In the town of Dubois, which is evidently famous for Bighorn Sheep, I made a quick U-turn when I spied a sign for the town's scenic overlook. Of course I was still in the midst of T-storms and the overlook was at the top of the highest point in the area but this looked like Clint Eastwood territory and I was feeling lucky. I took the dirt road to the top of the butte and with lightning flashing took some quick pictures and headed back down. The views were worth the risk!
The next big town was Riverton, about 80 miles east, and I continued to dance in and out of threatening storms all the way there. It got so bad in Riverton that I took brief shelter at a gas station and waited for the really serious cloud to ground lightning strikes to subside. But I was getting anxious since I wanted to take pictures of a town called Moneta, which is a sister town to the Moneta, Virginia I live next to. I also wanted to see Hell's Half Acre where the battle scenes for the movie Starship Troopers were filmed. From here to Casper it is mostly high plains - an expansive plateau at altitudes well over a mile. I still had almost 200 miles to cover to make camp and now strong cross winds were becoming an issue. Moneta was a 40 mile ride and Hell's Half Acre about the same distance continuing east.
The storms caught me again while I lubed my chain and took pictures of Hell. The secondary roads in Wyoming have a posted limit of 70mph and I decided to take full advantage and outrun the storms once and for all. I took off, cracked the throttle WFO and almost immediately saw an approaching car's lights flashing me. Both the Trooper and I waved to each other as we closed at well over 160mph but he took no other action. First LEO I had seen on the entire trip! I finally broke out of the storms into fading daylight about 20 miles west of Casper. Cresting another rise I then saw an even bigger storm system to the south. Exactly where I was heading once I got through Casper! I gassed up and talked to a west bound biker and we compared notes about the storms we had each passed through and were about to enter. Talk about pumping up the volume!!
The last 85 miles were tension filled but the storm stayed well enough south and then presented me with a view of a gorgeous rainbow. I was able to get to Glendo State Park, set up my tent and sit down for a meal just as darkness fell. Turning on my headlamp to eat I looked at my watch and it was 9:17. A planned 250 mile day had turned into a wild 589 mile adventure that had been personally challenging and visually rewarding. I do enjoy the sense of perspective I get when I'm in such magnificent natural surroundings.
Last push towards Glendo:
Camp by the North Platte River:
