Day 34

July 4, 2005

The Fourth of July was a bit of a let down. It wasn’t awful, I was just hoping to enjoy it more, or at least, just enjoy it.

I woke up and made my rack the first priority. I rigged it together with the extra luggage straps I had. I almost sent them home, good thing I didn’t. I got it so it wouldn’t fall apart on me, went to the nearby restaurant for lunch and got on the road.

I was planning on taking the Fourth off in Rawlins. It all worked out in the end, but looking back, it may have been better if I had. The Kiwis went to Encampment, 60 miles from Rawlins that day. The night before, Paul told me he’d go to Saratoga, 40 miles away, and wait for me there. Eventually I made it to Saratoga, around 5 and saw no trace of Paul. The “park” we were supposed to meet was a disaster and not own kind of scene.

I went and got something to eat and figured I’d just head up to Encampment if I didn’t spot Paul. But I did spot Paul, he saw my bike and waited for me to make my way back to it. He told me he set up camp back by the lake and was off to find something to eat for himself. So I headed for the lake and pitched my tent. It was a nice spot. It didn’t have water, so I took a dip in the chilly waters of the lake to rinse off and refresh before crashing for the night. After a few housekeeping details, I wished Paul a good night and made a few phone calls before dark.

And that was about it. No hotdogs, no watermelon, no messy hamburgers off the grill, no sparklers - I heard fireworks in the distance, but that was as good as it got. Rather anti-climatic…

And then, I woke up at 4 in the morning to find my sleeping mat had gone flat. I have a hole in it somewhere. I still haven’t been able to sit down and see what the problem is, but it’s a huge bummer. Hopefully it’s a real hole and not a split in a seam, then I’ll be able to patch it with a tire patch. We’ll see…

Day 34: 49.77 Total: 1,627.75