If every morning could start off as good as eggs, bacon and toast cooked by Jeff, this trip would be easy. After saying goodbye to my wonderful hosts Jeff and Lynne I resumed the torture to my legs by venturing 30 miles down the road to Crowheart. I assumed the town was named after the heart of a bird, but it actually came to be because of a Shoshone chief placing the heart of a Crow Indian on a stake to celebrate victory in a battle over hunting grounds.
About 13 miles in, right after crossing into the Wind River Indian Reservation, I encountered a group working on changing a tire on a camper at a turnout for taking pictures. A couple from Lander was helping a woman from Minnesota on a road trip. I stopped and asked if I could be of any help, but they were already finished jacking up the camper and were ready to put on a spare. Mrs. Valentine, from Lander, offered me an entire large bag of cherries from the farmer's market in Riverton which I graciously accepted.
Another younger couple from the Washington DC area pulled into the turnout. They were actually on their way to moving to Beaverton, close to home for me. They very kindly left me with a bag of apple slices and a bottle of veggie juice. I left the scene soon after the county sheriff left from checking in on the repair process. Mr. Valentine told me I'd be alright if I kept the wind at my back and the Lord in front of me.
The remainder of the run flew by as I rolled into the Crowheart store. A younger couple left in a '78 Ford pickup only to return a few minutes later to ask, "Hey, you wanna go to Lander?" Of course I did! I piled into the pickup with Casey, Tyler, and their dog Otie to make the 40+ mile drive.
Casey and Tyler were amazing company as they bought me a burger at the Lander Bar and introduced me to the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Lander. Casey had been a student there for a semester in Patagonia. While we waited for Tyler to visit his mother in town, Casey and I flipped through a photo book of Wyoming at the NOLS outlet store. I thought I had seen most of Wyoming's splendor with the Tetons, Pinnacles, and Painted Valley, but I haven't really even scratched the surface. This state makes the short list of places to come back to to explore.
On the way home we stopped at a mission outside of Ft. Washakie I thought my great grandmother, Virginia Trenholm, may have worked at as she documented the histories of the Shoshone and Arapahoe tribes. It turns out her mission was 20 miles away, but it was an interesting stop none-the-less.
Back in Crowheart, Tyler asked me if I'd ever seen a horse shod. I answered no and he asked if I wanted to. I said alright, despite mishearing "shot," and thinking this could be interesting. Tyler replaced a horseshoe that had fallen off while Casey prepared a lucky horseshoe for me as a parting gift.
They dropped me back off at the fire station where I would spend the night in a covered outdoor picnic area.
Casey, Otie, and Tyler
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