From Pinedale we started on the ride through the ‘Basin’, a large high desert where there’s little water. So that meant that we had to plan for 3 days regarding our water. There are only a few places where you can find water.
It was a barren landscape, but not as flat as we had expected. The constant up and down and that barren landscape became kind of boring to us after a while, although we still had views of mountains in the beginning. We rode through the ghost town of South Pass City to the tiny settlement of Atlantic City. Those names predict large cities, but they’re no larger than a few houses. There is a small authentic restaurant in Atlantic City however and you can get a burger there for just $10,-. They are very popular with all the cyclists coming through. There used to be a lot of mining in that area and now it’s all about oil.
One of the water sources is Diagnus Well, a pipe that is constantly spraying water. It’s been constructed for cattle and wildlife. You have to look carefully to fin dit, but it’s visible because the vegetation around it is much greener than the rest of the area. You can also camp and witness a beautiful sunset there.
On the last day we rode to the town of Bairoil. This also is a town that revolves around oil, that’s where the name comes from. We could spend the night in the church, which is no more than a former house. We could use everything and eat and drink everything around. After a long and hot day a cold drink was really nice! After a stormy night we rode the last bit to Rawlins.
