Day 8: Craig to Baggs. North to Wyoming.

July 10, 2018

My motel doesn't serve breakfast so I went across the street to the City Market supermarket. I walked all around the deli area and couldn't find breakfast sandwiches. I asked an employee and he said the market was forced to quit selling $3 breakfast sandwiches after a Starbuck's coffee kiosk opened inside the store. So I went over to Starbucks and bought a tiny $5 breakfast sandwich.

On the road finally at 8:35 AM. Today is another short easy day but I hoped to get an earlier start to beat the heat. Today I go north to Wyoming.

Irrigated fields north of Craig. CO 13 has a narrow shoulder.

I was surprised to see several miles of irrigated fields north of Craig. I'm traveling away from the Yampa river and didn't expect water to be available here.

Tom and Ken started earlier and are faster, so I won't see them. Jacinto will start much later. I could see Kelly reeling me in when I stopped to take a photo. She caught up and took a picture of me while I was taking the photo. We rode together for a few miles after that, but eventually I fell behind when climbing a hill.

Kelly took this photo of me taking the previous picture.

Nothing else on today's route looked volcanic so it was a surprise to pedal by the spiny volcanic uplift called Fortification Rocks. It was probably an important navigational landmark for early travelers.

Distinctive volcanic uplift area called Fortification Rocks.

At about 10 AM I took a rest stop in the shade of a large sagebrush. The temperature was still pleasant then. An hour later it was no longer pleasant to take a rest because there was no shade and flies were swarming.

CO 16 mostly has a narrow 2 foot paved shoulder but also has 10 miles of old pavement with no paved shoulder. Fortunately the traffic is light. A shoulder will probably be added when that section is repaved. New pavement with a 2 foot shoulder resumes a few miles before the state line.

No paved shoulder or irrigation now. Back to high desert.

The grades were fairly gentle and I had a south tailwind. Easy miles today. But the tailwind reduces the airflow making me hotter and enabling flies to swarm around me while pedaling.

Today's biggest climb is a mere 300 feet, 5% grade. The state line is near the top.

Shortly before the big climb started I saw a county public works building and took a rest there. The tall metal building made a small shadow and it's surrounded by a large expanse of gravel that is inhospitable to the flies.

I stopped to take pictures at the Colorado/Wyoming state line. It's near a hilltop with a great view to the south. No self-portrait because I didn't carry a tripod on this tour.

While climbing to the hilltop I saw a passing motorist stop at the Wyoming sign just long enough to put something on the ground at the edge of the road. When I arrived a minute later I found a bottle of cold water, a can of Diet Dr. Pepper, and a note. I drank the cold water on the spot and carried the can to Baggs to give away.

A motorist left this on the roadside at the Wyoming welcome sign.The note says: *To the biker, keep pedaling - Virginians*

The town of Baggs is 2 downhill miles north of the state line. Population is only 440 but it's a regional center.

Today had a high of only 95F but it seemed very hot when pedaling north with a south tailwind reducing the airflow. I wished the wind was much stronger to keep the flies under control. The low this morning was a delightful 55F.

I arrived in Baggs at 1 PM and had a late lunch at the Cowboy Inn restaurant. The only restaurant in town.

I put the can of Diet Dr. Pepper on the bench outside the restaurant. After lunch I noticed that somebody emptied the can and started using it as a spittoon for chewing tobacco.

Cowboy Inn restaurant. We stayed at the adjoining motel.

We had reservations to stay in the 1898 Bobcat Inn. But that building has no A/C, poor ventilation and poor shade. I could never fall asleep there. So I called and reluctantly cancelled that reservation and got a room with A/C at Cowboy Inn. $86.40 with a fridge and microwave but no breakfast. The location is very convenient, attached to the only restaurant in town and across the highway from the only store in town.

Later in the afternoon I walked around the town to explore. It was uncomfortably hot but I was determined to look around Baggs after NOT looking around in Craig. Baggs is a charming farm and ranch town. Many buildings at least 75 years old. The population was 200 in 1920 and 440 in 2010. A rare farm town that has actually grown in the last hundred years.

Baggs is on the Little Snake river which flows southwest to the Yampa river. Elevation is 6240 feet (1891 m). Each day I get a little bit higher.

Awesome stone chimney on this Craftsman-style house in Baggs.

Abandoned house with rare hexagon shingle pattern.

Baggs is off the beaten track for most tourists but the town has a museum, visitor center, and many interesting historic structures. It was fun to wander around town.

The Outlaw Museum looks like a brand new log structure.

Old Town Hall seems to be a recent restoration project.

The former bank is one of many hidden gems in Baggs.

I was surprised to see that the former Episcopal church has been repurposed as a Visitor Center.

The former Episcopal church is now a visitor center.

I wasn't surprised to discover that the tall steeple in town is a Mormon church. Baggs is relatively far from Utah but it looks like a Mormon farm town.

The Mormon church is the biggest church in town.

At dinner I learned that Tom Swanson is 80 years old and Ken Paulsen is 60 years old. Tom is from hilly Tucson, Arizona. Ken is from flat Burkburnett, Texas. They're both faster than me.

Today was an easy cycling day. The weather was decent but flies were a big nuisance. Hopefully we are all sufficiently rested for tomorrow's big climb to Battle Pass.

Distance: 42.3 mi. (67.7 km)
Ascent/Descent: +1534/-1409 ft. (+465/-427 m)
Average Speed: 10.2 mph (16.3 km/h)

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 346 miles (557 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0