Well ya'll, I'm home. I feel rather out of touch with life back in Texas because I haven't had the opportunity to check email or phone messages for a couple days. Maybe it's been less time than that, but it feels like ages. I miss you all very much. To anyone that's tried to get in touch with me, sorry but Wyoming doesn't have a whole lot of... anything really. Nah I'm just kidding. This state is definitely my favorite. As many of you know I was born and raised to the ripe old age of 5 here in Casper where we are now staying. I am totally overfed after a magnificent dinner with the Georges. They are family friends from way back. Thanks so much to them for all their hospitality. They have been just wonderful. Mom and Dad- Tim has really changed since the last time we were here! He's about Daniel's height and from what I hear quite a swimmer.

A quick word about our day off in Fort Collins. I believe we raised just over 1,000 dollars at the breast cancer fundraiser which I think was a success considering it was a weekday. We all got decorated with face-paint and held up sandwich boards at an intersection in Fort Collins. You meet a lot of interesting people like that. And many who have cancer-related stories. I have a great pic of Libby holding up a sign that says "honk if you hate cancer." As you can imagine we got a lot of honks that day.

And now onto Wyoming...To quote Mike "Wow Laura, it's like you crossed the Wyoming boarder and left your mind in Colorado."

The ride from Fort Collins to Laramie, WY was by far my favorite so far. It was quite a climb (3,000 feet?) with a lot of ups and downs. It was the first day I really hammered on hills. I have been paying dearly for my efforts ever since. My legs are more than lead weights. The ride out of Fort Collins itself was beautiful. We road out along the Horse Tooth Dam (or so I think it's called) and then out HW 287. We got to ride in a pace line with Brandon's uncle who's very familiar with the area. Brett A. beat me to the WY border steeling what could have been a possible lead in our point system. Granted, it did draft off me for 25+ miles. Even so, I'm sure he would have had it regardless because I can't sprint to save my life.

Everyone tried to convince me that the Wyoming State sign was ghetto but I thought it was fabulous and understated. I have tried also to convince everyone (somewhat unsuccessfully I might add) that Wyoming is the most magnificent state ever. I do not lie when I say I have been on quite a high since our ride out of Fort Collins. There's just nothing here. You can go miles and miles on the highway without seeing another vehical let alone person. It's like you have a giant bike path all to yourself. Now, the wind (and some of the hills!) are not so pleasant at times, but what a small price to pay for endless nothingness. I think it's awesome.

We had an interesting stay with the Baptist Church in Laramie. They were very kind to us so thanks to everyone that cooked and opened their homes to our smelly band of cyclists. It means a so much. Special thanks to Annette and family as well as Rich for that coffee. So yummy! Ya'll rock! Tess and I were treated to the best vegetarian-friendly breakfast of the trip... a complete meal. Paul, Andy, Adriano and I even had the pleasure of attending a special concert in the park. They played exerpts from Chicago...very interesting. It took me back to the days when I used to hear mom play in the Casper orchestra.

Another thanks to the folks in Medicine Bow. They put us up at their church and cooked a wonderful pasta meal. I gave the cancer presentation with Andy and Martina and found it hard not to get emotional talking about all the people we've met with cancer. I was talking to Mike (btw Happy 23rd Birthday!!!) earlier today about a man he met at Estas Park whose wife had passed away the morning of our ride. It is impossible not to be emotionally touched by stories like that. For those of you who have read Dustin's account of that morning you will know what I'm talking about. It is truly staggering how many folks are touched by cancer. I'm really glad that I can contribute in a small way to the cause. I have been rather down lately hearing these stories. It comes in waves that coincide with the ratio of survivor to loss stories. We have heard a lot of the loss variety lately and it really gets to you. There is just so much sadness in the world, but I suppose that's why we have beauty.

The evening of our stay in Medicine Bow was by far one of my best to date. For the first time I had 2 hours completely to myself to walk around the down, talk to the residents (very interesting folks), and contemplate life. I watched a beautiful storm roll in and wrote some song lyrics about our trip. Don't worry, I won't burden any of ya'll later by making you hear them. When the wind picked up I took shelter under the eve of the church and watch the storm's full progression until midnight. It came in full fury with icy rain and strong lightning and then vanished as quickly as it had come. The town itself is quiet enough that you can hear conversation blocks away and against a backdrop of coyote howls it was more than I could have asked for. Brett B and I had a long conversation about all sorts of stuff and it reminded me of who I was when I started the trip and how much I am changing as we go. It is definitely a positive that I can't really articulate at this time. Definitely one of the coolest evenings so far...

Today's ride into Casper was a meaningful one for me. I was born here on July 26, 1982. I thought it was neat that we rode into my hometown on my friend Mike's birthday. He is humble to say the least and it took me 50+ miles of riding with him to remember that his birthday was today. I was truly giddy riding out of Medicine Bow. We had an awesome breakfast at the Virginian Hotel which by the way is definitely haunted! I walked around the bar and remembered the last time I was there which I believe was in 1994. I had a rather tough day riding 92 miles into the wind. The first 60 were great but after lunch I started feeling pretty lightheaded and I still haven't figured out why. I hope I'm not getting sick. There is some stuff going around and on a team this close it's almost impossible not to get whatever is out there. I stopped at the Casper city limit sign to take a photo and later visited my childhood home on Odell Drive. The neighbors were just as we left them but the house itself had changed a lot. It is now vacant and painted white. The apple trees in the back have been cut down and the lawn is overrun with weeds. Apparently the young couple who lived there most recently underestimated the responsibility of a mortgage. I went down to Nancy English park and found my hold hide-out. Daniel should know what I'm talking about. It was really something to hang out with the Georges and exchange stories, talk about the Unocal softball team, and the days when my parents were still in Casper. Dad- I got to look through a scrapbook you put together right before the first company reorganization. Mom- there's a photo in there of you wearing a shirt that you still wear now... we'll go shopping when I come home. Wink wink. Right now I'm staying with Martina, Meg, and Tess at the Dietrichs. They are too sweet. Big thanks to them for hosting us. I just can't believe how many nice people we've met on this trip. I know I've said it before, but it's really done a 180 on my opinion of strangers.

Tomorrow we ride to Shashonie (sp?) instead of Moneta. Apparently Moneta isn't the bustling metropolis we thought it would be. It's going to be a long day (100-120 miles into headwind) but state famous milk-shakes await us at the end. And then it's on to hot-springs in Thermopolis.

In the words of my dear friend Amber Ramirez "Peace, Love, and Happiness" I'm out...