Wyoming

Bad shot from Beaver Rim

Dad on the approach
Hand Carts
Gentle Breeze
2nd Continental Divide of the Great Basin
Split Rock (landmark for Oregon/Mormon/Some other Trail)

The side view of the Basin's Rim

Yesterday was tough. 89 miles, and while the road we were taking didn't have any spectacular climbs or anything, it still took us most of the day. We left pretty early from Rawlins, hit a town about 25 miles in or so, and then went through the great basin (+2 more continental divides - super easy tiny little hills). Oh, I also had my first flat about 5 miles in - blerg. While it was pretty flat, the rim of the basin was a rather nice distraction from the road. At about 30 miles in, the wind started picking up. We also came into view of the Wyoming Rockies. We had around 10 miles of tailwind until it became an annoying cross wind and then a brutal headwind. At 68 miles, we hit Jeffries City, and listening to all the warnings we've had from other bikers, decided to push on another 19 miles. While I knew it was a pretty lousy idea, I went with it. The last 30 miles of the day was into a 30-50 mph headwind with occasional 60+ gusts (and I really wish I were exaggerating those figures). It was a struggle to stay on the bike, and once I had that part down, I could barely stay on the road. When the crazy-strong gusts hit, my dad and I were both off the bikes, holding on for dear life. While we were done with the 68 mile part by 1:00 or so, it took us around 4 hours to do the last 19 miles. We were averaging about 5mph (as reference, I climbed the Colorado Rockies around 7-9mph) - and the 5mph was on flat to downhill roads. Not fun. The last 10 miles took every ounce of strength I had. We did have lots of food with us, and the campground/Mormon handcart historic site at the end of the day (Sweetwater Station) was wonderful camping. We got mosquito fogged last night and this morning, but I'm ok with that after some of the other places we've visited.
This morning, I was moving really slowly. My back tire was deflated again, and this time we just pumped it up and went. It worked. We got 42 awesome miles in to Lander (aka NOLS city), including 5 miles of 6% downhill from the top of Beaver Rim (gorgeous) down toward the Wind River Range. I'd give the scenary around there a 10. It was mildly annoying that they had poorly-sealed cracks on the road (thus I had to watch where I was going instead of just staring out into the hills). I saw my first bison up in a side gully. The rest of the day wasn't too interesting. More dry stuff, little hills, and slightly populated areas. We got here, got lunch, and then went to work on my bike. Patched some tubes, switched some tires around, changed chains. Then we napped. And ate. And after I finish this, I'm sleeping again. we have a 74-mile ride tomorrow if the map's right. Complete with tour busses and construction. But soon, we get to the Tetons and Yellowstone.