GREETINGS FROM WYOMING!
Leaving Paonia, Colorado, yesterday, was sweet sorrow, as I loved the village, it’s microclimate, and friendly folks. There’s a plan lurking in the back of my brain to return, and stay a month.
The delightful B&B, (Fresh & Wyld), is a 1908 farm house, owned by Dava Parr, a well known chef and self-confessed escapee from the grind of Aspen. A more pleasant person you couldn’t meet.
The road out of Paonia, headed north bound toward Wyoming is Route 133…a motorcyclists dream of a zillion sweeping turns, sharp corners, and occasional straight-aways that tempt a twist of the throttle. Roads like this, though thrilling, are quite tiring and demanding of one’s strict attention. But once out of the greener pastures and curving roads of northern Colorado, around the town of Craig on route 13, the land turned uninteresting and stayed that way to the Wyoming boarder and beyond. For the remainder of the ride to Rawlins, Wyoming, I asked myself, frequently, “Why do people live here”? The answer, of course, is mining and cattle.
What does one think about during miles upon miles of open land with nobody in sight? How about this…Is it OK to wear underwear two days in a row so long as you do number two, then shower, before putting them back on? I’ve decide that’s it’s OK. You know, deep stuff like that. And, it also crosses my mind that some people I know are worthy of love…and that many aspects of my life are blessed, and that others need to be changed.
Immediately after entering Wyoming, I went through a town that modern times has totally forgotten, it’s called Baggs. There was mild confusion about the direction of the road so I stopped to ask directions from a local who had just climbed out of his truck. It was so completely covered with mud that the brand was not discernable. This guy had on tan bib overalls over a T-shirt with loads of hair climbing up from his chest to an unshaved neck and then on to a full beard, topped off with a toothy smile, albeit one that seemed to be missing a few ivories. I stuck out my hand and said, “You’re the first person I’ve spoken to in Wyoming”! He laughed and extended his in return. It crossed my mind that not only were we meeting each other, we were meeting each other’s wives. With clarified directions in hand I roared off to Rawlins, arriving a few hours later just in time to beat the evening rain.
On the way to Rawlins I crossed the Continental Dived on three occasions…with no change in political views.
Rawlins was a good place to sleep and nothing more. Hence, no photos.
This morning I left Rawlins around 08:00 and headed northwest to Dubois. The initial look of the land had me thinking I’d landed on the moon. Long periods of time elapsed where I saw not a single living thing save some sorry ass looking grazing land. The sense of being alone in the midst of a great expanse of nothing is profound, and one becomes quite aware that to have a problem, of any kind, in an environment like this, means real trouble.
After what seemed to be endless miles of nothing the land began to change around the very attractive town of Lender, Wyoming. The land took on a more pastoral look; it was also the entrance to the Wind River Indian Reservation.
This statue of the Great Shoshone Chief Washakie, stands in front of a Shoshone Indian center on the reservation. He was a man who finally saw that peace and only peace would end his tribe’s slaughter by invading whites. He lived to the age of 102.
A big sky western look with snow capped mountains in the distance gave me plenty of WOW’s, and OMFG’s, in response to the waves of this incredible scenery. The profound beauty of this country, seen in real time also made me think about how so many Americans take this nation for granted. A great ride today, one that had me singling America The Beautiful over the sound of Harvey’s 96 cubic inch, made in America, 75 mile per hour rumble.
Dubois, is cute as hell, and a place to spend more time…perhaps another trip to this western of all western states.
The western evening sky winds down a wonderful day in this beautifully unpolished state. The state motto of Wyoming…Forever West. Long may it be so!
Harvey, this morning in Rawlings, WY. Fueled, packed, and ready to go!
Tomorrow morning…The Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone!
XO
Middie
