The Poudre Trail Part 2; A High School Friend; Cheyenne; Warning Signs

We were a bit lazy this morning because of Suzanne’s full day on her feet yesterday SOARing.  After a quick high protein brekkie, we were on our bikes on the Cache La Poudre Trail. Suzanne had not been on the trail yet, and wanted to experience this beautiful riverside ride before we left Colorado. In springtime, the river can overflow its banks, but now water levels are way down.  

Here is Suzanne enjoying the view from one of the bridges across the Poudre. 

Alongside the bike path is a dirt trail for runners and horses. These ladies are enjoying a pleasant morning’s ride, but runners have to watch their steps very carefully... 

Suzanne is enjoying the day, the scenery, and the workout; we rode about 18 miles today, and it was getting quite warm at the end.  Nevertheless, Suzanne was amazed that she started out feeling drained from the day before, and finished feeling exhilarated and energized.  She said it was all that fresh air and mentioned something about "prana flushing out her system."  What jumped to my mind was small South American fish with enormous teeth...

Had the river been deeper, a swim might have been in order. But the rapids here were actually very shallow. 

Suzanne’s grade school friend Julie joined us for lunch; she lives in Littleton, Colorado, a two hour drive away. They caught up on events in their lives over the past 30 years; we also discovered that we share the same wedding anniversary, June 29, 1996. Looks like the girls were eating healthy; I had to try the local New Belgium Fat Tire beer... it's de rigeur for mountain bike riders!

After lunch, we packed up The Bus and headed for Cheyenne, Wyoming, only 45 miles north. We are at the FamCamp at Warren Air Force Base, one of three strategic missile bases in the US. From 1867 until 1947, this was an Army post, Fort Davis A. Russell. In the 1870’s and 1880’s, it was home to three black regiments, the 9^th and 10^th Cavalry and the 24^th Infantry, the famous Buffalo Soldiers. Much of the old post is a National Historic Landmark. We saw these pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra Americana) here on base; one almost ran in front of our car last evening. Although not true antelope, the pronghorn is the fastest land animal in the Americas, clocked at 62 mph. 

Downtown Cheyenne was disappointing. The only businesses that appear to be doing well are cowboy apparel shops like The Wrangler. From 7:30-8:30 PM, we only saw a handful of people, including two young “grunge” 20-somethings getting out of a “Cowboy Taxi” and going into a sleazy-looking hotel. The only restaurants we saw were a Chinese place and a bar and grill at the old train station. 

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The Wyoming state capitol building was impressive, with several bronze statues out front. The best was this one of Chief Washakie. He was half Shoshone and half Umatilla, and later in life led the Eastern Snake tribe. He was a friend of trapper Jim Bridger, and signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851. He was honored by the US Government for his work in scouting and guiding General Crook’s army to defeat the Sioux after General Custer’s disastrous loss at the Little Big Horn. 

Cheyenne does have some unique displays around downtown; we saw at least a dozen giant cowboy boots on corners and in parks. I thought I might look for a pair like this one, but in a smaller size.

Signs in a window in downtown Cheyenne gave us an indication of how these folks treated trespassers: “Prayer: the best way to meet thy God; Trespassing is much faster”; and “Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again”. I don’t think we’ll be crossing any fences to rustle cattle in this state. That reminds me of a great line from a cowboy movie spoof back in the 70’s. Two cowboys are at the bar drinking whiskeys, when one asks the other, “Do you rustle?” The second cowpoke replies, “Only when I wear taffeta.”