Back at the Ranch – Days 9 and 10

8/9/22
Tuesday we rode to Sundance, Wyoming to meet up with my friend Jen!  It’s been several years and it was SO nice to get together again.

We rode from Sundance, through Newcastle to Custer, and on the way, we got to see the aftermath of the Fish Fire that had been fought days before. Tents and vehicles were still staged and though we saw the damage to the pines, we didn’t see any structural damage on the path we took. Hopefully no homes or livestock were lost, though evacuations had recently taken place.

In Custer we visited another rock shop (!) and then stopped for ice cream at the Purple Pie Place. We’ve been by this ice cream place so many times but never had the opportunity to stop.

We headed back the way we came as the sun started to dip and said our goodbyes before hopping back on I-90. Our little town of Buffalo was having a Summer in the Streets event and we really wanted to check it out, as often times these events don’t coincide with the times we are in town visiting.

It really was cool!  It encompassed a city block and the Buffalo Volunteer Fire Department had a temporary pool for the kids, a dunk tank, a space quarantined off for water gun fights, a beer table and homemade corn dogs.

We approached the crowd and I was totally expecting the “needle scratch on the record” response, as, everyone here knows everyone but they didn’t know us and that doesn’t go unnoticed. Several people noticed us, came over and we were given a warm welcome and told where the beer and corn dogs were. We introduced ourselves, bought beers, took a seat on the cement steps and watched as everyone talked, visited and the town kids splashed around on this hot day.  This small town event was truly one of the highlights of my trip.

8/10/22
August 10^th, our 12^th anniversary!  We got a later start today, but it was nice to just sit outside with our coffee in the cool breeze. Today we would ride back into Custer and have dinner at Pizza Works, our annual stop. We met our pastor and his wife there the day before our wedding in Custer State Park. Their pizza is excellent and the place has become near and dear to us. And look! Another rock shop!  Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we finished dinner.

In Custer, we actually bumped into some friends we were hoping to see, Doug and Debbie!

We chatted on the sidewalk for a minute before returning to Bill’s bike for the ride home.

The sun had set and the western sky glowed orange as we sped into the night up 85 back to our land. There was a truck ahead of us, and everything literally came to a screeching halt. I watched a tractor trailer in Bill’s mirror and prayed he would be able to stop in time, which thank God, he did.  We sat for a minute and after while, Bill killed the motor and we hopped off the bike. We could see flashing red and blue up ahead, and I prayed it wasn’t a serious accident. The trucker behind us got out and asked if we knew or could see what was going on, but we did not. Soon after, another trucker joined us and we chatted for a bit as we waited. It turns out, his family owns thousands of acres of hay fields in the area, not far from us. We meet our neighbors in the most unlikely places.

After a while, one of the truckers walked up to the police to inquire. He came back and reported that the accident involved a tractor trailer and a pickup truck, but thankfully, no fatalities.  It wasn’t long before we were on our way, slowly making our way past the flagman and we got to see the unbelievable wreckage.

It was a long, hot day and we were glad to get back to camp as the almost full moon rose in the east.