Picnic in Wyoming Ride

April 8, 2012
Colorado, USA

Easter Sunday. Lingering over our coffee while the day gained a few notches on the thermometer we got a kick out of watching the neighbor kids (rather large kids) run around the yard hunting Easter eggs. We were in no rush this morning but we finally packed a picnic lunch and rolled out of the drive just before noon past trees and shrubs heavy with Spring bloom. Our biggest decision was whether to ride north or south. To even consider riding north at this time of year is an indicator of how wacky our weather is this spring. Warm and dry. West was also an option but we know how crazy it can get on a nice holiday in the high country. We have ridden south and east just about every time we have rolled recently so north it was then.

Laramie, Wyoming is about 65 miles or so north of Fort Collins. It is an easy ride and the road is good. The highway is sometimes busy but we counted ourselves fortunate today that traffic was light and so were the winds (so far). Tim started out without a jacket but decided sleeves would be good a few miles past Ted's Place. I actually added a layer under my jacket for comfort.

Rolling north on Hwy 287 there are a few notable landmarks - Ted's Place (Hwy 14) is basically the last stop in Colorado for convenience (gas, food, etc.). There is a rest stop in between but it is rarely, if ever open. We noticed the old Forks Hotel and Cafe at Livermore (the Red Feathers cut off) which has been out of business and on the market for a couple of years has a sign posted that said opening soon. Hmmmm... I just read an article that the location will open as a convenience store/gas station soon with plans to open a deli/ice-cream shop and eventually a full service restaurant. We could go for that. Livermore and Virginia Dale were old stage stops on what is known as the Overland Trail (Hwy 287). The road (74E) that travels east out of Livermore will get you to Red Feathers Lake Recreation area. The next stop is Tie-Siding, WY which is currently gas station/flea market/post office but is near the location of a historic tie-camp (railroad ties). The whole area is rich in early western history.

Rolling up on the old stage stop along the Overland Trail - Virginia Dale. The little white church was established 1880

We rolled into the edge of Laramie where we made a stop at Bart's flea market. We roamed the aisles and warmed up some but didn't find much to stuff the saddle bags with this time. We rolled into town afterwards thinking we would have our picnic lunch near the train yards as we have before but the winds were howling (as usual) out of the west and we figured we would likely have to chase our chicken to Kansas so that was a brief stop. We traveled east a bit past the college before locating Washington Park which was a little more sheltered from the ever-increasing winds. There we parked the "buggy" ride not far from a picnic table and enjoyed our cold chicken, noodle salad, fruit and cookies.

We made a quick stop at a book store I like to roam through before bringing ourselves on home. Again, traffic was not near what we usually encounter on this ride. The winds were stout and somewhat chilly blowing across the deep drifts of snow still lingering alongside the snow fences along the way.

It was warmer once we crossed the border into Colorado, so we took the long way home over the dam before calling it an end to a nice, easy ride. Tim says 149 miles. As usual, we downed a couple of beers on the patio while we cooked burgers and sausage.

Slide show of today's ride (32 photos):