Sweetwater Junction to Lamont

50 miles. I'm sleeping in a teepee.

We planned to get to Rawlins today, but got derailed first thing this morning by a beefy breakfast, served up by the Mormons. They were some of the nicest people that were so welcoming and were generally interested in what we are doing.

There were probably 100 people, re enacting the pilgrimage of their ancestors to Salt Lake City, Utah. Part of the reason they do this, is to not only honor their ancestors, but to teach their children that life can be difficult and there will be many hardships. I never spent any time with Mormons before now, but most were just normal, everyday people. And no, none were polygamists, which surprised me.

Today, I finally put some of those skills to good use that Andy taught me, and I'm now thankful I'm carrying a heavy chain whip. Bill broke a spoke, so I had the job of replacing it and truing his wheel. I was so excited that, for the first time with no help, I used my mechanical skills. Also, I was able to teach McKinley in the process; I love being able to pass on knowledge that I know will get used.

I have no idea how to explain the place we're camping. It's a bicycle camp on the property of a very sweet woman, who is apparently a hoarder. There's shit everywhere, we barely had any room to roll our bikes through the driveway. She had us help her drag a shitty old bed into a teepee and do some minor construction to the bed frame. Bill swung a hammer while McKinley and I gave each other the "wtf" look. So weird. She does have a super awesome dog, Maggie, who wags her tail incessantly. If I could keep her, I would; I love her personality. The cats, however, are giving me a raging allergy attack.

Ok, I must eat my free ice cream before bed. It would be a crime to not have my second helping of ice cream for the day!