Day 4: Thermopolis to Worland

July 12, 2024

Today's weather forecast calls for a high temperature of 99F (37C), so I got up at 6:30 and on the road at 7:30. Some people will laugh, but that's very early for me. The weather was pleasantly cool for the first 10 miles.

Today I followed a back road that goes north of Hot Springs State Park, across the river from the highway. Google thinks the entire road is paved, but only the first half is paved. I had 5 miles of the usual loose Wyoming gravel. I pushed the bike 1 mile in the worst areas, and pedaled vigorously to move slowly for the other 4 miles. The back road was more difficult than planned, but not on the scale of the rail trail on day 2. I enjoyed the scenery and solitude. Only 2 cars passed by in 2 hours.

Bighorn river and the lonely road north of Hot Springs State Park.

The back road crosses the Bighorn river just before connecting to US 20, the main highway.

A few miles north I detoured into the little village of Kirby to have a look. The town's roads aren't paved, so that added another half mile of gravel. There isn't much to see in Kirby. Wyoming Whiskey is the main landmark. I'm not a whiskey fan, plus I've heard the best stuff uses the Scottish spelling whisky.

Kirby is not an incorporated city, but it does have a city hall and post office building.

Kirby city hall and post office. Population 74.

After Kirby I continued north on US 20. Google recommended some parallel side roads, but none of them were paved. I stayed on the excellent smooth clean pavement of US 20.

I saw occasional reminders that Wyoming is a petro state similar to Alaska and Saudi Arabia. I'm not traveling through major oil and gas production areas, but there is oil and gas activity. Most of the tanker trucks on the highway smell like they are hauling crude oil.

Wyoming is wealthier than most rural states because of the oil and gas industry. Coal mining is declining rapidly. Oil and gas are king now, and pay most of the bills. Wyoming has excellent roads even though it has no sales tax and no personal income tax.

The excellent roads are funded by taxes on oil and gas production.

Today I passed more irrigated fields than natural high desert. I didn't see the Bighorn river very many times, but I was mostly in the irrigation zone. I was surprised that insects are still a nuisance when I stop. Few insects in sunny areas, but many insects in shady areas where I want to stop.

I was in a wide valley all day today. Surrounding hills are very big, but I didn't see big mountains.

10 miles south of Worland I turned onto WY 432. I have seen occasional WY 432 signs since Riverton. It seems to be the original road before US 20 was built. The WY 432 segment has no shoulder and almost no traffic. It's a delightful cycling road.

Beautiful WY 432. No traffic. Seems to be the original highway.

A little south of Worland I stopped to have a look at No Water creek which actually does have flowing water. The water looked yellow and polluted, though. Not as nice as the water in the Bighorn river which is visible in the distance.

No Water creek has water, but it looks nasty.

Strange white mounds in the middle of the wide valley.

Worland is a big town by Wyoming standards, population 4794. Very much a farm town, not a tourist town. It's the county seat of Washakie county which is named after the revered Shoshone chief.

Worland does not appear to be a tourist town.

Downtown Worland is modestly charming. The middle of downtown has a nice block called Pioneer Park which is across the road from the park-like grounds of the courthouse.

Unhappy looking pioneer woman in Pioneer Park.

The courthouse grounds has an amazing wood sculpture carved from an old-growth Douglas Fir tree from the Bighorn mountains. The artist apparently has made many similar sculptures from locally-sourced trees around the U.S.

Indian Brave #36 by artist Peter Toth. A Douglas Fir from the nearby Bighorn mountains.

Washakie County Courthouse. The county is named after the revered Shoshone chief.

The temperature was 95F when I arrived at 1:30 PM. I could have arrived earlier if my back road was fully paved. I was glad to be indoors for most of the oppressively hot afternoon. Tonight's home is Days Inn in Worland. Kind of expensive, but the office has free ice cream.

I tried to beat the heat today, arriving at 1:30 PM when it was 95F.

Today was supposed to be an easy day. Short distance, minimal climbing, tailwind. But an unplanned 5.5 miles of gravel forced me to work much harder than normal for about an hour. That wore me down, and the heat didn't help.

I felt quite exhausted, so I took a nap from 2:30 to 4:30, then had dinner at Stogie Joe's cafe 3 blocks away. I finally started to feel decent in the evening.

Distance: 42.2 miles total, 5.5 miles unpaved
Average Speed: 9.1 mph
Ascent/Descent: +984/-1188 feet

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 188 miles (303 km)

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Kelly IniguezFree ice cream at the motel is a new one. I could get behind that trend!
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4 months ago

Wayne EstesTo Kelly IniguezA freezer full of free ice cream helped compensate for the high $160 price of the Days Inn.
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4 months ago