Big Empty Country

The remarkable thing about the photo to the right was the traffic. There are three vehicles in the distance making this the most traffic we saw on Route 14 East of Cody. The open space is amazing. I suspect that if a big jet airplane flew overhead, the temporary county population might double. Horses seem to outnumber people by a large margin. So do sheep and antelopes, and for all I know maybe moose, wolves, coyotes, and bear; none of which were spotted today.

This must be county fair month. We saw dozens of horses and fewer people going into a fair ground near Burlington, Wyoming. I pulled in to ask what was going on and it was a competition of horsemen. Sort of a pre-rodeo event that included kids riding their mounts. I saw a girl of maybe 12 prancing around a yard with a number on her back. She was being judged for her riding skill. I'd have judged her about 20 times better than me. She looked like she was born on the horse and made her maneuvers look about twice as difficult as breathing. We were particularly impressed by the littlest cowboy there. He was three and aspires to be a rodeo rider like his grand dad. This buckaroo wisely substituted a pacifier for the more common Red Man Chew. I predict he will someday own a trophy belt buckle as big as your face.

We passed through the small town and once again into the magnificent desolation of the plains. For many miles our only companion was a solitary antelope who showed only passing interest in our motorcycle. Antelope are relatively plentiful in this neighborhood. Probably more of them than people around here. Far more elusive is the jackalope; a sort of a cross between a large hare and antelope. Rabbits have a reputation, but I'd have loved to see the mating that caused this breed to come into existence. As a city boy I've only seen pictures like the one below but they tell me they taste great with a Snipe as a side dish. The prairie equivalent of our Surf'n'Turf.

We stopped driving early today, hoping to see the Washakie County Fair. Imagine our disappointment when the advent of rain synchronized with our arrival at the fairgrounds. Now I will have nothing but the dreams of actually seeing the county's woolliest sheep or maybe a sample of Aunt Petunia's award winning rhubarb pie. I've seen county fairs on TV and always wanted to visit the real thing. I'd like to see a 4-H kid win a ribbon for the largest carrot or fattest pig. Alas, we opted to remain dry and headed back to town before we even checked to see if they were serving jackalope. Sadness.

The town of Worland is representative of many small bergs of the West. I don't know if the wide main streets are the result of over ambitious city planners of if there is a military subsidy to create streets so wide they can perform emergency landings of aircraft. The attached rush hour photo of downtown, attests to my lack of exaggeration. Perhaps everyone had driven in their pickup trucks to the county fair. We did see evidence of dozens of people there.

We drove to the empty coin operated car wash and rewarded the Honda for another thousand miles of faithful service.

Tomorrow we will travel the scenic Highway 16, AKA, Cloud Peak Skyway, through the Bighorn National Forest and over the Powder River Pass, over 9,000 feet high, to the town of Buffalo. Even the names excite me. I looked at the map and the road looks like a confused string of spaghetti, nearly knotting itself like a pretzel through the mountains. A motorcycle road par excelance. I can't wait!