Jackson Hole

September 8&9

Another full day of driving and we make it to Jackson Hole to see our friend Mike Weirda. A sweet town founded by the fur trade, now it's home to hardcore skiers, tourists and ranchers. Hiking at Jenny Lake we saw our first black bear right off the trail, we camped across the valley from the Grand Tetons, and mountain biked in the Gros Ventre mountains in the morning (Goose ran the whole 8 miles and then laid in a mud puddle). It is a unique site to see oldtimers macking young ladies on the country music dance flo at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. We left town for the Tetons after having a gi-normous burger at Billy's where the cooks look like Jack Black, and honestly insult patrons so they leave before or during ordering. Thanks for the good times Mike!

Laramie

September 6&7

Another full day of driving led us to quit in Laramie, WY, a town founded by the Union Pacific railway and was brought to law by vigilante lynchings in the 1860s. Along the railyard you can see that the buildings were facing the tracks as a main street. Now it is back side of the downtown. Laramie is home to the University of Wyoming, the only four year institution in the state. We decided to have a run along the river greenway and quickly realized that going from Chicago's 586 feet of elevation to 7,165, we were ripping our lungs out. Our best idea was relaxing with a beer from The Library brewery while we did our laundry at a University laundromat down the street (it was such a good time that we almost forgot to pick it up at the end of the night).

-Chris