Reliable internet is something that is hard to come by on this this trip, and most of the internet that we are able to use is through high schools which block blogs and many other sites so that hooligan high school kids dont waste their time. Anyway, we made it through Wyoming! We rode 530 miles in 6 days, with stops in Casper, Cheyenne, Jackson Hole, Dubois, Shashoni, and Wheatland.

All of these days have been great. We woke up early, which I am starting to get used to. I have always been a morning person so the wake ups on this trip are not extremely hard to deal with, at least so far. In Jackson Hole, we got to go to a buffet breakfast at a steak house which was nice because it is not often that we are able to eat warm breakfast. After that, we went to K-Mart. Yea, K-Mart, I didn't know that they still existed either.... its like a step above the Dollar Tree and a step below Wal Mart. We got to the white water place and we got our wet suites because the water was 40 degrees. Then the lady for that owns the place came out and asked us if 9 of us wanted to go again later in the day, so of course I said yes! I got to go white water rafting twice in the day! We rode the bus out to the river and hopped into the rafts. We had a great time, and it was very pretty country! We went over this rapid called the "Lunch Counter" It is called lunch counter because people walk down to the rapid to eat lunch and count how many rafts flip over. After we finished rafting, we went to a local resort and did an alpine slide, but the group of us who were doing the white water again had to leave early to eat and get ready again. The reason that we got to go again was because a family that is from Tennessee paid to go later but they didn't have enough people to paddle so they needed some hefty strong fraternity men to go with them to help paddle. Brandon and I went with the family and the other guys went in another raft. It was really fun the second time around because we were in smaller rafts, so all of the rapid seemed like they were twice as large! The lunch counter rapid just tossed us around, it was nuts! In the other raft, one of the guys got thrown out and went under the raft and lost his paddle. He ended up being fine, but it was pretty crazy!

After the ureal day in Jackson Hole, we had three days in a row of 100 miles or more.... my legs are dead, and they hurt, but everything is going great! We have also had a couple of friendship visits which have been a lot of fun! Everyone that we meet has such a happy spirit no matter what their situation is. We have been working directly with organizations that do great things for people with disabilities, like the Arc and Nowcap Services. I met Mary who does secretarial work for Nowcap, the organization that we were doing an event with a couple nights ago. She was an amazing person that does a lot for the community around her and was really great to talk to.

A couple days ago we had a day off in Casper, Wyoming and it has been on of the best days on the Journey so far. Not only because we got to sleep in until 8 am, but we also had a ton of activities today to keep us busy. And yes, 8 am is sleeping in. With consistent 6 am wake ups it is nice to spend some time on the trusty sleeping pad. We had a Kids on the Block performance at 11 am for the Boys and Girls Club of Casper, Wyoming. The Kids on the Block is a puppet show that we as a team put on throughout the trip that teaches kids the abilities of people with disabilities. There are multiple puppets and skits that we use to promote our message.

We got to the building and were instantly swarmed by the groups of kids. Whether it was incessant poking or games of tag where you are always “It” because the kids insist, we were active for 2 solid hours. First we had lunch with all of the kids, which really reminded all of us of our childhoods with orderly lines, chicken nuggets and chocolate milk. A couple of us spent the time during lunch to use up some extra energy by playing tag and cling to the cyclist, which go one in the same. After all of the kids had finished eating they shuffled into the gym in as orderly of a fashion that a group of 5-10 year old could be. From there we began our performances and the kids received the messages very well. In the end, they all had questions, ranging from “Why don't you have any teeth?” (about the puppet) and “What is Cerebral Palsy?” Overall the visit and performances were a great experience for all of us even though we may be a little sore from carrying around kids for a couple hours.

In the couple of hours that we had before dinner, all of us used this time to go to bike shops and to go shopping for an assortment of different things. After shopping, we had a sponsored dinner and activity with the Arc of Casper, Wyoming, which was outside in the style of a picnic. We all got glimpses of our childhoods once again by running around playing lava monster with all of the people at the event, throwing footballs and double-dutching in the park. It was a great event that got everyone’s heart rates up by doing a bunch of different activities with the people there. We are all looking forward to working with Arc again, we have a ton of fun at every event that we have had with them so far.

We are in Colorado! We made it to Fort Collins, which means that we only have one more day until we get to Boulder! The Journey of Hope is naturally an emotional ride for everyone involved and being able to see your family at some point during the trip is always a blessing. That day for me is tomorrow, im very excited to be able to see everybody, including Sara who gets home from Europe tomorrow as well. Perfect timing!

Check out the photos tab to see some new photos!

Until next time, enjoy the ride!

“You gotta live and learn, you gotta crash and burn, you gotta make some stances, and
take some chances, you gotta live and love and take all life has to give. You gotta live
and learn, so you can learn to live.” - Darius Rucker