Jeffrey City to Rawlins- July 7

We were the first customers for the 6 a.m. opening of the Split Rock Bar & Cafe in Jeffrey City. At the restaurant I learned more about the rise and fall of the town. Essentially, they had everything riding on supplying uranium for the nuclear industry and when the demand dried up, the town dissolved when the uranium mining companies left.

For about the first three hours, our rode was calm as we went through a desolate and harsh landscape. But by late morning, the wind kicked up and started to come strongly from our right. This situation was made worse by lots of speeding trucks that created their own wind for us. We were buffeted around as we struggled down the road. We made it to Rawlins at about 2 p.m. and the wind has been blowing ever since. We hope to get an early start tomorrow and miss as much of the wind as we can.

Our plan is to bike to Encampment, which will be our last overnight stop in Wyoming.