Day 44 Pt. 2: Gillette - the Worst a Man Can Get

So we made it to Gillette. Take my advice, wandering readers, and steer clear of this blasted place. Oh sure, it's a convenient pit stop if you're headed west on I-90, but I urge you to hold it till Buffalo, which surely can be no worse than this, "America's Energy Capital." For it is also America's sprawl capital, the country's foremost example of bad (or no?) zoning, and the national headquarters of debris-piled lawns. There are no side streets, only deafening boulevards and trash bag-barricaded alleyways; no supermarkets, only Kwikstops and liquor stores; no trees, only scrub brush and golden arches. Denizens lie awake nights listening alternately to an endlessly flatulent motorcycle promenade or the squealing of coal cars over steel rails (undergirded by the bowels-loosening churn of the locomotives). We did, however, find very good Mexican food at Los Compadres, and with the blinds closed were able to pretend we were in Oaxaca, or at least not Northeastern Wyoming.

While we were riding on I-90 this morning, some guy with Illinois plates and "Alaska or Bust" written on his rear window honked encouragingly at us. He pulled over at the Parking Area on the next hill and it turns out his name was John and he was driving way up to the Bering Sea as doing so was #4 on his bucket list. He had two spare tires and a gas cannister and an emergency beacon and just a whole lot of contagious enthusiasm. Then he pointed out, way off to the north, that we could actually see Devil's Tower about 30 miles away, which was surreal and somehow kind of creepy. We would totally have missed it had we not stopped to talk, which pretty much sums up the past week.

I forgot to update you all on my feelings and emotions re: the upcoming Harry Potter film. Right now excitement is about at an 11 out of 10, and inability to think about anything else is probably about a 9!!! Only 8 more days when I wake up tomorrow!! By the way that's going to be real early since we're trying to drop 70 miles by early afternoon (no stops between here and Buffalo with T-Storms and 88* heat in the forecast). Ride on.