Written by Nancy

Day 30 – June 27 – 33 Miles, 1,283 feet climbing (Thermopolis to Shoshoni)

A very short day to the middle of nowhere…  As Dave previously mentioned, today was a staging day, to get us as close to Casper as we could get to allow us to arrive there on Friday.  There is absolutely nothing between Shoshoni and Casper except one rest area (no camping allowed), so we are overnighting in the small settlement of Shoshoni (population 309) to give us a ~100 mile ride into Casper tomorrow.

Given we only had 33 miles to ride today, we had a relatively late start this morning.  We managed to drag ourselves away from the Elk Antler Inn by about 8am, and without pilfering any of the ‘unique’ elk memorabilia – gosh, if only we had more room in our bags (not). We hit the nice coffee shop in town for a good coffee and some breakfast, which Chris and Curtis then supplemented with additional food from the bakery we hit yesterday.  It was already quite warm when we left town, so no vests or leg warmers needed.

Shortly after we left town we headed into the Wind River Canyon, through which the Bighorn River runs.  The canyon is quite narrow, with the road on one side of the river and a train track on the other side.  All kinds of different rock formations line the walls, which are steep enough to give you vertigo if you look up at them from the road. There were several signs that identified certain rock formations and provided timelines – most were aged 185 million to 600 million years old.  So, some pretty old rocks out here in Wyoming!  It was a very scenic ride, and the train coming down the other side showed us just how the noise echoed through the canyon. 

It was very odd – I kept hearing this very loud rumbling behind us and I was checking my mirror every few seconds as I was sure some very big trucks were coming up behind us but I could not see anything on the road behind us.  Then all of the sudden a train with three engines appeared on the tracks across the river – the noise was pretty deafening.  It was quite a long train as well, carrying freight and quite a few empty platforms toward the end.

There were quite a few folks fishing in the river, both in boats and standing on the banks. I think fly fishing is a big tourist draw here – lots of fishing guides advertised, as well as little cabins along the narrow strips of land next to the river.  There were even a few ranch gates with big arches, though it was difficult to see where these led, given the high rock walls.

At the end of the canyon lies the Boysen Dam and behind it the Boysen Reservoir.  The reservoir is pretty large and there were lots of boats out on the water.  There were camping areas around the reservoir, utilized mostly by campers and fifth-wheels.  It would be a difficult place to camp in a tent, as there was nary a tree to be seen, so no shade whatsoever and no protection from the wind. The scenery completely changes at the end of the canyon, and all you can see for miles is dry, wind-swept land on either side of the reservoir. 

We made it to Shoshoni about noon and, given it was too early to check in to our hotel, we spent an hour or so at the only place in town – the new truck stop.  It’s quite funny, as when we told anyone that we were going to Shoshoni, that is the first thing we heard about – the big new truck stop.  Well, it is big, relative to the area at least.  And it really is the only place in town that provides any services.  And they do have a little deli/pizzeria, cold drinks, all kinds of snacks, etc., so it’s understandable that it is the identifying feature of Shoshoni.

After killing some time at the truck stop we headed to the hotel that I had booked – the slightly oddly named Love Hotels Desert Inn (it is literally the only hotel in Shoshoni).  We rode down the road in the direction of where it showed up on Google maps, and we seemed to be heading out of town.  I told Dave I thought we were on the wrong street, but no, sure enough there was a sign across the street in front of a place that looked a little (a lot) worse for wear.  Hmm, this might be bad, I thought…  Really, the sign was barely standing upright, the parking lot seemed to be losing its battle with tumbleweeds, and there were a couple of odd-looking characters hanging out near some of the rooms.

An energetic young lady came out of a door that looked slightly like an office and told us our rooms would be ready shortly, she was just finishing the cleaning.  She was working very hard, appearing to be all on her own out here.  Eventually she asked if the guys would be willing to help with something in one of the rooms in exchange for knocking some money off the rate.  So off the boys went to help install a new TV on the wall in one of our rooms!  Despite the slightly rough looking exterior, the rooms themselves are not too bad (relatively speaking, of course), though our bathroom is so small you can’t close the door without either standing in the shower or squeezing around the toilet to get to the sink.  Oh well, it’s just for one night (thank goodness).

After getting cleaned up we headed back to the main attraction (the truck stop, of course) to hang out until it was late enough to eat pizza for dinner (5pm).  Actually the pizza was not too bad, and the free ice water was much appreciated, as the water in the room is not perfect…

Tomorrow a very early start is planned, rolling by 6am to take advantage of the cooler temps and to try to get into Casper at a decent hour.  Though of course, the first stop will be back at the main attraction (the truck stop, of course) to supplement whatever breakfast rations we get here at the hotel.  Yes, strangely enough, breakfast is included with the room.  Will we be brave enough to eat it?  That remains to be seen…