July 7 Gillette to Newcastle 76 miles. Newcastle, as in coals to Newcastle. Hot day. A herd of 7 antelope crossed the road in front of me. One of them couldn't decide which side of the road he wanted to be on, so I had to stop and wait for him to make up his mind. We stayed at the Newcastle Senior Center, which used to be an elementary school. It's huge, and includes 10 apartments. I took a nap in one of the many recliners in the "family" room. They fed us dinner and then breakfast, including sticky buns as good as the ones I make. Oh, I finally remembered what BF stood for--Ben Franklin!. The night was noisy with the coal train whistle--every 45 minutes, lasting for at least a minute. At breakfast our leader, Charlton, thanked Dick Cheney for the coal trains. On my walk this morning I counted 70 empty coal cars heading for the mines. Did you know that WY is the leading producer of coal? It's such a windy state that wind farms have been suggested, but the feeling here is that windmills would be a blight on the countryside. ?
Happy Birthday MaryBeth!!
July 8 Newcastle to Rapid City 80 miles. Our 5th state, where helmets for motorcyclists and cyclists are optional, but recommended. I'm beginning to think I live in the best place possible. On my walk this morning I met 2 boxers, my favorite dogs; one of them jumped up and put her paws on my shoulders, just like our summer dog, Luna, does to Noel every morning. Very sweet. We drove through the Black Hills and Custer State Park, which included a very long downhill, much loved by the riders. Some saw buffalo, but I just saw more antelope. We are staying in a dorm at South Dakota School of Mines and Tech, and wonder of wonders, IT'S AIR CONDITIONED!!! This is the first time I've felt a chill since Seattle. My walking distance has been increasing steadily, and today I walked 10,000 steps--I'll try for it again tomorrow. We will have dinner with Noel's cousin, Diane, tomorrow--we haven't seen her since Michael was about 13. I picked up about 30 mail home boxes for the riders today. Charlton is thrilled to be dropping some weight off the truck.
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