Day 51: Lander, WY to Dubois, WY. (77.4 miles)

With the expectation of a higher mileage day, everyone tried to get out earlier this morning to stay ahead of “well documented” headwinds. Even though Yo and I “cooked” this morning (which really means getting all the breakfast and lunch items out of the trailer and making coffee), we started riding at 7:00am.

The ride started through downtown Lander, then on to Fort Washakie. Sacajawea is buried in this town. We rode through the Wind River Indian Reservation. After a good climb out of Fort Washakie, we saw a beautiful plateau with many antelope. I also saw a coyote. Next small town visited was Crowheart.

For the remaining part of the ride, we rode parallel to the Wind River, which was beautiful. Another prominent feature of the landscape was Crowheart Butte, a rock formation and sight of a major Indian battle in the late 1860’s. Fortunately for us, the headwinds were calm. An interesting sight on today’s ride was a field of old military vehicles outside of Dubois. A local millionaire is building a museum for these items. Some of the items were a Patton tank, Soviet MIG, Troop Cartier from D-Day, and a Nazi vehicle. Tonight we are staying at the Dubois KOA.

Image above: Crowheart Butte

Past it’s prime

Horses in the morning by Lander

Wind River near Dubois

Wind River near Table Mountain

House by Crowheart

Antelope on plateau near Fort Washakie

Military vehicles near Dubois (waiting for Museum to be finished)