Windy Wyoming

Monday, August 30

When I awoke, there was a still-warm coffee and two Gatorade type drinks outside my tent left by, Aaron, the man from Troutdale, Oregon. I appreciated both the warm coffee and the warm thoughts.

I took a shower, packed, and headed out of Glenrock. While walking down its main street I found an ATM/Visa card with a woman’s name on it and also the name of the bank. I picked it up thinking I could drop it off at the bank but instead gave it to a lady municipal worker. I figured that in a town this small she may know the person it to whom it belonged and she did! I’m not sure if I had mentioned it, but I also found a nineteen year old boy’s wallet while walking through Wind River Canyon. It had a driver’s license, a social security card, a pack of condoms, and no money - in other words - a typical young male's wallet. I mailed back the two items I thought he would need.

Before leaving the Glenrock city limits a car pulled a block in front of me and a man got out and started taking photos. He worked for the Glenrock Independent Newspaper and asked if he could interview me. Twelve minutes and a handshake later I was headed down the road. Because one of my goals is to avoid the Interstate Highway System I had to walk Highway 95 and then Highway 93 to Douglas - a much longer route but worth it.

Today ended up as the windiest day I have had the entire trip. I was on Highway 93 and there was literally no place to make camp except in the open fields. I didn’t know who’s land it was but the sign on the gate said, “Keep Gate Closed” which I thought sounded friendlier than the more typical “Posted - No Trespassing” so I opened the gate, went in, and made camp. The wind was so heavy it is hard to describe. This time I tried first staking down the tent but that did little good. I was trying to pound tent stakes into hard clay with a small rock while the wind kept trying to carry it all away. Eventually I won the battle and went to bed with the wind singing me to sleep.