Through the desert

Hello all! Well I am relieved to say that we made it through the Great Basin and have popped out healthy and safe on the other side. I will give you the whole run down since we left Pinedale.

Pinedale was a really cool place to stay and so cool in fact that Nat came down with some food sickness just so we could stay an extra day! This gave me extra time to pack in some cheap food and so I did! We hit Pinedale on a very special weekend. It was Rendezvous Weekend which is where all the crafts people come and line the streets and there are lots of events going on.

Friday night we saw that John Fogerty and friends were playing a free concert downtown. We couldn't believe our luck and to think that world famous John Fogerty was coming to this tiny town of 1,000 to come play blew us away! Well it turned out it wasn't THAT John Fogerty but the concert was very cool anyway. A band from Jackson, WY called Steam Powered Aeroplane came and played some excellent bluegrass and all seemed well. We headed back to the campsite with some new tunes in our head and made some spaghetti before heading to bed.

The next morning as we got ready, I didn't really feel right and knew that I wasn't going to have a good day. I figure it was food poisoning but cannot be sure, all I know is that was rode 40 miles and I felt horrible the entire way. We made camp before an intense mountain storm hit and I was asleep by 6pm.

I woke up feeling a lot better and we set out with our sites on Atlantic City. We knew today wasn't going to be easy as we had some catching up to do on top of three divide crossings. Luckily it was only about 50 miles to Atlantic City. We started up the first hill and right around the corner was a beautiful shot of the Wind River Mountains. They were lit up on this beautiful morning and we knew we would have a better day of riding.



We hit the first divide crossing of the day (#10 for those playing the home game) around 11am when the sun was just getting high enough in the sky to make 100 degrees feel hot. We pedaled on from there through the beautiful rolling hills on Wyoming.



Pushing on through lunch and the washboard roads that seem to go on for miles, we topped out and Nat stopped. There were no signs or anything but according to the mileage, we were at #11. Pretty anticlimactic but definitely very pretty all the same. We were on a ridge that had amazing basins on both sides. "This is it", is all he said and we grabbed some pictures before heading out.



Before we knew it, we were back on pavement and heading through South Pass. There was a little rest stop on the side of the highway and they had some wonderful cold water and benches in the shade that allowed for a great mid-day break. We filled up camelbaks and laid down and I looked at the map. "This is divide crossing #12", I mentioned to Nat. We had no idea as they talked a lot about the pass at the rest stop but not the divide. We grabbed a quick pic before heading back onto the secondary roads which we are now getting used to. Across the way we could see another storm was coming across.

We pulled into South Pass City to catch the end of a bake sale and baseball game they were having for Gold Miner Days. Sounded like a fun event and it was too bad we missed it. We stood inside for a few minutes while a rain shower passed over and ate some delicious coffee cake. Then it was onto Atlantic City. We didn't know what to expect as the population the sign read "About 57" and everyone seemed to be at the bar. We stopped into the bar to see what a bite to eat would run us and as they only had steaks on Sunday night, we knew it wasn't for us. We headed a little ways down the road to a small inn and B&B that seemed nice. We knocked on the door and asked Bob, the owner, if we could set up on the lawn for a few dollars. He said of course and we got to work getting the tent up.
The next morning we got up and was surprised to see Bob walking out to meet us at 7am. He asked how our night went and to our surprise, offered us some breakfast. He apologized that he didn't have anything but banana's and dry cereal but it was way more then we could ever ask for. He threw on a pot of coffee for us as well as we ate. We talked about the Basin and he reminded us it was a very dry and remote place. Before we headed out he offered us a sleeve of Fig Newtons. We were blown away by his hospitality and gladly packed them into the food bag.

We had so many different thoughts and emotions going on that was totally forgot to look down at the map after we started. Before we knew it we had climbed a pretty large hill...in the opposite direction! Well luckily whatever goes up very slowly, comes down in a hurry! I snapped a quick picture of our first glimpse into the Basin before heading the RIGHT way.

As soon as Atlantic City was out of sight, we knew we wouldn't see another person for a few days. The first views of the Great Divide Basin just reminded me of every picture I have ever seen of a desert.

(Mom's need not read this paragraph) I won't lie to you, this was our toughest day yet and it really took a toll on both of us. We did 85 miles with one divide crossing and the entire thing was on old gravel roads that were wash-boarded, rutted, and chewed up from years of harsh winters and powerful storms. We finished the last two hours under the candlepower of our lights. It didn't help that we had headwinds for most of the journey and that sand was at a premium and it was blown directly into eyes, hair and mouths. But we made it and we are extremely happy to be on the other side!

That brings us to our haul the heck out of there! We did our 14th divide crossing and met our first hiker going North on the CDT. We started very early this morning (for us) and made it to Rawlins by 3pm. We headed for the first ice cream shop we saw and order two tall milkshakes, something we have been craving for a few days now! We are going to spend the night here and then take a couple easier days to get down to Steamboat Springs, CO!

People have been e-mailing me how to send us stuff (you know like cookies, brownies, Snickers, candy, love etc) and I will post the rest of the general delivery addresses we will be stopping at:

Keith Cunningham or Nat Morgan

C/O General Delivery

US Post Office
142 6th ST

Como, CO 80432-9990
(projected arrival date 7/20 - 7/25)

C/O General Delivery

US Post Office
590 Columbia AVE

Del Norte, CO 81132-2200
(projected arrival date 7/25-7/28)

C/O General Delivery

US Post Office

6358 Main ST

Cuba, NM 87013-9998
(projected arrival date 8/1-8/5)

C/O General Delivery

US Post Office

816 W Santa FE AVE

Grants, NM 87020-7000
(projected arrival date 8/5-8/12)

Again, I can not say how awesome it is that you guys are enjoying the blog. I love reading the comments from family, friends and even the random spainish guy! Keep it up guys and gals! Until Steamboat, keep the rubber side down!