Devil's Tower to Prune Creek, WY

We woke up to our fun view of Devil's Tower from the tent.

I had heard what I thought was a wide variety of birds, but when I got out of the tent, I saw that most of these different songs were coming from a single bird, this one:

I decided to go on a long bike ride, and Lena decided to stay at the campsite. With two long sleeve jerseys and a jacket I was very cold whenever the sun went behind a cloud. This was a great ride, with rolling hills and smooth pavement. Although the speed limit was 65, there was very little traffic, and the shoulder was wide.



This shot shows how the road wound through the farmlands. Click on it for a full view.

This picture was taken when I was 18 miles from the tower (where I started).

The cows along the route were apparently unused to bicyclists. One herd ran along the fence with me for a half a mile. Another herd took off in panic and tried to jump a barbwire fence. It looked like one was stuck, but when I came back it had gotten loose.

I turned around after 25 miles, and here I am with only five miles left.

I got back at around 12:30, and Lena had packed up almost everything. We took off and I felt that I deserved a 1/3 pound buffalo burger with homemade fries and a beer. I guess it's a little gross to always take pictures of half-eaten food, so I'm going to try to remember to take a picture before eating.




We arrived at the Bighorn Mountains very abruptly, and headed up over the pass. About halfway across Wyoming, in Bighorn National Forest, we started looking at campgrounds. We were at about 8,000 feet, and the first campground we came to was closed, and very snowy and wet. The next was Prune Creek. It was also snowy, but open and nice. Apart from the camp host, we were the only ones there.

On the menu was banger and mash -- that is, Aidell's chicken apple sausage and mashed potatoes (from a mix -- very good).

The wood from the camp host was soaking wet in parts, but after a while we had a nice warm fire.

We went to bed around 9:30 and slept well. We sleep even better than at home, partly because we're worn out after all the packing, driving, sightseeing, and unpacking. The mattress has done great now that we pamper it by putting a blanket under it.

We've got some adventures coming up. We camp in the crater of an active volcano, and a huge mammal comes into our campsite to give Lena the fright of her life. Stay tuned!