Day 51-Lost Springs to Lusk (25 Miles)

The coal trains led to by far the worst night sleep of this trip. Like clockwork, every 20 minutes a train would cross Main St. and blow its horn. The city park was less than 100 yards away, and each blow of the whistle would cause a minor earthquake. We had started the trip with earplugs and I was really regretting not having them anymore. I don't know how much they would have done with that noise anyway. The trains run like that 24 hrs a day and the amount of coal hauled is mind boggling.

I prepared for the day back at the picnic shelter where several contractors working on a natural gas pipeline from Lusk to Douglas stopped by for a bathroom break. They had traveled in from all parts of the country to work on this project and paid respect to what I was doing by giving me snacks and water.

Today's 25 miles felt a lot more normal compared to yesterday. I arrived to Manville for lunch and later to Lusk without any trouble at all. In Lusk I met up with Gene and Joan Lenz, good friends of my grandparents from the University of Wyoming, who would be taking me in for the night. After a bit of conversation Gene asked me if I had ever been to Glendo, which I had not. Our agenda was set until dinner time then as we left to make a tour of the town where my grandpa grew up 45 miles away.

I have been to Darby, MT, Bennington, ID, and Holland, MI, all of the towns where my three other grandparents were raised. It's difficult to imagine anyone taking more pride in where they are from than my grandpa Trenholm being from Glendo Wyoming. After a little searching we found the ranch and two different homes he grew up on. The current resident, Lloyd, gave us a tour of the home and described all of the renovations he had recently done and what it was like when he starting living there. We later met up with his mother, Sandra, who was a few years behind my grandpa in school, but knew him well.

On the way back, we stopped into town we stopped into Rooster's bar to see a picture of the previous owner who my grandpa had known. We then took the long way home by crossing over the dam and seeing the great country off of the highway. After getting back I talked to my grandpa about the visit, and was given several stories of the area.

When we returned we went to Gene and Joan's daughter's house across the street for dinner. Jay and Leslie cooked a great meal of corn, potatoes, halibut, and zucchini. This great dinner, great company and a great night's sleep (despite still hearing some coal trains further in the distance) provided me with the energy to cross into Nebraska tomorrow.

My grandfather's old home getting some new siding