Day 4 8-8-2005, Monday - 380 miles
After breakfast at Lodge pole campgrounds I planned to ride the unpaved rural road to Cottonwood pass which has an elevation of 12,126'. I encountered many cattle due to open range but once I reached Cottonwood pass the road was paved on the eastward slope all the way to Buena Vista. After stocking up on supplies in Buena Vista I turned north with Wyoming in my sights. I traveled through Leadville and a small piece of Interstate 70 to get on highway 9. I eventually ended up in Walden, CO. where I saw my first ever live badger (badgers can get rank if provoked). With a few miles of Colorado remaining after Walden I reached Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest scenic route which ran from Riverside through Laramie. Soon after passing through Laramie I stopped to pitch camp at Curt Gowdy (yep, the sports announcer) state park which is located off the scenic route that runs between Laramie and Cheyenne.
Click here to view pictures from Day 4.