My Third Consecutive Meal Consisting of a Burrito

July 4, 2013

Day 11: Laramie, Wyoming to Denver Creek Campground

Rolled out of the motel parking lot at 5:30, and noticed that all the traffic lights were blinking yellow. Was this related to whatever the electrical malfunction was last night that resulted in my free burrito? If so, I was not a fan of this manifestation of the problem, because I was afraid it would lead to a sleepy driver crashing into me.

That didn't happen, however, and I made it out of downtown Laramie. On the outskirts of town, out by the interstate, I stopped at the first gas station I saw and bought three king size Payday bars. These would have to power me all the way to Walden, Colorado. I had heard there were a couple of cafes on the way to Walden, but I assumed they would be closed today.

It was extremely flat leaving Laramie, and with an occasional tailwind I made good time. I was rushing to beat the expected holiday traffic, which never really materialized, at least not to the degree I feared. (The clerk at the store where I bought the Payday bars told me that her husband wanted them to go out today on their Harley, but she refused.)

When I reached Woods Landing, where sure enough the cafe and store were closed, the climbing began. I was actually ready for something different after the miles of boring flat riding from Laramie.

The descent was nice, but when I reached the Colorado border, the nice Wyoming shoulder disappeared just in time for an increase in the holiday traffic. It's a mystery to me how Wyoming can do such a nice job with their roads, while Colorado either cannot or will not. Despite the awesome scenery, Colorado is not my favorite place to ride for this reason.

The first Colorado town I rode into was Cowdrey. Starting now, for the rest of the day I would be on a road, State Route 125, that I had done in 2006 on the TransAmerica Trail. I remembered Cowdrey as being little more than a post office, but now it was practically a junk pile, with several lots full of junked cars and trucks and miscellaneous trash. What a shame.

Several miles later, Walden, pop. 608, remained the charming western town I remembered. I stopped for lunch at a cafe and ordered a burrito, because why not? This would my third consecutive meal consisting of a burrito. That, along with the Payday bars seemed to be working.

While I was eating, a man and his teenage son sat down at the table next to me. The man asked me what I was doing, and upon hearing that I was riding from Iowa to San Francisco, he mentioned that they were from Iowa, on a vacation. In a bizarre coincidence, their farm was only a few miles from my mother in law's home, where I started this trip!

After lunch I was on very nice, quiet SR 125 for the rest of the day. This was much better than I remember from 2006. It was practically deserted today. I even had a slight tailwind. Awesome.

The store was open in tiny Rand, and I stopped there for some cold drinks. The place is not a typical country store, but is instead a classy place that contains a large selection of western-themed books and gifts. While there, I talked to a (male) couple from London who were on vacation, driving through the American West. They seemed impressed with what they had seen.

The next ten miles I climbed up to Willow Creek Pass, and my first Continental Divide of this trip, where my odometer hit 100 miles for the day. I mostly coasted the next nine miles down, and stopped at a US Forest Service campground for the night. As I set up my tent relatively quickly, I felt like an expert camper for the first time, as I overheard the woman in the next campsite reading aloud to her husband from their tent's instruction manual.

A really nice day of riding. Tomorrow: The highest continuous paved road in the United States.