Day 45: Wind River Reservation

July 20, 2022 in Dubois, Wyoming

I started off my day with a lovely pancake breakfast and a sweet goodbye to our hosts, before throwing all my clean laundry in my bag and rolling out.

I rode with Caroline again today–– we were sweep! Once all the groups had rolled out, we went straight to a coffee shop to kill some time and let the other groups ahead.

I had my a delicious strawberry lemon poppyseed muffin and my usual iced oat milk latte, and we talked about Caroline's upcoming trip to Norway.

Soon into our ride, we came up to the Wind River Shoshone Reservation, which stretched for over 20 miles. We passed within a mile of Sacagewea's gravesite!

The reservation had a casino and many horses in yards, but beyond that it didn't appear to be all that different from the rest of the area. Of course it is, but I expected it to be a bit more visible.

Also of note, we passed a lake called Ray Reservoir!

The climb up to lunch was absolutely brutal. It wasn't super steep, but it was incredibly long.

I got off the road at lunch and headed straight to the host for some much needed rest.

Once I got to the host, I staked out a spot to sleep and decided to take a walk downtown. We didn't have showers, so I just rinsed off in the sink and got changed and sought out a bagel with cream cheese.

Dubois is really a lovely town, cradled in the last mountain range before the Grand Tetons. I'd absolutely love to come back sometime when I'm less tired! It's certainly on my bucket list.

I feel like I do this every day, but I reorganized my bag once again when I got back from my exploring. It is just so difficult to stay organized when you have so much stuff and so little space.

Soon after I finished packing up, we all shuttled to the bike hostel coordinator's home for dinner. They had a beautiful little cabin by a creek, and they'd set up tables outside for us!

They served delicious ground chicken chili, salad, fruit salad, and dessert bars, and I ate so much it is kind of incredible.

We also got to spend some time talking to the couple whose home we were at, and they were so kind and interested in us and our journey.

I've had such a tiring day that I'm ready to hit the hay right now, before 9 pm! Tomorrow is a huge ride day, so I definitely need the rest.