Togwotee

Departed Kristina's Hatchet Resort and tackled the second highest pass on the Transamerica Trail. It was a long, long 17 mile climb in slightly rainy, cold weather with old man legs. The peak of the pass is 9658' and just before I reached the top I met Inspector Clouseau. I was going up, he was coming down and we stopped to chat. I had a waterproof jacket on with just biking shorts below and the Inspector was fully encased with high Tech gear that made me green with envy. He had a small mustache and wore little square, slightly tinted glasses and to me looked strikingly similar to Peter Sellers in Pink Panther. When he stopped, I said fancy meeting you here. He just stared at me at first with a blank expression. I started grinning and half expected him to ask me if I had a raooom. When he started talking, it was complete. He was Danish and his accent completed the persona. He gave me some valuable information about road construction ahead and about possible camping sites. All the while I wanted to ask him, excuse me but does your dog bite. He really was a nice guy and was on his way through Yellowstone and into Washington. About an hour later I met two other bikers pulling trailers and we chatted for a short while. I've noticed one thing though, the bikers I've met so far are all young. After the pass I found a little cabin in Dubois and settled in for the night. Today I got on the road early, fearing rain and cold and neither happened. I got a few pictures of the Wyoming red dirt and rode along the Wind River. I passed through the Wind River Indian Reservation and the small town of Fort Washakie. The town was named after Chief Washakie, a Shoshoni Indian who was a faithful friend to the whites during the 1800s. I stopped at a service station in Fort Washakie and learned that the town is comprised mostly of Shoshoni and Arapahoe. I had my lunch, a sub, and pressed on. As I left the Reservation I passed the obligatory casino confirming that, yes indeed, they are Indians. On my way to Lander I passed two more separate biker groups. One was a lone female but we didn't stop, she was going down hill and was trying to pick up speed for the next hill. The second group was a couple on there way to Yellowstone and then down the Oregon coast. I relayed the construction information and the excellent rate at the Debois hotel where I'd spent the night. Nice young couple and we chatted for about ten minutes before departing. I rode 75 miles today so I could get to Lander. Lander has a population of about 7000 people and makes a great rest stop. I have WiFi, cell phone and color TV, Yahoo!