August 18th - Day 33 - Walden, CO to Saratoga, WY - 68 miles
Acting on a tip from the park manager (who turned off the sprinklers for us last night) we set out early this chilly morning to find some moose. He told us that the town transplanted about 25 moose to the area years ago and now the population was kept around 600 individuals. We went into the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge (on a different road than I rode yesterday) and saw mule deer, hawks, ground squirrels, and lots of cows, but no moose. It wasn't until we asked a park ranger where the best viewing was that we found an area that moose frequent. We walked along a boardwalk and spotted a bull moose about 50 yards away. He was apparently accustomed to humans and just stood quietly behind some brush. We were both really excited to see a wild moose, and the day just kept getting better!!
Once I finally started to ride I faced a relentless headwind that blew down the valley of the North Platte River. At one point, when I was making slow progress, Cynthia came to find me (no cellphone service) and stopped while I refueled and filled up on water. While I was resting, I happened to spot a large bird flying over distant hills that I thought looked like a bald eagle. Sure enough, we grabbed the binoculars and we were certain that I was right. We watched it soar for a long time over the cliffs before it raised up and dropped down the other side of the hills. As we were watching the eagle, we also spotted pronghorn antelope in the flat below the hills. A couple of miles I found another bald eagle sitting on a telephone pole no more than 30 yards away from the road. Cynthia drove up in time to see it and watch it briefly before it flew away, out of sight. Simply amazing.
Later, Cynthia found me toward the end of the ride and told me to hurry up, because she had found the real home of the free hot sulphur springs in Saratoga. About eight miles outside of town, I saw yet another eagle, this one closer than the last two. I came over a hill, with a butte on my right and it swooped up over the butte, nearly landed on the road, and then flew over my head and back over the butte. It was close enough that I could hear the "whoosh" of its wings as it flapped. I love this ride.
Cynthia had a different close encounter with wildlife today as she nearly hit a large male pronghorn antelope that ran across the road in front of her. She had to slam on the brakes and swerve to avoid hitting it. Thankfully both parties walked away only rattled.
Once we found each other in Saratoga, we headed to the Saratoga Lake Campground to set up camp late in the evening.
Quality Water Means Quality Life
1.2 billion people do not have access to clean water. Help others avoid the choice between thirst or disease.
As we passed through the Ozark Mountains, among Missouri scenic rivers, we came to a gorgeous little spot called "Two Rivers." At this convergence of the Jacks Fork and Current rivers, the silt heavy rapids of the Current meet the clear calm of the Jacks Fork river and one can actually see the divide between the two. I couldn't help but think of the divide between our access to clean water and the lack thereof in the villages of rural Ghana.
Troy and I consume on average, about 12 to 20 (20 oz) bottles of water daily. That's 12 to 20 times per day that, unlike the people in rural Ghana, Troy and I avoid illness without even realizing it. Regardless of how many miles we ride, we have no doubt that stopping anywhere along the road for water will be easy and risk-free.
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