63.6 miles today, 1910 miles overall
We spent all day today on the Bridges to Buttes Scenic Byway (also known as Nebraska Hwy 20). This runs roughly alongside the Cowboy Trail which is undeveloped here so pretty hard going. The road, however, is great.
Initially the surface and the shoulder were both the stuff of dreams, as smooth as you could wish for.
However, after 10 miles we got onto an older surface; the main roadway had been resurfaced, but the shoulder had annoying bone shattering cracks every three to five pedal strokes.
It was like this for the remainder of our journey so we moved between the travel-lane and the shoulder as traffic permitted (the traffic was light and forgiving).
Having crossed the state line into Nebraska last night, I owed a debt of beer to Bob and Steve. Resolving that debt was foremost on our minds, but we stopped to take some photos along the way anyway.
I couldn’t help but notice this oddly specific road sign (the same sign seems to be used for all picnic areas, but this one matched perfectly).
We found the ‘Bordertown Saloon and Steakhouse’ in Kilgore and I was delighted to discover it was ‘$2 Tuesday’, so my debt repayment was quite economical (the chips cost the same as the beer). We had a great chat here with Lucy One Star and Edgar, from the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, whose son was working behind the bar.
In the early afternoon we found ourselves in the central time zone, and missing an hour from our day.
I tried to call in a complaint…
After our refreshments we found a spot to eat lunch and pretty soon we were all napping, then looking up at the lovely cottonwoods.
When we arrived in Valentine we saw a sign for $0.99 ice cream cones at McDonald’s. It didn’t take us long to decide those were a good idea (possibly for breakfast tomorrow as well). Then we headed to the city park, where we intended to camp, and had another refreshment.
The campsite is nice (and cheap), but the facilities are rudimentary. We’ve managed to shower and do some laundry; I’ve rigged up a laundry line between a tree and my bike, which may or may not hold all night.
Now the mosquitoes are out and we are trying to make dinner without becoming dinner ourselves (and largely failing).
A final note, we have become suspicious of the cows…
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