Day 5 - Casper, Wyoming to Cody, Wyoming. Today's miles - 220. Total Mileage From Indy - 1561.

As the guys left Casper this morning they all began to notice how much the terrain changed.  

There was also a significant change in the attitude of that terrain.  Everyone noted that the green had gone away.  Everything around them looked so desolate, sun scorched and wind burned.  A harsh image of that may spring forth in your mind.  But, there is beauty in all of that as well.

All y'all see any grass?

Fred stops by the side of the road to admire those mobile homes in the distance.

There has been a drastic change in elevation since the group left Indianapolis.  The mean elevation around Indianapolis is 717 feet.  Cody, Wyoming boasts that they sit at 5,016 feet above sea level.

Much of the ride today was along the scenic byway located in Wind River Canyon. The canyon was carved out by the Wind River.  It lies between the cities of Thermopolis and Shoshoni.  The southern mouth of the canyon is at the Boysen Dam in Boysen State Park.  The canyon also borders the Wind River Indian Reservation.  A fair amount of homes, as well as, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad are also included in the canyon.  The northern end of the canyon is at the Wedding of the Waters.  This is where the Wind River becomes the Big Horn River.

As you travel south through the Wind River Canyon towards the dam, you get the impression that you are traveling down hill.  The Wind River flows against you making the water appear to be running up hill!  A strange sight to behold.

  

Mileage wise the boys traveled only 220 miles.  This is the least amount of distance that they have gone in one day to date.  That left them plenty of time to check out the town of Cody and time for some necessities, like laundry.

They  have arrived in Cody, Wyoming.

It was either free sample day at the Bank of the West, 

or these dudes had been planning a shopping spree in Cody all along and stopped to get more cash.

 Having lunch and a couple of thirst quenching, adult beverages also seemed like a necessity.

Um...David and Fred, there will be no more complaining about the ladies shopping trips.

One day, Mike went shopping in Cody, Wyoming.  He found the hat section of the Western Store.

He rang the bell for assistance but found that no one was there.  So he decided to try on some of the hats.

He tried on a fancy black bowler and said, "This hat is too big."  

Even though there is no photographic evidence he tried on a couple more hats.   (You just have to trust me on this, it's how the story goes.  Okay?)   When he tried on the second hat he said, "This hat is too small!"

"Awww, this hat is just right", he said as he tried on the final hat.  So he went to the cashier, paid for the hat, and wore it while he shopped around Cody, Wyoming some more.  The end.

See, just as the story said, he really did wear the new hat for more shopping.  Definitely a non-fiction story.

Now when you look at Stu, like those kids in the right hand side of the photo are doing, he just looks like he belongs out west.  Can you hear the theme song from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly playing right now?
As you can also see in the photo, Stu's done a bit of shopping too.  Can't wait to see what he purchased.

                    Before                                                                            After

  What is different about the back of Stu's motorcycle?  Compare the "Before" and "After" images.  Hmmm....a lariat, more turquoise beads, a larger American flag, shopping bags with additional arrows and who knows what else.  Poor little Harry, he's being crushed under all those purchases.

Joe and Fred, these two finally gave up on the shopping gig and people watched.

Thankfully David's necessity was doing laundry.  Joe, his room mate, will be so happy to smell, uh hear, this.

See him pressing that nice white shirt?  A big shout out to Lori on that.  Well done!

The guys headed to the rodeo arena

Officially starting in 1919, the Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede  has been held every summer around the 4th of July.  2013 marks the 94th year anniversary of the rodeo's nightly performances!  Cody is one of the longest running successful professional rodeos.  It is also the only place in the United States that has a rodeo performance every single night.  Here you can see bare back riding, tie down roping, team roping, bull riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding and barrel racing.

 

This little guy is dreaming about the day that he becomes a rodeo star.

 Buffalo Bill Cody recognizes that Stu has the look.  

He's inviting him to become a part of his Wild West Show.  

Day 4 - Ogallala, Nebraska to Casper, Wyoming. Miles ridden today - 332. Total Miles From Indianapolis - 1341.

As soon as the guys departed Ogallala they followed the Oregon Trail.

What a beautiful day!

While meandering along the Oregon Trail they happened upon Chimney Rock National Historic Site.

Chimney Rock, the most famous landmark on the Oregon Trail.

Of course the guys, along with their iron horses,  had to "have their likeness made" with 

Chimney Rock in the background.

Nothing creepier than a sign warning of the creepy crawlers.  Poisonous ones at that!

That sign didn't make the fellas feel too welcome so they loaded up on their bikes.

Mikey says, " Snakes, I'm outta here!"

Moseying on down the road.

Mike

 Still following The Oregon Trail, they came upon Scotts Bluff.

Chock full of so much history.

 

Stu and Mike at the entrance to Scotts Bluff National Monument, 

which is operated by the National Park Service.

Try to imagine how difficult traveling in a covered wagon through this rough country would have been. 

Those brave pioneers heading west for free farm land, better health or to escape problems back east got more of an adventure than most of them expected.

All of your possessions packed into that wagon, your spouse, children, meager furnishings, cooking utensils and provisions that were expected to last along the trail. 

 That team of oxen was mighty valuable to those pioneers.

Stu's trying his hand at being Trail Boss.

David is checking out this covered wagon.

RP better stick to that motorcycle for transportation.  This wagon lost its cover and oxen.

Joe, Stu, Mike and David walking along a portion of  The Oregon Trail.

Think those covered wagons were slow?  Most of the pioneers chose to walk along the trail because the wagons were so miserable to ride in.  Bumpy, bumpy, bumpy...

 Granite monument marking where The Oregon Trail enters into Wyoming.

