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WE LOVE WYOMING. This has been (aside from highway 1) our favorite stretch to ride. Rock formations flank highway 80, making scenery watching of greater interest than getting from point A to point B. Also in Wyoming's favor is that it isn't as mind meltingly hot as California, Nevada, and Utah. Still, we were in a rush. We stayed in Rock Springs for little other reason than we were too tired to make it to Lincoln.
I'll be frank, we rushed through Utah. When we left Elko in the morning, we had nothing but visions of Park City dancing in our head—home to the 2002 Winter Olympics and at an elevation that it must provide some respite from the summer heat. Little did we think of the salt flats between us and Park City. Like the Fellowship of the Ring on their way to Mt. Doom (except a nice Mt. Doom with trees and flowers and ski lifts) we faced overwhelming trials. Lacking air conditioning, we rolled down our windows and were treated to what I can only imagine a chicken must experience in a convection oven. Fortunately, growing up in a family that did not believe in air conditioning, I knew the drill. We had bought a spray bottle during our stay at Walmart and now I let the convection heat evaporate misted water from our skin. It's like sweating but ten times more effective.
Elko is the center of a current gold rush. Billboards specifically target miners, wether they promote shops, hotels, or casinos. Most any establishment has "gold," "bonanza," "mine," or some other term associated with gold wealth. We had hoped to get a tour of one of the active mines, but, alas, we were there on a day where there were no tours.
Oh, I know. I know. You are so jealous. And yes, Winnemucca was everything I could have hoped and dreamed of. Its our first day back on the road, and our first order of business was to play Johnny Cash's rendition of "I've Been Everywhere" on loop. For those not in the know, the song begins: