TA 2 - September 14

Yesterday was a rest day, or "free" day, in Lander. Of course, the irony of that terminology is that our free days are generally the only days that we have to spend money to feed ourselves.  I'm fighting a chest cold, so I pretty much tried to avoid people and take it easy all day. I wandered through town, had a nap and visited the local museum. I thought the museum was excellent - both an indoor section detailing Indigenous and European history of the area and an outdoor pioneer village. There is obviously a pride of community around here.

Back on the bikes again this morning. We really are in the middle of nowhere. Our destination is Jeffrey City, population 58 as of the last census. There is no hotel left in the ghost town so we needed to be shuttled back to Lander at the end of the day. Rather than endure the shuttle ride some folks chose to simply ride a loop closer to town and some folks chose to turn around halfway and ride back to Lander. About half of us rode the prescribed route.  And it really was an enjoyable ride. Lots of emptiness, quiet roads and inviting pavement stretched out before us.  One big climb from about mile 27 to mile 34. We had a bit of mild headwind early in the day, some moderate crosswind mid-day and a strong tailwind to finish it off. It's hard to take meaningful photos of such a vast landscape, but here's a sampling.

At 40 miles we crossed the Sweetwater River and the historical Mormon Trail Handcart Site. Unfortunately it looked like the Visitor  Center was closed.  Apparently this area offered one of the easiest routes to points west, so many of the historic trails came through here.

Looks like wind is a common issue around here. Miles and miles of snow fences.

And finally into Jeffrey City, the biggest bust of them all.......

Great day!

Stats for the day:
Lander WY to Jeffrey City WY
59 miles. 95 km.
2725 feet up. 1807 feet down.
Temps: 10C to 29C. Bright and sunny all day. Lots of tailwinds!