Joe, Stu, Fred, David and Ron have now crossed over into Wyoming.

At this point, Mike broke off from the group.  

He was going to meet his daughter Chris and grandson Oliver for a visit.

Chris and Oliver met Mike at Ayres Natural Bridge Park.
Ollie got to "drive" the tractor at the playground.




Chris, Oliver and Mike.


Meanwhile, the rest of the group had stopped for lunch and was back on the road heading towards Casper.
They passed the most interesting thing.  They turned around and headed back, hoping to get a better look.




He looks pretty comfortable.

This is what they turned around to see,  Dinklage Custom Feeding in Torrington, Wyoming.

Having dabbled in cattle on a small scale this operation was of great interest to Ron.  

He was really hoping that he would be able to have a tour of this facility.

They happened to meet this gentleman, Dale, who was on his way out of the feed lot as the boys were on their way in.  It turns out that Dale was a partner in this operation.  When the guys explained where they were from, where they were going and that they'd love to arrange a tour, they could've been turned away or tossed out on their ears.  But no, Dale was happy to tell them a little bit about Dinklage Custom Feeding and give them a brief tour.  He did ask them to go slowly, on those bikes,  as to keep the cattle mellow and not get 'em all riled up.





Uh oh, we've got a couple of lookers, that Angus type seems a little skittish. 

 Probably never saw horns on a motorcycle before.

They really shouldn't be all that eager to belly up to the bar.

This isn't going to end all that well for them, if you know what I mean.

There were approximately 10 miles of roads in and around this feed lot.  

At present there are 24,000 head of cattle in the lot.  They turn cattle three times a year.

That means that this facility handles 75,000 head of cattle per year.

They bring the calves in around 500 pounds and finish them to 1,250 pounds or so.  If they are shipping overseas they bump that finish weight up to about 1,700 - 1,800 pounds per animal.

There are eight cow/calf operation ranches in and around  Wyoming that supply calves for Dinklage.

One of those ranches has 18,000 brood cows on it.  That's a lot of mamas.

Dinklage Custom Feeding raises their own crops for grain and silage. 

 They do have to purchase some of their hay.

Dale, thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy day to show these nosey guys around.

They really appreciate the education, as well as, your time.  And, so will our readers.  

This has been extremely interesting.

And so, the guys have ended their day in Casper, Wyoming.  Mike has returned to the group.

They are ready for dinner, a good night's sleep and tomorrow's adventure.

Day 3 - Beatrice, Nebraska to Ogallala, Nebraska. 340 miles today. Total from Indianapolis - 1009 miles.

The guys left bright and early this morning!  By 7:30 a.m. they were on the road.

Wow! Blue skies, smiling at me.  Nothing but blue skies, do I see.

When planning their route, the guys selected Route 136 out of Indianapolis.

 Route 136 in Indiana is also called Crawfordsville Road.

 Staying on Route 136 through Illinois and Iowa, they rode this until it ended in Nebraska.

In Nebraska, Route 136 is called the Heritage Highway.

Mike is not hitch-hiking, that's just a good old fashioned thumbs up.

As they followed this Route 136 from Beatrice towards their day's destination of Ogallala the scenery remained basically the same.  There were fields full of corn and soybeans.  If you have corn and beans then you're going to need to have some of these,

to store those harvested crops in until they go to market.

The guys also began to see lots more of these,

cows.  You can also store that corn in cows.  But it doesn't stay in there very long.

Stopping for lunch.

From L to R:  Ron, Joe, Fred, Mike, David and Stu.

After lunch they rode on, and  on, and on.  Until they had to stop

 for a seat break.  Stu and Joe are checking Ferdinand to make sure he hasn't caught any more arrows.

They finally reached Ogallala, Nebraska.
They are now on Mountain Standard Time instead of  Real American Time, which is more commonly known as Eastern Standard Time.

Yes, parts of the mini series Lonesome Dove were filmed, just north of Ogallala, on a privately owned ranch.

Why, is that Stu  picnicking?  No, it's Augustis "Gus"  McCrae and Clara from Lonesome Dove.

Ogallala is full of history!  It was founded in 1870.  This town is where Wyoming, Montana and Texas Cattle kings met to haggle and bargain cattle prices.  The first white men to this area were trappers from St. Louis.  Those trappers got along famously with the friendly Pawnee Indians.  Not so much with the Sioux who lived just to the north.  The Sioux were always looking to pick a fight or be just menacing.

The Ogallala Aquifer is the world's largest underground water supply.  Lake McConaughy is the largest irrigation lake in the mid-west.  Those ranches and farms in and around Ogallala produce wheat, corn,
 sugar beets, Milo, soybeans, hay and cattle.

By 1876 the town consisted of a railroad, businesses and saloons.




The jail, obligatory gift shop and General Store.  The business strip was just south of the railroad tracks.

The town continued to grow as did its history.

The town Sheriff even drove a modern looking police car.  Also, just because you stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night does not mean that you are savvy to the local laws, Fred.

 The Livery Barn, Crystal Palace Saloon, Cowboy's Rest and the Undertaker (you might need his services in case you got caught up in a gunfight with some disgruntled cowboys).

The Front Street Steakhouse looks like a great place to go if you have a powerful hankering for a steak.
  The Crystal Palace Saloon offers a dinner show in the true spirit of the old west.  This is where the guys headed for dinner.

 

 Well, well,well.  Will you get a load of who is up on that stage?!

 Is he hitch- hiking again?

Joe was called up on stage for a possible lynching.

 Luckily he was released, back into the audience, on a technicality.

The guys ham it up with the dinner show cast at the Crystal Palace Saloon.

After enjoying dinner and the show at the Crystal Palace Saloon the guys headed back to the hotel.
All in all, another great day.