July 8 2018 Rest Day At Devils Tower

We are camped in the KOA campground at the foot of Devils tower.  It is a really nice spot, with great showers lots of space to spread out.  Having said that there is this huge lava tower which dominates the entire area.  Not really believing in this sort of stuff myself however it does have this huge almost magnetic kind of energy. Kind of like Sedona and the energy force fields but maybe more like alien force or maybe I have been watching too many movie reruns,

I made the most of the rest day. I lay in bed as long as I could, listening to the wind rustle the leaves. It was so relaxing. However there were chores to do and so I rolled out of bed and grabbed a quick shower. Ken and I headed up to breakfast at the campground café for pancakes.

Laundry was next on the list and there were plenty of open machines. While the washing machine did its work I got yesterday’s blog written and posted. Two chores down and it isn’t 10:00 am.  Laundry is hung to dry and Ken T, Mal (one of the British riders) and I pull on our swim trunks and go wading in the river which surrounds the campground.  It is only about 18 inches deep but we have fun splashing about. There are loads of really huge river clam shells in the sand bars in the river. I have never seen such huge clam shells. Each one is 4-6 inches across. We don’t find any live clams but they are probably buried in the muddy banks somewhere. 

I get busy after the paddle in the river and clean and oil my bike.  It isn’t too dirty but the chain is covered in road grit from a long week.

The only chore remaining is an afternoon nap.  I assemble my little camp chair and find a nice shady spot. The sky is a brilliant blue without a cloud and there is a pair of eagles floating on the air currents maybe 300-500 feet up.  The light breeze is so nice.   Waking up about an hour and a half later it is time for a quick shower and off to supper.

Tomorrow is another 90 mile day with 5760 feet of climb.  Yikes!  It is a pretty ride though up Spearfish Canyon.  Jos and I nearly got washed away in a sudden thunder storm in 2014 and had to hide in a big tree for 40 minutes till the storm passed.

What a great rest day.

Terry