Wild Wild West

The RefugeRide continues through Wyoming. We have seen countless prairie dogs scurrying from hole to hole and even encountered a big rattle snake taking up the highway shoulder right in front of us. Antelope seem to shimmer in the sunshine and deer walking right through town is the norm around here. We've seen rainbows several days lately as bright sunny blue skies and dark rain clouds comfortably share the great expanse above. The vast open spaces and high plains are beautiful and riding under the huge sky all day makes us realize how small we are, yet how big God is.

We have had our first experience unicycling on the Interstate here in Wyoming. I 80 has been good to us. Though it's noisy with lots of semis rushing past at 75+ mph, the shoulder has been wide and smooth and we know we are getting lots of attention.  Most professional truck drivers will move over to the left lane to pass us, while many motorhomes, U-Hauls and cars will not.  Sinclair WY was on our I 80 route, home to Sinclair Oil Company, the West's most modern refinery. This was exciting to ride through since Katie's maiden name is Sinclair.

As we were riding from toward Rock Springs on I 80 literally in the middle of nowhere, we rode up to a car broken down on the shoulder. Luis was on his way from Mexico to see his son in Salt Lake City UT when a belt broke on his Toyota Yaris. His phone was dead so he used our phone to call his roadside assistance. He had limited English so we wrote out what mile marker he was at and how far he was from the next town. He wasn't having much luck with them since they kept thinking he was in Michigan then said they would send a tow truck from Kearney Nebraska for $600. We got Katie's dad on the line a few times to help us communicate with Luis since he knows Spanish. At several points Luis had both our phones to his ears, on hold with the insurance company on one side and talking to Katie's dad on the other. We waited an hour and half with Luis until a tow truck finally came. It was surprising to us that in that whole time, no one else stopped to see if we needed help. Luis said maybe this happened so we could all meet.

We are very reliant on our little rear view mirrors that stick out from our helmets. They help us see what is coming up from behind and Dustin will stick out his bright yellow glove if it looks like someone isn't moving over. We are so used to those mirrors that often in the evening, when we are walking to dinner or a store, we have both found ourselves looking up to where the mirror usually is to see if a bike or car is coming up behind us. Silly us!