Day 26, June 22

Riverside, Wy to Walden, CO
50 miles

The desert is starting to give way to a meadow here and there.

Starting about 10 miles out I had a 15 or so mile stretch where there was quite a bit of ground level smoke from a nearby forest fire.  It cleared up after I gained some elevation and got further south.

Hello CO.  Right as I reached the welcome to CO sign another cross country cyclist, who was headed the other way, reached the welcome to Wyoming sign on the other side of the road.  We exchanged cell phones briefly to take each other's picture.

More scenery

Cowdrey, CO. Not much of anything here, except mosquitoes, which seem to be out all day long around here.

Below: Walden, CO. I decided to end the day early here. Unfortunately there is not much of anything for 40 miles and I would need to get creative with selecting a place to camp if I head on to Rand, which has nothing more than a few houses and a post office. Also, shortly after I finished a late lunch the sky got dark as some thunderstorms passed close by.

I am camping in the city park with three other cyclists who were also at the church in Jeffers City and the KOA in Rawlins. There are also about 25 firemen setting up tents here too. Luckily we grabbed the few small brown patches of grass before they got here. According to riders going the other way who have camped here, the sprinklers are a nightmare.