Day 64 - Bridgeport to Gering - Two Far 2021 - Sooo... Far

June 11, 2021

Day 64 - Bridgeport to Gering

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It was another short day, though with a moderate headwind most of the day. There wasn't much climbing at all and it wasn't hot, we had good breaks, but we are both feeling exhausted this afternoon. Could it be we're getting old?

The road was excellent today. We had this good shoulder the entire route.

We saw two real cowboys on horseback moving these cattle.

On a closer look, at least one of the riders was a cowgirl.

Our first planned stop today was at the Chimney Rock Visitors Center. As did the settlers traveling the Oregon/Mormon/California trails, we watched Chimney Rock get closer and closer.

About a mile away. I doubt the wagon train settlers saw an RV park as they got close.

View from the Visitors Center - maybe half a mile away.

There is wire fencing to prevent people from walking out to the monument. This sign probably does as much to discourage people as the fence.

We weren't very impressed with the exhibits at the visitors center. It was sparse and seemed to be geared to grade school students with a number of hands on activities. I took a few pictures.

The reality of American history is important. I was glad to see this.

At the same location, an Oregon Trail marker

We found a tiny town with a bar and grill for lunch. The town of McGrew has a population of less than 100.

We sat at the bar with the other customers. Our prime rib sandwich was very good.

Kerry here... Just an update about life on the road. Recently I have had a spate of bad luck with my electronics. First, the power supply for my laptop died. Luckily, Jeanna & I both have the same computers (Microsoft Surfaces) so I was able to share her power supply for a few days until I could get a new one delivered to the Cobblestone Inn in Holyoke, CO (thank you Amazon!).

Then, while in Holyoke, I discovered that the room we stayed in has Gremlins that like USB cables. As we were packing to leave, I could not find one of my cables. I know I had it, because each morning as I'm packing up, I count them to make sure I've got them all. (I'm really anal about this and actually count them aloud, which sometimes annoys Jeanna). We searched all over the room and even unpacked everything to no avail. I can't imagine where it is, but its gone. Sometime, sombody is going to find a brown USB cable in that room - I just hope they can use it.

Also, just a few days ago, I noticed that the rubber cover for my Garmin didn't seem to fit right and would not stay in place. For a day or so I just thought that the cover had shrunk a bit, so I started looking for new covers on Amazon. However, the problem got worse and it was then that I discovered that the cover was OK, but my Garmin was growing! It seems that the battery swelled and split the Garmin open, though it still works. As I do not want to trust that it will continue to work, I ordered a new unit, which was waiting for me today at the motel (again, thank you Amazon). As soon as I'm done with this post, I'll start the process of setting up the new Garmin and then loading all of our routes.

A peek inside. I'm suprised that the thing still works, but do not trust it to last. I also don't think it would fare too well in the rain!

Finally, last night, Windows installed some updates on my Surface, and now I have lost my System Tray. I have no clock, no volume control, no network connection icon, no nothing! I've spent a few hours researching the problem (which appears to be somewhat common, but to which no one has found a good solution). If it persists, I guess I'll have to reload my computer, which is a really fun thing to do while on the road.

For all my woes, however, Life Is Good & I'm having a blast!!

Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 2,512 miles (4,043 km)

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