county is approximately twice the size of the state of Rhode Island. Lots of cattle farming around here. The average size ranch here in Wyoming is 4800 acres, but many are much, much bigger. From what we were told, each head of cattle gets about 40 acres. I found that surprising. I also learned that almost half of Wyoming is managed (owned) by the Bureau of Land Management (federal government). The largest employer here in Lusk, though, is the state prison for women where nearly 400 are incarcerated.
I talked with LaVonne who helps out here at the Covered Wagon Best Value Inn during the summer. During the school year she works in a special education classroom. She moved back to Lusk about 20 years ago to be with her mother after her father died. She and her husband have two daughters, the oldest having just graduated from high school. She thinks Lusk is a great place to raise a family, as the crime rate is very low. She said most people leave their keys in the car and don't bother to lock the house when they leave. Every once in a while a teenager will get in trouble for trying to steal some alcohol and last year some kids busted up a pumpkin. That made the front page of the local paper. She thinks her daughters have learned to treat other people fairly from her.we visited the town museum where they have some real and plaster cast dinosaur bones. I guess they've found lots of these bones pretty close to here. They also,have one of the actual old stage coaches that was used over a hundred years ago. It did not look comfortable at all.
Next week (we missed by a week) the city of Lusk will celebrate the Legend of Rawhide with a big parade and I'm not sure what else. While at the museum, I asked what the legend was ... and here is what I was told. Remember, it's legend so probably not true
There was a wagon train coming through these parts years ago and a young boy vowed to shoot the first Indian he saw. And evidently he did. Some thought it was an Indian maiden he killed, but it turned out to be an old woman washing clothes. Anyway, this endangered the entire wagon train, so the young boy turned himself over to the Indians. They took their revenge by skinning him alive, and thus the legend of rawhide was created.
Tomorrow, we ride a little over miles and into South Dakota. The next few days promise to have their challenges.
Be well.
Don
Just now catching back up with you Don over the past few days. Had a bit of adventure myself as Marcia and I spent Thursday to SUnday helping to crew for our son Steve who embarked on and finished a cross Ohio run from Browns stadium in Cleve. to Paul Brown Stadium in Cin. He and a friend spent 4 days on the road with Steve running about 225 of the 252 and his friend covering about 140 of it. It was quite the effort on both their parts and we were pretty well consumed over those 4 days helping his wife with the baby, keeping htem in food and riding along side when there was noone else to run with.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are making great headway and settling into the routine of riding while still getting in on the local lore and building up the mileage and the speed. COntinue to enjoy your people encounters as well and the description of the scenery. Only one flat so far from what I can tell and no mechanicals on bike or bod. Stay safe and vaya con Dios.