Day Thirty-nine (61.3 miles, 1796.36 total): How Good Do Prairie Dogs Taste?

"Are you getting up anytime soon?" Bill is standing over my tent. I groan and check my watch. 5:45AM. Ella is furiously shaking her butt, since her little nub of a tail just doesn't quite cut it. I open the fly and she runs around Bill herding him back over to his gear. I slip out of my sleeping bag and sluggishly start packing my gear. The smell of coffee drifts over as I jam my stuff back in the bags. Bill made hot water for coffee and oatmeal this morning. Carol is already packed before anyone else, as usual, and Bob just grunted and went back to sleep. I make a trip to the bathroom to get changed into my cycling clothes then make my way back over to the enticing aroma of hot coffee. With our gear mostly packed, we all stand around the pavilion chowing down on a quick snack.

It doesn't take long, before we are back in the saddle and headed down the road. The landscape is filled with low shrubs and brown grass dotting the endless hills of dirt and sand. The sun beats down early this morning, but it is still chilly enough to need a long sleeve shirt. We stop to take photos of the brilliant colors cast by the sun over the desert hills. My awesome polarized Maui Jim sunglasses that I got at Invision Eye Care back home, keep the glare completely out of my eyes and allow me to see even more colors than possible with the human eye. The greens are deeper, the blues are richer, the reds are crisper, its beautiful. Carol is way out in front of Bill and I, but she doesn't stop nearly as often to enjoy the scenery and take photos.

We drop down into a valley filled with green forests and lush fields. A river meanders through the valley floor, passing from one small ranch to the next. The wind starts to pick up and it makes our progress slow but not difficult. By mid morning, we reach a sign for Byers Canyon and the map shows Hot Sulphur Springs fairly close to our location. We work our way down into the canyon, then back up a short hill into a deep alleyway of brilliant, rich walls of earth brown, and more shades of red than you could possibly imagine. At the floor of the canyon alley runs a railroad track with a raging river lying just below its iron rails. About 50ft above the railway, on the opposite side of the canyon, we follow the immense rock walls around each bend of the river below. It was a short canyon, but it was unquestionably stunning. It reminded me of the gorgeous slot canyons snaking their way throughout Utah.

At the end of the canyon, the walls opened back up into the high desert hills and into the little town of Hot Sulphur Springs. We were all hungry, so we stopped at a gas station to grab a quick bite to eat and take a bathroom break. Soon enough, we were rolling down the highway again. The road wasn't too particularly busy and for that I was grateful. It started to warm up even more and I stopped to peel off my long sleeve shirt and tuck it away into one of my panniers. The day turned on us and the wind picked up as we headed further toward Walden. The wind picked up, the sun beat down, and the roads became straight for miles and miles on end. Bill and I joked that this part of Colorado was like Missouri and Kansas having a baby together. Windy, Hot, Straight, and a steady supply of hills!

Occasionally we would see a buzzard sitting on a fence, watching us with its beady little eyes, or an antelope prancing through a field of sage brush. The afternoon wore on and we caught Carol, then she fell behind. It was becoming a long day and we were riding into the afternoon. Bill and I could only think about food every time we got to the top of a hill and spotted some desert creature running around without a care in the world. Prairie Dog Nuggets. Yum. Hawk probably tastes like chicken. Antelope Burgers. Yum. On and on we rode down the endlessly straight highway. To top off our day, the roads turned into a perpetual rumble strip and we were being shaken like maraca. With the heat and the rumble road, you might as well call our little group Shake N' Bake!

By late afternoon, we could finally see Walden 5 miles in the distance. It was a cruel push to the finish line. Just as we turn the corner to enter the town, a hill appears leading to the top. Bill stops "REALLY?!". He just shakes his head before we grind up the slope and stop at the first convenient store we see. We are hot and tired and hungry, so we sit and munch on snacks and Gatorade inside the store for awhile. A radio host for Colorado Public Radio comes up to us and asks if she can interview me in August about my trip across the country with Ella. Of course I agree and she takes my email address and blog web address. Ella must be one super special dog. Well of course she is! She's Ella!

When we have our wits about us once again, we ride on down to the public park, where we score a pavilion and a nice grassy area for our tents again. Still famished, Bill and I head to a recommended Pizza joint down the street. It was mediocre, the service took forever, and the owners attitude could use a definite improvement if she actually wanted any customers to return. The other two employees, college aged kids, were super friendly on the other hand! Bill and I leave for the park, full but not entirely satisfied with what we paid for.

We stop at the Dollar Store to pick up a few things before heading back to Carol. She stayed at the park and played with Ella while we were out and about. Back at the park, I set up my tent and load everything I don't need back on my bike so I can pack quickly in the morning. By 8:00PM, Bob shows up at the park. Turns out he hadn't left Kremmling until 10:00AM. Bob sets up his tent and we go check out the rest of Walden. By the time we got back, it was pretty late and I still had to catch up on my writing for the day. So now that I'm caught up for the evening, I am going to get a good nights sleep and not get up until 6:00AM. Sleeping In! Thank you for following Ella and I as we continue our journey West! We appreciate all of your support and hope you continue to enjoying reading our adventures!