Rawlins to Riverside to Walden

Rawlins was a place to get some chores done. After having a fabulous lunch at a great Thai restaurant, we went to the Post Office to mail home some maps and things we didn't need anymore, and headed for the library. We knew that our friend Rick was in town and we were planning to have dinner with him and then head off in the morning, more or less staying together until Pueblo.

Our motel was across the street from his, and after some false starts, we finally were able to get dinner from the crankiest waitresses yet! We set off in the morning, and he had heard from his friend Read, so we expected to meet up in Riverside for our last night in Wyoming.

The day's ride included a stop for a great lunch in Saratoga, where there is a hot spring. Access to it was free, including changing rooms and shower, so we thought it worth checking out. As we exited the restaurant, we ran into Rick and Chris and Roger from England. So now we're a group! We went to the hot spring, and it was wonderful: the hot spring pool was far too hot, but we found that there was a pool made from rocks in the river. When the hot water mixed with the river water, it was just right.

We lounged in the hot spring for about an hour, where we also met David, Read's friend. He would be riding to Riverside also, so the seven of us would end up camped together. More about that later.

Also soaking were a couple from Texas who had sold their house and were on their way to Taos, NM with their house/horse trailer. They were winding their way around the west before settling down in Taos to "retrain" horses and their owners. Rouding out our soaking group were a family from somewhere on their way to the Rainbow Gathering in Steamboat Springs, CO. It was a great interlude, and as we left Chris and Roger arrived. Rick chose to forego the soak, saying that if he actually got in he might never want to get out.

Our ride to Riverside was tough, but beautiful. For a while it was the same old Wyoming: dry, sagebrush, desolate. But as we topped the last rise into Saratoga, we saw trees and grass! I almost cried it looked so beautiful. Our last miles into Riverside saw the landscape grow more and more lush. We stopped at the Visitor Center where we met Bill, a cowboy about 75 or 80 years old. He was the perfect host at the center, telling us about the area and wanting to help however he could. He highly recommended the Lazy Acres Campground, just a few hundred feet down the road. It was run by Larry and Judy, who he said "kept everything scrupulously clean." He was right. When we arrived Read and David were already there. We set up our tent and shortly thereafter the rest of the group rolled in. Of course we had the usual comparisons of tents, etc. Read and David are traveling very light and were of course both fascinated and appalled by our "traveling circus" as Dale from Hawaii had called the tandem and trailer.

Our group had gelled for at least that moment. Our choices for dinner were either the Bear Trap Cafe or the Mangy Moose saloon, both right across the street. We started at the Mangy Moose, but the bartender/cook/etc. quickly got overwhelmed because there was another group of five or six people and he didn't think he really could cook for all of us. The other group happened to include the chief of police of a town near Cleveland. (We didn't hold that against him, though) He gave our friends from England his card in case they get into any trouble as they travel east.

Eventually, both groups left for the Bear Trap Cafe, where actually we didn't fare any better timewise. Eventually we all got food. The waitress seemed totally confused by the idea of having to wait on people. I thought that interesting for someone who worked in a restaurant.

Our campsite was delightful; the Platte River rolled by about 15 feet from our head, so we were lulled to sleep by the sound of the water. It was actually a good night's sleep, with no noise but that. In the morning, we were gently awakened about 6 by the sound of bellowing cattle. (No roosters necessary). We were a study in efficiency as tents came down and bikes were packed and we moved on to the grocery store next door to pick out breakfast and lunch items.

Our ride today was to include a 50-mile trek to Walden where we would make a cafe/grocery stop. At that point, David would leave us to head to his cousin's house in Laramie. Read has progressed beyond the next pass and Rick's original riding partner John has already reached Pueblo. So now our group is 5. Rick, Bob and I had planned to ride an additional 25 miles to Rand in order to make tomorrow's ride over the pass shorter; Chris and Roger were convinced that was a good idea by the time they reached Walden. Alas, upon making several inquiries we found that the campground in Rand was now closed.

Ever flexible, we checked into motel rooms here in Walden and decided to make the best of it by meeting at 6:00 p.m. for a drink and then deciding on a place for dinner. The River Rock Cafe opens at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow and we plan to be there by that time for breakfast and get in some miles before coming to the pass we have to cross. Our destination for tomorrow is Kremling, and we hope to reach Breckenridge by Saturday night.

Boo hoo. Things already seem to be winding down. We fly out of Denver one week from today. We've already reserved a room at the Marriott there and have talked to the bike shop where they will ship our bike and trailer. Although we still have lots of adventure left, it really seems to be going by fast now. It's great to be part of a group: it seems to provide incentive and it is nice to be able to socialize in the evening even though we usually end up riding separately during the day. Our tandem makes the downhills an advantage for us!

So far, Colorado is wonderful. It's much greener here already and we can see why. We saw two rainstorms today, one to our left and one to our right. They were each probably 50 miles away. The distances one can see are truly astounding. The landscape is rockier and we are definitely back in mountain country. The breeze even feels cooler even when the sun is at its hottest. I'm sure as we climb to almost 12,000 feet at Hoosier Pass we'll see some more snow and maybe even have frozen clothes again. So although the barrenness of Wyoming did get tedious, when we look back, we've had some great variety. Onward and Uuuuupppward.