July 7- Rawlins to Riverside, Wyoming

The first six miles today paralleled I-80 to Sinclair, a pretty little town which also is the home of a huge oil refinery by the same name.

Then there was no alternative road but the Interstate itself, which we rode for 13 miles. The shoulder was wide, smooth and largely free of debris, so it was easy and non-scary going.

Leaving the Interstate we had a 20 mile stretch to Saratoga. Four miles into it, we met a man walking the continental divide from Mexico to Canada. He started in April and is halfway done. Made us feel like softies. He thought he was cheating by walking on the road instead of a trail. He had no map of the area so we were able to give him pointers to Rawlins. See pic. Glad we didn't have to walk the 23 miles ourselves. He must often be sleeping rough out with the coyotes.

As we approached Saratoga we topped a ridge into new terrain in the Platte River valley. Still some desert on the hills, but also green valleys, enough grass for grazing, and even a few hay fields. From that point on, we also saw several small herds of pronghorns. One ran effortlessly, parallel to us about 100 yards away, as if he could do it all day. Probably could.

The small town of Saratoga, was a lunch stop. I learned that it has a natural hot spring which was a neutral meeting point for Indians. When smallpox came along with the white man, the Indians thought it would be a good cure to soak in the hot spring and then plunge into the cold river. Enough died despite that treatment, or maybe from it, that they renamed it Bad Medicine Spring. The hot spring is still there, and in use, but we did not see it.

Another 16 miles took us to our stopping point, Riverside. We found lodging at a campground. We have a small but comfortable camping cabin right beside the Encampment River. There are trees for shade, and across the street is a choice of two bar/cafes so we won't starve or die of thirst. One of them looks like a biker bar, but we've been in a lot of them and had not a bit of trouble. Quite a bit of fun, actually.

Today's 60 miles was up and down in the range of 6600' to 7300'. The weather was warm but not uncomfortable, and our water supply never threatened to run short. A good day's ride.

The picture below marked a crossing point on the 1860's overland stage trail. Our route today was over parts of whatt successively was the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Emigrants route, the Pony Express, the Overland Stage trail, the Northern Pacific railway, and U.S. 275. And surely an Indian trail before any of that.