Day 2 began with a chilly but beautiful climb up Snowy Range Pass.

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View back towards the plains.

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We stopped for a second breakfast at Snowy Mountain Lodge at about 9900 feet.

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On up the pass.

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Beautiful day for a ride!

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Not anymore. Finally we hit the snow we'd been warned about.

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While Doug tried to warm up, Brad and I rode another half mile into the blizzard and got pretty close to the top, 10,800 feet.

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Doug and I were ready for fall weather but not for this. If we continued west as we'd planned, we were just heading into a worsening storm. So, regretfully, we headed back down and got a hotel room in Centennial to dry out.

Next morning, nearly 3000 feet lower in altitude, it had snowed just a little above us and the storm was supposed to be continuing. There really was nowhere to go, and we decided to abandon the tour, and headed back to the car. The same roads we had ridden two days before were now a muddy mess. Looking back, I wish I had taken some graphic photos, but we were slogging along, wet, and cold, and neither of us felt like stopping to take a picture of mud.


Near Centennial, Wyoming.

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Old Corral Hotel, Centennial

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Looking back towards Centennial

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Doug prepares to ride

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Final image

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Very nice part #1 and #2. Besides the cold, that looks spectacular! Thanks for sharing.

Looks like it was a fun tour, even with the snow. Makes me miss Montana.

Thanks, John

you guys were seriously loaded.
great pictures.

Very nice. It brings back memories.

The father of my college roomate used to manage a ranch up outside of Centennial. I spent a couple of spring breaks up on the ranch, getting up in the middle of the night to go pull a calf. That's an experience.

Does Centennial still have the 'police' car sitting at the bend in the road? Back then they had an old car painted like a cop car with a dummy sitting in the drivers seat. The head was a plastic pumpkin. It sure slowed down the traffic.

Great pics and it looks like a great trip.

I spent the summer in Gray Bull when I was a student. The whole state is amazing, and your pictures do it justice- thanks for posting.

I remember one morning in August in the Wind River Mountains, I got up at about 3am to wiz and I couldn't figure out why my feet were so cold. I was standing in 3" of snow! That day it was well over 80 and really hot. At 12,000 feet- anything is possible. Wyoming must have some insane mountain biking as well, that is, if you don't get shot at..............MTT

The dummy police car is still there in Centennial.

Yeah, it was a fun trip, up until the time we had to turn around. The fall colors were beautiful, the campgrounds were empty, and as someone commented on part 1, traffic was nil. What I didn't mention is that I might have been sick. I started the tour with a cold, and I'm also quite susceptible to altitude problems (I've had HAPE twice). By the 3rd morning I didn't feel too well, and didn't know if I was sick from my cold or altitude. If it was altitude it was probably a good thing I went home. Had the weather been nice it would have been a tough decision.

There are x-c ski trails in the area that are used for mountain biking in the summer. I'd like to try that too.

Great stuff, and I think just about anybody can feel the altitude when you're up that high and I live in high altitudes myself. Now the snow and mud is the pits though. Talking about stopping you short (unless your MB1, he would have plowed onward :)).

Awesome, thanks for sharing.

[QUOTE=MDGColorado]The dummy police car is still there in Centennial.
QUOTE]
That's funny. That car, or one like it, has been there for over 30 years. I don't think anything in Centennial changes very fast.

There is also a little ski area up there somewhere. We went up for a day and did the 300 feet of vertical quite a few times. Okay, it's probably more than that, but it's not much. Afterwards we stopped by the bar in Centennial. We had a few and remarked that we would have to watch out for the cops on the way back to the ranch. Not to worry, the State Patrol Officer was at the bar right next to us having a beer.

We also went out for a ride one afternoon. A horseride that is. We went to the tack room and picked out saddles and chaps. I ended up riding Sears and Roebuck saddle and matching chaps. They had to be 70+ years old and could have been mail ordered out of the catalogue.

Awesome - thanks! Brings back fond memories of living in Evanston and working around Green River, Rock Springs, Kemmerer, Big Piney, Wamsutter... I'm sure I left part of my heart up there. Is that a lyric from a Chris LeDoux song?