Wed. 19th. A.M.

Monday 17th Saratoga to Muddy Gap.  87 Miles

   Nobody could call this the most scenic day. Wyoming is sparsely populated and therefore has very few roads. So today included a stint on the freeway (motorway) which is legal and is part of the official route. Then it was past the Sinclair Oil Refinery, and along side the railway tracks, to the service town of Rawlins. I did find a very nice café were I had lunch and a huckleberry ice cream.
    I would call the next road an 'A' road-traffic included many trucks. It ascended up into arid, desert like scrub of sage and sand. There was a 12 mile section of road works. There are wild horses in the area but I did not see any.
     Camped outside the petrol station come shop at Muddy Gap. John an ex-marine who was mountain biking some of the dirt trails was also camping. He spent the evening telling me all about his marital problems. Did not sleep well, as trucks travelling the road most of the night.


    Tuesday 18th June Muddy Gap to Lander.  83 miles
        More semi desert sage and sand. More wind. However left the 'A' road at Muddy Gap, so then got onto a nice road. I am now on the Oregon Trail. Diaries of these early settlers lament the lack of trees in this area. They were travelling 12 miles a day, I have done the section in two.
     I went past Split Rock which served as a navigational aid to early pioneers and which are some of the oldest rocks in the area. I later passed Sweetwater Station, a welcome source of water for those early pioneers. Coaches from Salt Lake City, passed me yesterday, this is because I am also crossing the Mormon trail, and they visit the site at Sweetwater.
      There were no shops or cafes for the whole section today. This is because I passed through Jefferson city without stopping exactly as I had been advised! Jefferson City was a uranium mining town, but the mine has closed. It is a modern day ghost town. The relatively newly built secondary school is empty and closed, the prefabricated houses are rotting, and the café/bar was not inviting.
      My last 20 miles of the day took me past spectacular red rock formations, and I descended down to Lander, a great town, with cafes and camp sites and museums. I also met up with Gay (support van) , and her cycling husband again. We had a pizza together last night. I am going to spend a day here to rest up and am camped in the Sleeping Bear Ranch Resort.