Another long one today, my next to last Perpetual Saturday. Sunday is coming on Thursday – an Interstate run down Mona from Park City to Arrowcreek. But that sad tale will await the Epilogue. Or the Outtakes, or the Intakes.

So this day was likely my longest, as I wanted to ride the best roads in the Black Hills, see Rushmore and Crazy Horse, and get to Lander before sunset. That and I didn’t start out super early as the morning tipi was comfortable, the Termesphere Gallery beckoned and I had to read the paper. Or somesuch nonsense.

First stop was Silver City, South Dakota, a beautiful little hamlet tucked over the mountains from 385 on a mostly 15mph road. To make matters more interesting, I rode the Edelweiss Mountain dirt road OUT of Silver City, 8 miles back to the highway. McCovey and I still had it from our Polebridge practice. Saw one other car and about two dozen cattle on/beside the road. We went slowly into that good morning.

So Needles Highway was next, gorgeous, and I had to pass a few slowpokes. I mean scenic driving is fine, but not virtually BACKWARDS.

So, onward.

To Lander, from Lander and to Elko, I have seen the oddest diamond yellow signs. They are not comforting. They say “Open Range, Free Stock.” Note they don’t say livestock, and I am pretty sure they are not free even if they are dead, that is not live, stock. Having cows by the side of the road like Halloween store pop-ups is not particularly comforting, but I believe this sign is a warning that such would be the case. And has been. I wonder of the folks who came UP with the sign were just trying to mess with us.

“Those city folks may think these cows are free and when they take one, we can shoot ‘em!”

“Wait, though, since we’re calling them stock, does that mean they can take them for free if somebody already hit and kilt them?”

“No, we shoot ‘em if they try to do that, too.”

Look, riding 473 miles in a day when much of the first half of that ride hovers around 30 mph leaves one a LOT of time to think. And I am not saying that I was thinking clearly here. But ask yourself! Why “Free Stock” and not, oh say, “Livestock on Open Range?” The only way I can work it out is that they wanted to confuse me. And Lynn can tell you, it’s not THAT hard to do.

Once I left Custer, it became a slog. Empty roads, high speed, hungry, hurried, tired. I stopped for food at Isabella’s in Newcastle, Wyoming. It was empty at 2pm, and delicious. But I had to SCAT. After turning west on something like 470, within 2 miles it was completely empty and I was up at 90. A grey pickup truck racing toward me passed and lit up like a Christmas tree in my rear view mirror. This had happened once before in South Dakota, but that John Law did not turn around and get me. He was just showing he knew.

Festus Law (it was Festus County) was on my tail because he HAD accomplished a very quick and well executed 3 point turn. I “yes sir’d” the hell out of this pleasant fellow and officer as I took off my helmet and turned the SF logo away so as to show him this Nevadan “grey ghost.”

He asked if I was in a hurry to get back to Nevada. I politely answered, “no, but I am worried about getting to Lander by sundown. I apologize that I was going too fast.” He said that he would take it easy on me and went back to his truck with my license.

After 5 minutes he came back, said this road is posted at 70mph, and encouraged me to keep it in spitting distance of that. I was still 4-5 hours from Lander, but I thanked him and kept it to 75 for a solid 20 minutes.

Nice guy, but I immediately wondered, especially given all the questions I got in Nevada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and now Wyoming…. If I had a California license plate, would he have done the same thing? I am thinking definitely “no.” It has something to do about the way he said “getting back to Nevada.”

The last 3-4 hours this day were long and lonely, but they had their own special show. The sun was 3 hours from setting and from about Wright (a coal mine town that leads to Midwest, through Casper, Moneta, Shoshoni, and Riverton) there were dark, forboding clouds spotted low in the sky and playful white cumuli up high. [Yeah, I don’t know, GO with it. We’re gliding down the highway….] The sun kept moving down and creating new light and silver lining and ray shows, each completely different from the previous. 50 of them, at LEAST. I only stopped to film the next to last act.

Lander is to rock-climbing as Moab is to mountain biking. Fantastic little 7500 person town with some western style. I arrived at another terrific AirBnB. Check it out: