Lexington

Day 54: 85 miles - We got a late start out of Blacksburg this morning, but had a pretty relaxed ride to Lexington. We had a few fairly intense rollers, but nothing major and the decent tailwind helped us average right at 18 mph. Tomorrow we climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway which I'm expecting, will be the hardest climb of the whole trip. Everything we've heard about it is, its the steepest thing anyone has ever seen...and its 4 miles long. We'll see how it goes. After that though, its 200 miles of flat to Yorktown.

Blacksburg

Day 53: 68 miles - Another pretty easy day with a few rollers, but no significant climbs. Nice riding and nice weather. We stopped off in Blacksburg for the night to see Patrick, a friend of mine from BMW. He showed us a good time in Blacksburg and around VA Tech and let us crash in his apartment. 450 miles to Yorktown.

Virginia Creeper

Day 52: 61 miles - So at some point last night, my parents decided that they were going to skip the family reunion and drive from Charleston, SC to Damascus to ride the creeper with us. I guess they finally arrived sometime around midnight. We got to hang out for the morning while eating the continental breakfast at the hotel before hitting the trail. Dad, Adam and Poppop rode the 11 mile section up the Virginia Creeper Trail with us before we got back on the asphalt. Mom and Mammy met us at the top to send us on our way for the last 400 miles. It was really great for them to get to come be a part of our ride.

The whole bunch

After the 11 miles

Back on the road

After we left the family, we finished out the pretty relaxed day in Wytheville, VA. No more big climbs until we climb up to the Blueridge Parkway on Wednesday.

Damascus

Day 51: 83 miles -When we started out this morning, it was really foggy and humid as we immediately started climbing. It wasn't a particularly tough climb up to Breaks Interstate Park, but I could not get my legs going. I guess it was the culmination of the last few intense days, but my legs just seemed unreasonably tired and my knees hurt. We stopped for lunch halfway through our mileage and after a little break, I felt a lot better on the bike for the rest of the afternoon.

Coming off the last mountain of the day, we had an incredible descent. It was probably the best road I have ever ridden. It was about a 1200' drop over 4 miles, tight and twisty 25 mph curves the whole way down. Andy and I joked about climbing back up just to ride it again. If you're ever in the area, ride SR 80 into Hayters Gap.

From there we hauled into Damascus, VA where we met my grandparents. They treated us to a hotel room and a really awesome meal at an "Italian" restaraunt.

Tomorrow we start out with an 11 mile section on the Virginia Creeper Trail.

Virginia

Day 50: 85 miles - After 50 days of riding and almost 3900 miles, we're at the Virginia state line. The riding today was pretty similar to yesterday. We had a few nice gradual stretches along some rivers between the mountains. We also had four pretty significant climbs today. The third one was the steepest and longest we've had in a while and had me wishing for a few more gears. The descents today were as good or better than the ones yesterday. I think I'm going to have to rig up my camera somehow to get a video of one of these thrill-rides.

Also today, we met a guy heading west from Ohio bound for Astoria. He didn't really have much of a plan beyond that other than mentioning maybe riding home via the northern tier route. Pretty crazy.

We ended the day in Elkhorn City about a mile from the Virginia state line. Tomorrow we'll be heading to Damascus, VA and will meet my grandparents there for the evening. I think they are going to ride the 11 mile section along the VA Creeper trail, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Coal Country

Day 49: 100 miles - After getting out of Berea this morning, we immediately began riding up this beautiful valley into the heart of western Appalachian range. Over the course of the day, we had several significant climbs and were shortly followed by the best descents we've had the whole trip. They were screaming fast with tight banked turns. It felt like each one was better than the last and led to one of the best days of riding of the trip so far.

We stopped in Booneville for lunch and ran into a guy from Madrid named Raul who was heading west on the transam. We had a great time talking to him and answering all of the questions he had about the rest of the trip.

As we got closer to Hazard, KY, we saw some weather moving in. Luckily we found some shelter in a BP just as it unloaded. We had high hopes of going another 23 to Hindman, but I guess it's going to have to wait until tomorrow.

We'll be camping in Damascus, VA Saturday night and riding an 11 mile section of the creeper if anyone is interested in joining us.

