After a week of riding in South Dakota, which we all enjoyed, we finally reached Wyoming.  Our last ride out of South Dakota was beautiful, we rode through the Black Hills, which were awesome, and went to Mt. Rushmore where we got to see a Greenpeace demonstration.  When we reached to "Welcome to Wyoming" sign, we stopped for some pictures and noticed there was a storm approaching.  We decided to ride the last ten miles really hard, in an attempt to beat the storm. Right as we got into Newcastle, where we would be staying for the night, we noticed the clouds above us were rotating.  We kept riding hard, and right as we pulled in to the stayover the tornado sirens started going off.  According to the radio there was a funnel cloud spotted that came within 200 yards of the ground.  I never got to see it, but some members of our team did.  Despite the storm, nobody ever got rained on.

Yesterday was a relatively flat and boring ride from Newcastle to Gillette, WY.  It was really boring for me, because I was the driver.  While at our stayover in Gillette, I was visted by Rita Rushing, a friend of my grandparents, who now lives in Gillette.  She brought the whole team cookies, which were delicious.  So from everybody in the I4K, we wanted to say thanks for the cookies Rita, they only lasted about 45 minutes.

Today we rode from Gillette to Buffalo.  About 15 miles into the ride, we got our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains.  They were off in the distance all day, marking our destination, as the town of Buffalo sits at the base of the snow covered peaks.  The sight of the mountains was both awesome and intimidating.  I know the climbs will be tough, but I also know the views and downhills will be worth it.