The riding today was absolutely wonderful. Hwy 28 was amazing -- gorgeous scenery and 60-70mph sweeps. I flicked through forested hills, amongst snowcapped hills, when all of a sudden, the landscape opened up and the view was filled with wildflowers and canyonlands. Stunning.

Hills near Atlantic City, WY

Red Canyon, Hwy 28.

Wildflowers at Red Canyon

Boysen Reservoir marked the entrance to Wind River Canyon, where the road moves down to the valley floor. I finally wised up in Wind River and broke out my miniature travel tripod so that I could actually be in some of my trip pictures. Up until this point, I don't think there was any actual evidence that I was physically on this trip.

Boysen Reservoir

Wind River Canyon

I stopped for photographs at Thermopolis, Wyoming, home of the world's largest mineral hot spring. Not terribly surprisingly, the entire town smelled of sulpher. Next time I'm in Wyoming, I'll stop and take a dip.

World's Largest Mineral Hot Spring, indeed

Hot Springs State Park, Thermopolis, WY

Soon thereafter, I turned east through the tiny town of Ten Sleep, Wyoming (named as such because it took ten nights to get from here to any of the main Native American winter camps). On the other side of Ten Sleep was Bighorn National Forest (Highway 16), which was just as fun as Hwy 28 had been, even at the snowy 9666' summit. The bike thermometer registered 40F, so I'm guessing it was in the mid to high 30s. I later read in a brochure that Johnson County's annual average temp is 48F. July's average is 69F. This explains a lot. In hindsight, I should have photographed myself having a snowball fight...with myself, I suppose.

Powder River Pass, Bighorn National Forest, Hwy 16

Looking back at the Bighorn Mountains from eastern Hwy 16

Once settled into the hotel in Sundance, I had to ride a mile or so back into town for dinner, but it was worth it for thick cheese broccoli soup and a steak. Yum. I noticed a family in the restaurant who was also staying at my hotel, and then bumped into them again later in the hotel pool area. I'd brought a book down to the hot tub, but ended up ignoring the book and chatting with this family instead. They're driving out to the East Coast as the daughter is moving to Connecticut. She was wearing engagement and wedding rings, but no mention was made of a husband, and she looked younger than I am. I didn't ask. At any rate, they were friendly and fun to talk to. Much more fun than reading Tom Robbins yet again.

452 miles today; 1481 miles total.

Next Day --> June 1: Sundance, WY - Rapid City, SD