Day 39: Great Visit with a Good Friend

I have been at our friend Linda’s ranch all evening and it’s going on 11 p.m. so this post will be short.

First, my return visit to the optometrist’s office this morning went well.  The scratched cornea is already beginning to heal and other than a little blurred vision in the right eye that will be gone in a few days, everything is fine.

Most of the miles we put on the bikes today were at Montana and Wyoming speed limits, which vary from 70 to 80 mph.  That made the 435 miles we had to cover go very quickly.

No specific stops were planned for today, but I did point out to Mark a couple of the things I remembered from my days in Wyoming.  One of those was the Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow where we stopped for pie and coffee and a quick look at the 1909 hotel that still has the original bar and whose rooms have been furnished with period pieces.  The hotel was named in honor of the book written by Owen Wister of the same title, some of whose scenes were set in the town of Medicine Bow.  The book The Virginian set the stage for “Western” novels and made famous the phrase “If you’re going to call me that, smile.”

Once we checked into our motel, I quickly confirmed arrangements to go visit Marilyn’s and my best friend from our Wyoming days, Linda.  Readers of previous blogs know of Linda and her life as the sole operator of an 8,000 acre ranch.  Nothing much has changed and she’s still one of the best story tellers I know.  She insisted I come to the ranch rather than meet us in town because she had a surprise to show me.  I got fajitas for four from our favorite Mexican restaurant and her mother picked us up and drove us to the ranch where I immediately saw the surprise:  She’s building a new house.  It’s going to be twice as big as her existing home and will perfectly suit her when it’s finished.

We enjoyed beer and fajitas on her front lawn while a doe and two fawns paraded past in the waning light.  Mark enjoyed the visit to the ranch, too, and thought getting to spend time with Linda and her mom was a “hoot.”  She’s a special friend to Marilyn and me and great fun to be with.  I hated to be able to visit for only a few hours, but it was certainly the high point of today’s adventure.  Of course Linda and I engaged in our traditional “Tequila Toast,” a ritual we indulge in every time we get together.   She even opened a “premier” tequila she brought back from Mexico in honor of my visit–smooooth.

Tomorrow we shrink the miles between us and home as we head to Lincoln and a visit with my brother Kent.