Day 40-They call her Mariah

He said: Once again the terrain and scenery changed remarkably. Following the Wind River for most of the day, which is a clear, clean, beautiful river. For the most part the road was bordered on one side by colorful cliffs and on the other by green hills. Reached Fort Washakie early, it was the beginning the Wind River Indian Reservation. I was soon to find out appropriately named. Fort Washakie, which is on the Washakie Trail, was named after Chief Washakie who was an ally of the white man and tried to live in peace and was rewarded by being placed on a reservation with his arch enemies. Met Sharon at Crowheart, which consisted of a General Store where we had peanut butter sandwiches and ice cream. About 4 miles before Crowheart the wind picked up terribly, coincidentally about the same time Sharon passed by...I think she brought it with her. While we were sitting eating lunch outside 2 bikers flew in from the west amazed by the strong tail wind they had been riding. I knew my next 30 miles might be a challenge. It was. So you just keep on peddling and eventually you get there. How strong was the wind? I had to pedal hard downhill to get up to 9 miles an hour. We stopped in Dubois, a nice little town which is the long horn sheep grazing area. Because of the constant wind, in the winter the grasses they need are usually not covered by snow. We had an ice cream at an old fashioned soda fountain counter and then toured the Interpretive Center for Longhorn Sheep. Very interesting. Had dinner in town and came back to the Ranch. Get rid of the wind and it was a beautiful day. With the wind it was just gorgeous. 75 miles.
She said: After work I left Lander for Crowheart to meet Paul for lunch. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Rode through the Wind River Indian Reservation, both Sacajawea and Chief Washakie are buried there. The terrain changed and I was looking at beautiful green covered hills and colorful cliffs. I passed Paul about 3 miles or so from Crowheart, and when he met me he said he was going to start calling me Mariah, as the wind started just as I went by. As we sat in Crowheart I couldn't believe how strong the wind was. I left for Dubois and came upon a beautiful picture taking spot along the river with red cliffs across the road. I stopped to take some pictures and the sand from along the river was blowing across. It reminded me of the weather forecast we saw last night for Lander. It was something I had never seen in a forecast before...it wasn't for rain or snow or windy, it was Sand. Huh? Anyway we had a nice afternoon in Dubois after Paul arrived, touring the town and the Longhorn Interpretive Center-maybe we'll get to see some live ones tomorrow. It was a nice day, blue skies, beautiful scenery, and a nice town to stop in.

Saw this flag and thought of dad. It's not starched either.

Some of the scenery along the route today.

These are the cliffs behind the hotel we are staying in tonite.

For Jake.

This is where I sat watching the sand blow by.

The Wind River.

These guys are out front of our room.

Local pig roaster.

Outside the Interpretive Center. Hey Craig-no socks.

This is what a Longhorn Sheep will eat in a day...Sam would eat that much.

This is made completely from antlers.