This place is in the middle of nowhere. Never expected to be spending time here. Yesterday we left Laramie, WY with the intention of making it to Cody, WY. We went for a ride before leaving the Blair Wallace Recreation area, and then went to say goodbye to CJ, Dave, and Tom – who are now good friends.

We then went to a Laramie rest area, to eat lunch. We continued on, and early in the evening began looking for a place to camp. We figured that Riverton WY would have a rodeo grounds. Of course, by the time we got there, around 7 p.m. it was locked up.

The local sheriff was extremely helpful; in fact, maybe too helpful for he spent considerable time trying to think of a place we might stay. His first suggestion, the 1838 Rendezvous site, was close by, but closed. His second, Boysen State Park, was a long ways away, but open. We got there well after dark, which is not like us.

We found a potential site – it was a potential site until we got out of the truck. It was near a sandy beach, which was fine except for the fact that there were ants, gnats, and wind. We quickly realized that we could not camp there – and Rainbow, Signy, and Raudi agreed. So we headed down road.

A half hour later, Pete saw another potential site, a sandy area sequestered amongst trees. We checked it out. No ants, gnats or wind. We unloaded the horses, tied them to the trailer, and set up camp. It turned out to be a good place to camp. Only thing was, we then discovered that we left our two ice coolers at the Laramie rest area. This happened because Pete went to get water and forgot about them. And at that moment, I was in pain. My lower lip had been badly burnt by the sun. What I’d just discovered was that the application of peppermint lip balm made it hurt worse. We did have some food in the trailer tack room. What I repeatedly said was that it could have been worse.

We awoke and took the horses for a short ride down road. Raudi is doing really well, standing when I ask and now trotting nicely for extended periods of time. Signy and Pete are still getting used to one another and to the new saddle.

It was literally difficult leaving Boysen State Park because the roads are on a circuitous route system. After an hour of dealing with washer-board roads, we ended up where we started. At least the scenery – odd rock formations – was worth checking out.

Thermopolis. You get here by driving through the Wind River Canyon, which has some of the most spectacular geological formations, bar none. We went to the fairgrounds and put the horses in a large pen. Then we went and bought two new coolers. And after, we went for a soak in the state bath house hot springs. This had to be a high point of the day.

Tomorrow we will go to Cody where we will visit Dorothy Sue for a few days. After, we may head south to Evanston and do another endurance ride. Hard to say. We really are going where the wind takes us.

Next: 157: 8/10/14: Cody, Wyoming, Dorothy Sue Phillips, age 77