As we continued west it was impossible for us not to be taken aback by the beauty of the landscape that surrounded us. Throughout the day we rode constantly in the shadow of the Big Horn Mountains. We followed a gorgeous country road with an ice melt stream that twisted and turned along our route. We saw a pack of three prong-horned deer at the top of one of the hills and they were running beside us as we biked by. The rest of the ride went by easily since it was a short day with many downhills. When we arrived in Ranchester we heard about a river that was close to where we were staying and went for a swim. While there we found a rope swing and had a lot of fun launching ourselves into the water.
The day ahead of us will be a hard one. The Big Horns loom before us and we can see the first few switch-backs we will be starting on early in the morning. Our initial elevation is around 3700 feet and we will be peaking over 9000. As Conor said "W'll be riding a mile into the sky!" Hopefully we will get to see some snow on the top. Our big part of the ride to look forward to is the 18 mile descent at the 40 mile mark. Wish us luck!