650 miles to Yorktown

Berea

Day 48: 75 miles - Knowing today was going to be a little shorter, we took a little time and slept in. We eventually got rolling and covered the first few morning miles easily. The terrain here was as it has been...rolling hills through farm land. As we got into the afternoon, the hills got a little steeper and we were able to see some of the Cumberland plateau off in the distance. I can't wait to get back in the appalachians and ride on my favorite terrain.

We ended the day in Berea, KY, a pretty cool college town with a lot of history.

Also today, we crossed US 127, the highway that runs south right past my house in Chattanooga. We're getting close now.

Bardstown

Day 47: 91 miles - This morning, we had a long haul before stopping in Bardstown, KY for our ritual lunch siesta. We got rolling early and felt pretty good, so we figured we'd knock out as big of a chunk as possible before it got hot. So at 71 miles, its been our biggest morning yet. We've got 20 more miles to go before our stopping point for the night in Lincoln Homestead State Park. Riding this morning was a little cooler than its been for the past week. I don't know if its the temperature or the humidity, but I was actually pretty comfortable for most of the morning. Lets hope this cooling trend continues.

After today, 820 miles to Yorktown.

Eastern Time Zone

Day 46: 98 miles - After a relaxing day in Sebree, we got back on it today. We got an early start, about 6:45 I think and knocked out about 55 miles before stopping for some lunch. The riding recently has just been pretty comfortable rolling hills through trees and fields. The variety has been very enjoyable and the miles have passed pretty quickly. After lunch, we rode across the Rough River Dam and along the Rough River Reservoir, an Army Corps of Engineers lake. The scenery changed a bit here with some bigger ridges with rocky shorelines. We were really hoping to take a swim in the lake at some point during the afternoon, but the only area where we could have was a Army Corps campground. They wanted to charge us for a campsite to go for a swim. Needless to say, we passed on that.

While we were eating lunch, I called the place where we were planning on sleeping for the night to check on rates. It was listed as a hostel and campground, so I was curious what they were going to charge for each. I called and asked...the response I got was "Free, is that cheap enough for you?". I was pleased with the response, but knew it was going to be an interesting evening.

After a bit more riding, we rolled up on the junction where this free campsite was located. Turns out it was a convienence/grocery store. We went inside and the owner's daughter greated us with an Icey pop and showed us where the shower was. For the second night in a row, "Dinner will be ready in just a bit". So we sat down with them and chowed down on some hamburgers, greenbeans and corn on the cob. Again, its just amazing to see the hospitality that these families with no affiliation to cycling show to people riding through there community. It has really made me want to live on a route like this one at some point.

Also today, we entered the eastern time zone and broke the 1000 miles to go mark. We're getting close now.

Kentucky

Day 45: 55 miles - We started out the day by crossing the Ohio River by ferry. I insisted on swimming across, but they ferry crew assured me it wasn't cheating to take the ferry across. Once on the other side, we started putting away miles in Kentucky.

Ever since we started running into westbound riders in Kansas, we have been hearing about this Baptist church in Sebree, Kentucky. We decided that pretty much no matter what, we were going to stop there for a night. The way our previous stops fell, we were left with just a 55 mile day to get to Sebree.

Once we arrived at the church, Violet, the pastor's wife was waiting outside to meet us and showed us all of the facilities. We were able to get a shower, wash all of our nasty clothes, and enjoy an air conditioned afternoon nap. Later on in the evening, we were informed that dinner was ready...yes exactly, a free home cooked dinner. We headed up to the pastor's house and gorged ourselves while talking about our trip and hearing about the church and community from our hosts. After we couldn't eat any more, we took full advantage of getting a night's sleep with air conditioning, and were then on the road again early the next morning.

The hospitality that we have had recently has been really amazing. Our night in Sebree was probably one of the most memorable so far and definitely one of the most comfortable. This family loves serving the cyclist that ride right in front of their church and it was a treat to get to meet them.

Cave-in-Rock

Day 44: 79 miles - Early starts have definitely been the way to go. Like this morning, we have been able to get about 50 miles in before 10 AM before it gets too hot. After that though, we are stopping pretty much every 15 miles to refill water bottles and chug Gatorade.

This afternoon, around 2PM, (ie. the hottest part of the day) a guy on a motorcycle passed us and waved for the second time of the day. I didn't think anything, but when we came around the next corner, he was standing out in the gravel pull-off holding out two cold gatorades. Obviously we stopped and talked to him for a bit and he has been touring for years and was getting ready for a trip up the Ohio River.

From there, we rode on to Cave-in-rock, IL which is right on the Ohio River and the Kentucky state line.

Mississippi River

Day 43: 57 miles - Last night when we got into Chester, a guy in a truck offered us a place to camp at the Fraternal Order of the Eagle. I didn't really know what to expect but he promised a free shower so we promptly followed. Turns out that this was the place to be on a Thursday night in Chester. We finally bedded down once things had died down a bit and other than the several bursts of screaming seranade from the drunk girls on the porch, slept pretty soundly.

We were up early the next morning and were rolling by 6:45. The route took us south a bit along the Mississippi River Levee, giving us some nice easy miles to start the day. Before we were 40 miles in, we were already feeling the effects of the heat and the past few hard days, so we decided to take the afternoon off in Carbondale, IL. We spent the day in air-conditioned buildings, hydrating, and then eventually rolled out to a state park campground on Little Grassy Lake about 7 miles outside of town. There was just enough daylight left when we got there to take a dip in the lake before throwing some steaks on the fire to finish out a much needed afternoon off.

Illinois

Day 42: 111 miles - After dying in the heat yesterday, we decided to get an early start and try to get some miles in before it got too hot. We were on the bike before 7 and had knocked out about 50 miles before 10:00 AM. The riding today was similar to a few days ago with a few rollers, but not as severe as yesterday. Overall the miles came pretty easily today until we got into the intense afternoon heat.
At the end of today, we topped out one final hill and then descended into the Mississippi River flood plain. After crossing the river, we ended the day in Chester, IL, home of Popeye the cartoon.

Side Note: We got about 10 bonus miles today after I made our first two wrong turns of the trip. So I guess our net mileage was about 100 miles. I really don't plan on doing any more "bonus miles".

Ozarks

Day 41: 87 miles - Today proved to be what we had anticipated. We had a few gentle rollers to get us started over the first 15 miles, but soon after we got into the real hills. None of them were especially long, but they were incredibly steep and continuous. I had plenty of time yesterday to come up with a comparison and the best I could do was the hill up Shackleford Ridge Road on Signal Mtn. The only difference being, as soon as you get to the top, you bomb back done the other side to do it all over again...for about 60 miles.

Here's the elevation profile for the day. Lines are in 200 ft increments.

Although the riding was hard, the rivers and scenery were beautiful, making the day more enjoyable. I think I would have really enjoyed the day if the temps hadn't been in the upper 90's.

We finished off the day as we rolled into Centerville, MO with a nice refreshing dip in the West Fork of the Black River...definitely the highlight of the day.

3000 miles

Day 40: 80 miles - With some weather moving in last night, we were debating whether to sleep under the pavilion or pitch the tent. We ended up opting for the more comfortable tent-on-grass option. At about 1am, all hell broke lose. We had the most intense lightning, heaviest rain and strongest wind yet. After about 45 minutes of holding the tent up from the inside, the storm finally passed. I was really relieved and promptly fell asleep. At about 7am, the same the happened all over again, just with stronger wind. After this one passed, we crawled out of the tent as a lady that keeps an eye on the park pulled up. She said the we had clocked the wind at 75 mph and that the 3 inches of rain we had gotten over the course of the night had flooded several roads. With this news, we just hung out in Fair Grove for the morning and finally rolled out after the storm around 11:30.

We also ran across another ACA group that was doing a supported tour as well as a father-son duo from Morristown, TN.

Once we got riding, we had a nice clear day with a pretty decent tailwind. The rollers also weren't as severe as yesterday, so we covered the 80 miles to Houston, MO pretty easily. This afternoon we rode along the top of a plateu leading us towards the Ozarks with some really nice views off of either side.
We antcipate tomorrow being one if our hardest days yet with about 80 miles of big rollers pretty much the whole way. The elevation profile indicates a few of them being around 400 feet tall before dropping directly into the next on, so we'll just have to see how it goes.

Oh yeah, we hit 3000 miles since Astoria today.

