June 29, 2010
Day 4: Rangely, Colorado to Buford, Colorado: The White River Took My Diet Coke Away
I was awake at 5:00 and on the road at 6:30. I had been warned of the possibility of heavy truck traffic leaving town, but it wasn't bad. Once past the outskirts of Rangely, I was on the same road, CO-64, for the next 50+ miles. Except for the pleasant enough scenery, there was not much to see, and absolutely nothing of note happened. There are no services for the entire distance between Rangely and Meeker.
Things started looking greener as I approached Meeker. I stopped at a "Kum & Go", undoubtedly the most unfortunately named convenience store chain in existence, where I briefly visited the dirtiest bathroom I had seen in several years, then drank a quart of chocolate milk and a 32 oz Diet Pepsi.
I rode into town and found a park, where I slept for an hour on a picnic table under a shade tree before rousing myself for the last stretch into "Buford", which was a dot on my map, but whose existence I wasn't certain of.
The twenty miles or so to Buford was through the White River valley on scenic, low-traffic County Road 8. Very nice. Buford itself was only a campground, not a town. Things looked well maintained, but the store was locked and appeared to be empty. Eventually a sad looking middle aged lady appeared and told me that her family owned the campground, but they had decided not keep things going after the recent death of her father. She did agree to let me camp there, and even provided a large fluffy towel for a shower. She also produced a single, cold Diet Coke, which I was excited about since there there was no running soda machine, and the camp store was closed.
While I set up camp by the White River, I placed my Diet Coke in the cold, rushing water of the river by wedging it between some rocks, then went to find the shower house.
I cannot adequately describe my disappointment when I returned from my shower to find the can missing. Apparently I had underestimated the power of the mighty White River. Three years later, I'm still grieving over this.
I used the little stove to make dinner, then lay in the tent while a brief storm passed through, as I wondered if the tree I was camped under would fall and crush me. The tree remained standing, and I remained uncrushed, and I eventually fell into the fitful sleep that is all too common when I'm lying on the ground in a tent.
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Today's ride: 83 miles (134 km)
Total: 349 miles (562 km)
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