Rendezvous with Beth and Callie-Jean

Before we left Casper, we got a look at one of the Rotary’s projects. They were able to build an amazing playground in less than a week and it has been well loved ever since. Don guided us out of the city to start the morning ride and while we were in the car, Mom got a call from the rotary in Douglas. The word has been getting out and we were invited to speak for a couple of minutes because there was already a program set up. So about 30 miles up the road I waited for Mom and Dad to make their way on the bikes and Mom got in the truck so we wouldn’t be late. We really didn’t want to leave Dad alone to ride on the highway (again the only way between two places) so I found on the GPS the route he should take to most avoid 75mph traffic. We drove ahead to check the route, and good thing. The road I put dad on, the only other road besides the hwy, turned into a dirt road, then ended. That’s no good. We called Dad and told him there was no other choice but the highway. Before we go on the on ramp we saw a couple riding self sustained. We stopped and talked with them and see if they were also forced to ride on the interstate. They were from Norway and were traveling from Seattle to Boston, hoping to get there by Aug 1. Me and Mom said good luck and continued on to the Douglas rotary meeting. After the presentation, we met up with Dad, who had met the Norwegians on the hwy, and we planned out the remainder of our route to Lusk. Again we chose a county road to cut off miles on the 100+ day. And again the road turned to a 15 mile dirt road. But because Dad has a big bike with wide tires, he decided to continue on it. Neither mine nor Mom’s bikes could have withstood the road. We passed over gently rolling hills and saw scenery different from the Wyoming we have been experiencing. We got held up by a herd of cattle that were eventually kind enough to share the road with us, some pronghorn antelope and a few trucks. We eventually ended up back on a main road. Getting closer to Lusk we passed through Lost Springs, population 1. Wait, what? One person we turned around to snap a photo and there looked like there was more than one building for a town with pop 1. Anyways, we were meeting up with Callie-Jean and Beth so we got a hold of them and told them we were pulling into the campground. Mom got out to check out the bathrooms at the self-service campground and a sign on the door read “this door is locked, don’t even try.” I guess we aren’t going to stay here. We called the girls to say we’re going to the other campground in town and asking if we could pitch their tent by our popup. When we got there, they were all booked up. This weekend is the Legends of Rawhide in Lusk, an annual event that features all of the old west. When I googled Lusk, WY the only things that came up were Rawhide and that they have the only known monument to a prostitute, Lady Featherlegs. Beth had also read about her and told us all about how she died; she was killed by Dangerous Dan for the money and jewels she would hide for him and other outlaws. Beth and Callie-Jean stopped at a coffee shop where their claim to fame was that they served the last meal to a teenaged serial killer that was captured in Douglas. So we spent the night in the bathroom less campground, which didn’t have water for a good couple of hours, and made the best of it. Luckily there was a WY state rest area across the road that we could use. We read the sign outside and the rest area and a Fun Fact: Ladybird Johnson (one of Mary Fisher’s good friends, a Chikumbuso connection) wanted to make the highways more appealing, so the Highway Beautification Act was signed and this was the first rest area built in Wyoming.