Missouri ain't flat

Day 39: 101 miles - We started out the day about 6 miles from the Missouri state line. Once across, the terrain continued for a bit much like the rest of eastern Kansas. Just before our lunch stop, we thought we were getting our first introduction to Missouri rollers. Later on in the afternoon we realized that those were really nothing in comparison. These were just long and steep enough that you couldn't power over then with your momentum from the last one without dropping down a chainring. These things were relentless too...once you topped one out, you'd bomb down the other side, just to start climbing up the next one for miles on end.
The hills weren't all bad though. It created a much different ride than the past few days in Kansas and the miles passed surprisingly quickly. It was one of the hardest days we've had in a while but enjoyable.
We also caught the brittish guy today that we have been hearing about from westbound riders for about a week now. I think we're planning in heading to the same place tomorrow, so I'm sure our paths will cross another time or two.

Tomorrow we're planning on about 80 miles but we'll have to see how the terrain treats us.

Adiós Kansas

Day 38: 93 miles - We climbed off of our Pontoon boat lodging in the barn this morning and headed out. The legs felt pretty heavy this morning so we took our time getting to Chanute, about 35 miles in. After lunch, some of the rainy weather moved out and we found a little better pace on our way to Girard. We finished out the day in Pittsburg, KS in a nice city park with a nice shower. We grabbed some Mexican food to celebrate the completion of the seemingly eternal Kansas and will be heading into Missouri first thing in the morning.

Backwoods Bait Shop

Day 37: 104 miles - We headed out of the nice city park in Newton this morning and found the wind had shifted back to the northeast. Right off the bat, I knew this meant another slower day of battling the wind, but I think I'm getting better at coping with it (thank you iPod!). We managed to make pretty good time to our destination at the lake just past Toronto, KS.

This morning we crossed paths with the adventure cycling guided trip, so it was interesting to see how the opperate.

We noticed on the map that Backwoods Bait Shop offered free camping to cyclists so we figured we'd check it out. We rolled in and they immediately offered us a beer and invited us to come sit in their circle. We ended up hanging out with them all evening and then took one of the guys offers to sleep in his barn, hopefully avoiding the potentially bad weather. It was a blast getting to hear some stories from some local, good-hearted Kansas people.

Tomorrow we head to Pittsburg, KS for our last day in Kansas. Then it's 4 days in Missouri, a day in Illinois, then Kentucky.

Morning T-storms

Day 36: 106 miles - After we went to bed last night, I woke up to probably the best thunderstorm we've had so far. There was crazy lightening and heavy rain all night. It wasn't raining when I got up in the morning, but it was really dark and getting ready to unload. So instead of the intended early start, we hid out in the pavilion for the storm and finally got on the road around 10:30. From then on, we had perfectly clear skies and just a very light wind from the south all day. The riding was pretty uneventful and eventually arrived in Newton, KS for the night.

Larned, KS

Day 35: 96 miles - Last night we had a good group of cyclists in Dighton. We had run into Chris before, but he's heading east on a xtracycle-equiped Surly long haul trucker...the first one I've seen this trip. We also met a couple from Charleston, SC heading west as well as another guy heading as far west as Pueblo before taking a train to the coast.

It rained on us most of the night, but we got up with the overcast skies and headed out. We rode a little over 30 miles and stopped for some breakfast in Ness City. From there on, I felt great for the rest of the day. It was ovecast pretty much all day, but the winds were pretty calm compared to the last few days. We rolled into Larned this afternoon and was surprised by how much I had enjoyed the day and how well my legs felt after 96 miles. Let's see how they feel after the 100+ tomorrow.

I saw three firsts for the trip. 1) I saw a guy on a fully loaded singlespeed bianchi pista. I'm not sure were he's going or where he came from, but it's still hardcore. 2) Two guys riding from eastern missouri to california with all of there stuff in a full size backpacking backpack on their backs. 3) One of these two guys was on flat pedals.

Tomorrow it's on to Newton Kansas and then Missouri the beginning of next week.

PS. I think we will be in Damascus, VA sometime around the 28th if anyone is interested in camping and/or riding the Virginia creeper with us.

Rained out

Day 34: 25 miles - We woke up this morning to rain so we took our time getting going and headed to the library to see what the weather looked like down the road. We had a clear window to Dighton, 25 miles down the road, but it looked like Ness City was going to get hit pretty hard this afternoon by some severe thunderstorms.

