Pocatello is a beautiful city tucked in the Rocky Mountains that we passed through on our previous trip through Idaho. It served as the starting point for this segment of our journey. From this point Hwy 30, the “Lincoln highway,” named after the man with the vision for the first cross-country thoroughfare, would take us through picturesque SE Idaho into Wyoming.  

In contrast to southern Wyoming, which is mostly high, dry prairie, SE Idaho features lush green mountains creating a scenic paradise for bicyclist and motorist alike (although on bike you get to enjoy it longer). The peaks are separated by huge valleys that provide rich agricultural land for farms and easy riding for bicyclists who are not so fond of climbing mountains.

At the same time you can’t put off the inevitable forever. Some ranges on the route need to be crossed, and the only direction is up. Google forewarned us of a steep 1000 foot climb just outside of Lava Hot Springs, our first night’s stop, and the mount was conquered the next day. The spectacular view at the end of the climb makes it worth the effort (well, almost).

Our “heroic” climb was also rewarded after our arrival in Soda Springs later that day. The town boasts a geyser that sprouts exactly on the hour (because that’s when they unplug the hole) and wagon ruts still in place from the Oregon-California trail, which passed this way. A little west of here was the bifurcation of the trails. Which one would you have taken?

Nancy had been having some issues with her front sprocket-axle coming loose, and it reoccurred again on this trip. With no bike store within a hundred miles we appealed to Ryders Motorcycle Repair in Montpelier, ID, where the kind attendant spent 20 minutes tightening it with the tools he had on hand, and didn’t charge a thing! We constantly marvel how God cares for us on these trips. Thanks to Ryders as well.

The Idaho-Wyoming border is guarded by the border town of Border, ID, which consists entirely of a large fireworks store - appropriate for the 4th of July, the day we crossed over. We stopped for the night at the Hideout motel and RV park in Cokeville. Since they weren’t really set up for tent campers, the owner let us camp out in their decorative teepee. So, we got to be honorary Native Americans for the night. The next morning the locals came out for a pancake breakfast at the city park, which we enjoyed with them.

The name of Kemmerer, WY held no special significance for us except for being the next stop down the road until we came across the original J. C. Penney store there. Although Penney himself was from Missouri, he moved west for health reasons and in 1902 joined two partners in opening a dry goods store in Kemmerer. And the rest in history. Big things have small beginnings.

The next day, along with Hwy 30, we joined interstate 80, which would take us most of the way across the State. In many western states, thankfully, bicycle riding is allowed on interstates, making trip logistics MUCH easier. We stopped that night at Little America, WY, named after the Little America motel located there. It’s a huge complex of buildings dating back to the 60’s providing gas, food, lodging, truck repair, and anything else a traveler might need.

Entering southern Wyoming, we mistakenly thought that the spectacular scenery was already behind us, until we encountered the Palisades of Green River. Hard to beat the western United States for awesome sightseeing.

Instead of attempting a 75 mile trek to our next stop, we took a 7 mile detour off I-80 to camp in Superior, WY, which advertises itself as a ghost town. Although 300 people still live there, the downtown of this former coal town is abandoned except for one bar that opens from time to time to serve drinks and food. We were fortunate to arrive on a day the bar was open and didn’t have to go to bed hungry that night. Leaving the highway held a surprise for us – a band of wild horses grazing along the road.

Did you know that out West there are two continental divides? We were confused when we crossed the divide twice the same day. Later we learned that there is a sliver of land between the the two divides that doesn’t drain either into the Pacific or the Gulf of Mexico. A geologist’s “no man’s land.”

We can’t talk about Wyoming without talking about the wind. It is likely the wind capital of America. Thankfully, the prevailing west wind was prevalent throughout our ride and gave us quite a ride some days. On our 60 mile ride from Rawlins to Medicine Bow we rode behind a 30 mph west wind with gusts to 40+. We hardly pedaled all day and were actually getting pushed uphill. The only problem that day was trying to stop.

Laramie - end of the road. Here we spent a pleasant night with Tom’s niece Laura and her husband Tyler in their beautiful new home and got a tour around town by a true Laramite. You might ask, what about the gap between Cheyenne, our last starting point, and Laramie? Between the two cities there’s a huge mountain range to climb and descend on busy I-80. No thanks. (No one’s perfect.)

   

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