Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Day 17 - Riverton, Wyoming - July 5th 2006
Weather: Sunny. Low 90s. Beautiful day. VERY DRY.
Location: Riverton, Wyoming (from Dubois, Wyoming)
Miles per day: 79.7
Average miles per hour: 14.84 (lots of downhill)
Elevation climb: MINUS 1900 (a downhill day!)
Blizzards/Ice Cream to date: 14 (a Monster Blizzard today)
Flat Tires to date: 1
Today was a fantastic day of downhill. A welcome relief after the two previous days. Scenery was a bit sparse and very dry. Speaking to a woman in Kinnear (population 44), she said it rarely rains or snows. (On a side note, we sat in the only store in town for about an hour and concluded we had met 25% of the population.).
In an effort to develop the Riverton region, in 1902 Congress passed an act ratifying an agreement with the Indians of the Wind River Reservation, ceding lands north of Wind River to the United States. Plans were developed to create 3 dams: Bull Lake Dam (1930-38), Wind River Diversion Dam (1920-23) and Pilot Butte Dam. With irrigation, the region could then be economically developed. Looking about the place today, it appears to remain an extremely dry area and somewhat sparsely populated (Riverton population is just 9310). There continues to be a thriving American Indian influence (with Casinos) accentuated with local Walmart, Kmart and all the American Fast Food joints (thankfully DQ!). That's progress eh?As today was a relatively quiet day, I would like to remind everyone that I am raising money for 'Save the Children Foundation', an international relief agency for children in need with an emphasis on a 'hand up' rather than just a 'hand out'. If you would like to donate, their is a link to the right side of my blog.
