After (another) GREAT breakfast at the Heart & Soul Bakery in Pinedale, I headed out of town just after 8 AM! I had a 10 AM Church Service to get to in Atlantic City, Wyoming, which is 108 miles away. It really was kind-of-cool driving down the dirt road into Atlantic City, and figuring out exactly where the Church was:
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church:
I don't know if it a "Western thing", but when you exchange the peace out here (also in Barstow, California in 2014), you don't just shake hands with the people around you - you shake hands WITH EVERYBODY IN THE CHURCH! Fun, but a little time-consuming.
I'm spending tonight down in Fort Collins, Colorado (because of the eclipse tomorrow, there is not A SINGLE HOTEL ROOM AVAILABLE IN THE STATE OF WYOMING), and I could have easily just gone down to 80 East, but I wanted to explore the Shoshone National Forest (specifically the Popo Agie Falls Trail). So, from Atlantic City, I headed north into Shoshone National Forest, going through some beautiful country on the way:
They have these VERY STRANGE rock formations:
To quote the Wyoming Office of Tourism: "protrusions of Sherman granite were shaped by millions of years of icy, windy and wet weather."
While I was taking this picture, a car going the other way stopped and two girls got out. Asking if I was from Massachusetts, I said Yes and saw their Mass license plate! They were from Woods Hole, on their way to jobs in Seattle, and we wished each other Good LucK!
Louis Creek is beautiful:
as is the Little Popo Agie River:
and Fiddlers Lake:
I was a little surprised to see that HE gets his own parking area:
and even his own picnic area??
I parked and was hiking up the Popo Agie Falls Trail by 1:30. It was a real family-friendly afternoon:
The Middle Popo Agie River was ROARING!
The Popo Agie Falls has both a left-section and a right-section, and both were going nicely today::
Everybody having fun on a sunny Sunday afternoon:
I finished the 1.7 mile hike around 3, and I still have 300 miles to go to my hotel, so the day's not over yet. At 4, I passed this really cool outcropping of somewhat-wooded hills, and I thought: "Who owns that?":
Got down to Fort Collins in time for a pizza dinner (back to getting-the-miles-under-my-belt). WOW - Thank you God for this wonderful adventure day!
Since it was 47 degrees at 8:07 this morning, that was a little too cold to be driving with the windows down, so I listened to Terry Tempest Williams The Hour of Land 5/9, 2016:
It is a collection of very nicely written stories of some of our National Parks - both personal stories, and historical/scientific background. I like it (well, at least the first-through-fifth-cds-of-9). This section dealt with Effigy Mounds National Monument (Iowa) and Big Bend National Park (Texas).
Two quotes from this section of the book:
"Restraint is its own prayer."
"I could walk forever with beauty."
Music for today was more albums from my purple nano:
various artists - Sound the Trumpets, 1993
actually, I only have "Summertime" by Freddie Hubbard, and "Trading Secrets" by Randy Brecker
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Southern Accents, 1985
I actually listened to this twice - because it sounds GREAT both at 70 mph on the highway AS WELL AS at 20 mph going through the Shoshone National Forest.
Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, 1961
The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), 1965
I owned this album, back when I was 12!
The Beach Boys - Surf's Up, 1971
I LOVE the title song, but don't think the rest of the album is very good.
Counting Crows - This Desert Life, 1999
Lyrics "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby":
You can never escape,
you can only move south down the coast
...
We drove out to the desert
just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars.
Lyrics "High Life":
Such a life,
Such a life,
...
But oh this desert life
This high life
Here at the dying end of the day.
The Rolling Stones - Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), 1969
Neil Young - Time Fades Away, 1973
I saw this tour when he played the Spectrum in Philly in January 1973. This is ripped from the album I owned, so it consists of "Side One" and "Side Two". There are 3 EXCELLENT acoustic songs on this album: "Journey thru the Past", "Love in Mind" and "The Bridge".
McCoy Tyner - Time for Tyner, 1969
Jackson Browne - Time the Conqueror, 2008
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