I bid farewell to Mary, one of the owners of the Bright Spot, after fixing two flat tires on the stroller. Two of my previous patch jobs hadn't quite held up. I thought I would only be doing 20 miles to Powder River, and it was crazy that that distance would be less than half of what I did yesterday. I again was in no rush to leave as I had a town of 44 people waiting for me to camp in with no services.
I started by running the six miles to the highway rest area where I took an extended break to catch some extra rest. As I left from the rest area a truck with US Government plates slowed down and the driver asked me to stop as he wanted to talk to me. Great, I thought, now I'm trouble. Turns out it was Alan, my future host in Chadron, Nebraska, who was passing by for his work with the Forest Service. It was great talking to him for a bit and look forward to a longer visit next week.
I ran next to Hell's Half Acre, pictured below. There was no indication that such a canyon was coming up, just this other worldly drop-off on the side of the road. It was interesting to learn that Indians would drive herds of buffalo off of these cliffs and that parts of the movie Starship Troopers were filmed here. I met a family from southern Michigan travelling the state of Wyoming who offered me a place to stay there if I ever passed through.
I got to Powder River only a few miles after. It was only about 2 o'clock and there wasn't very much to do. I decided to roll the dice and shoot for a lake about 15 miles east without knowing much about it other than it existed. That would make a 35 mile day, after a 41 mile one no less, but it would set me up nicely for the run into Casper the next day.
Ice/refrigeration joined the list of everyday things that have taken on new levels of appreciation, joining showers, home-cooked meals, and beds. As the temperature rose to 90 and the sun got to my back, all of my water and lemonade got really warm and disgusting. I still had to down it though as I couldn't get dehydrated. I was really hoping someone at the lake would have ice to make everything more tolerable to drink. I didn't have such luck.
I got to the turnoff to the lake and walked the mile gravel road to the reservoir. It was pretty nice place and I was surprised at the lack of mosquitoes. There was no indication that camping was not allowed, so I set up shop and rested for the night. A rain and lightning free evening ensued. There were, however, coyote and rattlesnake sightings-the first live snake of the trip.
Neil Patrick Harris didn't like to be called Doogie during filming
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