Kansas

Day 33: 126 miles - We got an early start this morning from Haswell, CO and had pretty calm wind for most of the morning. We crossed the state line into Kansas and stopped for a bit in Tribune. From there we had 46 miles to Scott City. Unfortunately, by the time we got back on the road, the wind had picked up a bit and we had it in the face for all of the last 46 miles. Also, at some point during the day we crossed into the central time zone...just one more to go.
Also, over the past few days we have started running into a bunch of west bound riders. It's been fun to see their anticipation for the mountains they are approaching

Tomorrow we plan for more of the same...somewhere around 100 miles or maybe more if the wind is good.

More wind

Day 32: 102 miles - This morning we got e relaxed start and cruised the 8 miles into Pueblo to a bike shop to top off tires. From there it was due east into the headwind and into the landscape that Andy refers to as West Kansas. We had big plans of riding about 125 to Eads, but soon realized that with a sub 15 mph average, that would make for a very long day. We stopped about 58 miles in for some food and some introspective pep-talking and then carried on. After we had ridden a bit after lunch, I thought that we might be able to suffer our way to Eads. Andy agreed to give it a shot so we headed out for the last 56 miles. After 33 of those miles, we came to Haswell and decided to call it a day.
I'm not going to try to make any predictions on tomorrow after biting off a little too much today. We'll just have to see what the wind does.

11,539

Day 31: 140 miles - Starting out today, we finished up the last 10 miles of the climb up Hoosier Pass. We crested at 11,539 feet and snowing so we quickly headed down the other side to Fairplay. Once past Fairplay, we had a pretty good tailwind that, combined with the descent, got us moving right along. By the time we got to Canon City, we had dropped to 5300 feet at mile 96 for the day. Just outside of Canon City, Andy and I finished up our fastest century ever at 4:50. From there we rolled on to just outside Pueblo and camped by the lake. We finished the day at about 4800 feet with an average of 20.5 mph.
Tomorrow we head east through Pueblo, hopefully getting to Eads, CO.

Breckenridge

Day 30: 54 miles - The profile for today involved a gradual climb from 7600 feet to about 9700 feet in Breckenridge. Knowing we had a little climbing to do, I was really hoping for a break from the wind. Well it ended up being a little different from the past few days, but it was still pretty bad. Compared to the constant draining wind of the past few days, this wind was gusty and varying in direction. For example, we were hauling along with tailwind when a gust from about 11 oclock dropped me to 4 mph and blew me into the gravel shoulder. Once we got closer to Silverthorn, the wind did chill out a bit thankfully.
From Silverthorn to Breckenridge, we rode 17 miles of the nicest greenway I've ever been on. It twisted along Dillon Res. for a bit and then climbed on to Breckenridge. I don't think I've ever seen so many people out riding either. I bet we passed over 100 people over these 17 miles. Also, today we hit 2000 miles since Astoria. Almost halfway there.
Tonight we're planning on camping somewhere in Breckenridge and then hitting the final 2000 feet and 10 miles up to Hoosier Pass tomorrow. This pass will get us out of the mountains for good and drop us straight into the flat Midwest.

Willow Creek Pass

Day 29: 78 miles - We got back on the road again this morning in Walden and started a gradual ascent up. The climb up Willow Creek Pass was our highpoint for the day at 9600 feet and the continental divide. From the top we had a gradual descent of about 29 miles into Hot Sulfur Springs, CO. We had originally planned to stop here for the day, but since we were in town by 1pm, we decided to grab some lunch and then head on 17 miles to Kremmling, CO. As we came into Hot Sulfur Springs, we came into the Colorado River Canyon. We followed this deep canyon all the way into Kremmling. The riding today was pretty enjoyable over all. We got back into the mountainous terrain and were only fighting the wind for bits and pieces.

Tomorrow we head up. We climb from here to Breckenridge, CO and then top out on Sunday over Hoosier Pass.

Cherokee Park Ranch

Day 28: 0 miles - Our first rest day so far was only restful in that we didn't touch a bike. We had a beautiful drive last night over state highway 14 over Cameron Pass and down the Poudre River to Fort Collins, CO. We grabbed a few things in town and then headed out to the ranch to hang out with the rest of the staff.
Andy and I were not really sure what we were going to do around the ranch while everyone else had their responsibilities to take care of. Dicky Prince, the ranch owner, took care of any chance we had at being bored. Right after breakfast, he put us to work, fixing the ice machine, installing automatic door closers and then unloading and sorting the food shipment for the week. I think we both enjoyed earning a little of our keep and it was a great way to get to know a bunch of the people working there. We're planning on staying to night and heading back to Walden first thing in the morning to get back on the road. We gotta get one more gourmet ranch meal in before we head back.

