We awoke like children on Christmas morning. Or more like 20-somethings on Christmas morning - vaguely intrigued by the present we may find awaiting us, but not jumping out of bed to check under the tree either. At first it looked like it would only be coal this year; Devil’s Tower was still no more than Devil’s Molehill due to the fog. We packed up lazily, doing our best to wait as long as possible to get moving in hopes that the temperature would rise above 40 degrees. To our luck, when we eventually emerged from our cabin Devil’s Tower had appeared! The 867 foot rock was visible in all its glory. It really did feel a bit like Christmas, temperature included.
We began with a 3 mile climb that woke up our legs and our minds. Then we descended, then ascended, and so on, for the first 16 miles. Around that time we left the Black Hills and entered flatter lands. The Keyhole Reservoir appeared on our left. We spent a few miles rounding the reservoir before pulling into Donna’s Diner in Moorcroft for a late lunch.
The diner was as old-fashioned as they come. You walked in and sat yourself. There were a couple waitresses walking around with coffee pots, ready to take your order. There was the table of regulars, who knew the waitresses by name and didn’t need a menu to order. We struck up a conversation with the men at the table next to us. One told us about his wife of 47 years - he was planning to take her for crab legs in Deadwood as a belated anniversary present. The other entertained us with the story of how he met his girlfriend from New York. The first man told us that his “hat was off” to us for taking on such a challenge. Funnily enough, his hat remained on his head for the entire conversation. They were really friendly, attempting to help us find lodging when we mentioned we were heading towards Sheridan. They also shared stories about small-town-Wyoming life in Moorcroft; apparently two different girls, neither of which had their driver’s license, drove their cars into buildings in town. Donna’s Diner was one of those buildings. Ironically enough, one of the girls was on her way to her driver’s test. And speaking of driver’s licenses, has anyone heard about that song Driver’s License? I certainly have, along with the rest of Olivia Rodrigo’s album. Maddie was playing it the entire day. Olivia Rodrigo and the Hamilton soundtrack are each vying for “Most Played Music” of the trip.
I got a chili cheeseburger and pecan pie at the diner. That’s a cheeseburger with chili on top. Or that’s what I was expecting. I got chili with a cheeseburger underneath. Either way, it was delicious, but I’m not sure if it’s because I found it to be an upgraded cheeseburger, an upgraded version of chili, or some combination of the two. We headed off for Gillette with 29 miles and plenty of time to go.
The ride to Gillette was uneventful. We rode 29 miles at about 12mph the entire time on the old highway 14 that parallels I-90. We didn’t stop a single time. It was extremely flat, and somewhat scenic, with some railroad tracks traveling alongside us for much of the ride. We’ve had a lot of scenic routes recently though, so it takes a lot to amaze us now. We arrived in town, then biked to our hosts’, Amanda and Bert, house in a small neighborhood in Gillette.
Amanda’s family came over for a Saturday night soirée, and we were the guests of honor. Her parents were there, along with 2 of her sisters and 5 young children. An hour later, Bert’s brother Val, and Val’s pregnant wife, Sarah, came by to join the action. NBA playoffs were on the TV, there were burgers and bratwurst coming hot off the grill, and DIY ice cream sundae ingredients were out and begging to be assembled. It was quite the event!
Maddie and I both turned in early tonight. We are exhausted after 6 straight days of grueling rides. We’ll be resting tomorrow before we begin the first of 3 unofficial remaining legs of the trip. Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
-Charlie