Day 30: Spearfish, SD to Gillette, WY: Day 31: Early Morning (J's Version)

Good morning! I'm blogging from the Gillette, WY Starbucks. You have no idea how excited I got when I saw the SB logo from the highway sign yesterday. We really didn't know what to expect from WY because it's the second least densely populated state in the country. Even though Gillette has many hotels/restaurants/etc, there doesn't seem to be much in between here and our next destination, Sheridan, WY. G just texted me from the road saying he saw a sign that said "NO services for the next 60 miles." WOW. Do they mean absolutely nothing??? That's scary!

60 miles is roughly 6 hours on the bike! On a hot day, his water bottles will last him about 20-30 miles. Typically, there have been gas stations/rest stops that apppear just in the nick of time; however, we're getting the vibe especially from that 60 miles no service sign that this is hardcore. The plan is for me to meet him wherever he is on the highway around 8 am to refresh him. After that though will be hard because if there really ISN'T anything out there, where do I go? I need some place to wait to refresh him again. My blog tomorrow will probably answer all those questions.





Yesterday, was sparse but at least there was ONE really good rest stop in between nothing. I hung

around Subway because it was a cafe type of Subway. You could tell there wasn't anything else around for a while because everyone and their mother stopped at this Subway. I've never seen such long lines before at Subway. The picture doesn't do the line justice. I chilled there for probably 3 hours then G arrived. You're probably wondering what I did for all that time? Nothing really productive. I think I mostly watched Jimmy Fallon clips from his shows. G took a break at the rest stop next door, and we caught up. Then, when he left, I stayed there for another hour and half, so I could refresh him on the road because there wasn't anything. I'll be honest, yesterday was the first day for me at least that just felt SO long.

The land in Wyoming from what we've seen so far is very plain and not visually appealing. Keep in mind our views are based from I 90. No horses or cows or lush green land. No corn fields. Just barrenness. Yesterday was also extremely hot. It got up to 99 degrees! G was joking around that he

did the 90/90/90 thing yesterday. 90 miles in 90 degree weather on I 90.

He was on the road this morning at around 5:50 which might be our earliest yet. The earlier he starts the cooler the weather is. The only problem is getting up at 4 am stinks. Most of the time it's been more like 4:30. Tomorrow should be interesting because we're not sure where we are going. haha The Trek route has one more day in WY going west then the following day heading north to Montana, but if we continue to follow I 90 we go straight north and hit Montana earlier then head west there. Plus, the Trek route describes tomorrow's route as the highest point of the journey with a 25 mile steep hill. Since we are going the OTHER direction, would that mean G would be going down hill?

Oh, and the truck is running great :o) We named her Spearfish.

Have a good one!!