Locked

Day 27: 69 miles - So last night, we camped at a city campground out near Saratoga Lake. It was starting to rain a little as we were putting up the tent, so we decided we'd store the bikes in the restroom for the night since we were the only ones around this bathroom. We thought we'd get to dry some stuff out from the hot springs and keep the bikes out of the rain. I got up this morning and went to pull the bikes out and found that the door had been locked. I thought it was some kind of mean joke at first, but when I realized that it was deadbolted and could only be locked with a key, I figured it was time to make a phone call. I called the city police and they said they'd send someone out. About 45 minutes later, a guy in a truck rolls up, doesn't say a word, and unlocks the door. As he was leaving he said, "the mayor asked if you'd please pay your camp fees". When we had come in the night before, it was dark and raining, so we put off paying until the morning. I guess this was reason enough for him to hold our bikes ransom. Anyways, $7 and about 45 minutes later, we got everything back and got on the road. Guess what...right...more headwind. We were planning on meeting Cameron in Walden, CO so we pounded in the wind, grabbed a quick lunch in Riverside, WY and then kept riding. After lunch, we had decent wind for a bit, but it again turned sour before we reached Walden. Today was one of the better days...i think we only had a headwind about half of the time. Oh, and we set a new top speed record today...51 mph. I think that one will stand for a while.

We got to Walden, met Cameron and then head to Cherokee Park Ranch for our first rest day so far. I'm not sure what's in store for tomorrow, but it won't involve a bike.

I-80

Day 26: 42 miles - After our insane day yesterday, we took it a little shorter this afternoon. We headed out of Rawlins and immediately into a headwind. We rode about 8 miles before being required to do something completely insane. With Wyoming being the least populous state in the US, they don't really have that many options for getting from one place to another. Staying on our route, we found ourselves turning down the entrance ramp for Interstate 80. We had to manage to stay alive for 13 miles of whizzing trucks and RV's while again, fighting a retarded headwind that kept our max speed to somewhere around 13.

I'd never been so glad to see an exit sign. We got off the interstate, turning off the wind, and managed to get about 10 happy miles of decent wind before the wind god caught discovered our change of direction and changed the wind accordingly. At this point, if we're ever in doubt about which way to go, we ride into the wind.

We finally arrived in Saratoga, WY and promptly headed to the mineral hot spring that we had heard about from a few other riders. During our hour and a half soak, we met a lady and her husband and the friend that they were visiting in Saratoga. It turns out that Karin's husband (the Saratoga resident) has had a live long dream of riding across the US, so she invited Andy and me back to her house for bison burgers and to tell her husband about our trip. We had a great time getting a wonderful meal and getting to know these two families a little.

Tomorrow we head to 70ish miles further south into Colorado to Walden.

Ahhhhhhhhh

Day 25: 133 miles - Our plan was to head out from Lander and if the wind was favorable, we'd haul all they way to Rawlins and if it wasn't, we'd stop halfway in Jeffery City. I should have known that the bailout halfway was never an option. We had wind from every direction but the right one and rain off and on all day. Jeffery City turned out to he a literal ghost town with the only sign of civilization being a single bar. I think we saw two people total while we were there. Over 20 years ago, the town used to be a booming Uranium mining town of over 5000 and now its just a bunch of empty buildings. After that bust, we figured we'd go to Muddy Gap where we found a singular gas station. From there, we heard that Grandma's Cafe was just 11 miles down the road and just one more time over the Continental Divide, providing some dinner and a place to camp. Of course when we got there, it was closed and looked like it had been for a while. From there we didn't have any real choice but to continue to Rawlins. One more trip over the Continental Divide and 33 miles of rain, we finally rolled into Rawlins at 8pm. Not particularly a very great day, but I guess we did ride a heck of a long ways.

Once we got into Rawlins, we hid from the rain and cold in a Subway restraunt for a while. Once they kicked us out, we crawled in our sleeping bags on a covered sidewalk in front of a doctors office. We got a great nights rest until the police woke us up this morning wondering what we were doing. Anyways, another day of spotty rain and I think we are just going to cruise the 45ish miles to Saratoga, WY.