No man's land

There really is some monumental scenery out here! But hyperbole won't due it justice, nor will inordinate attempts at creating the perfect panoramic photos. Nonetheless, today's been filled with so many of those jaw dropping--'Oh, I gotta get a picture of that'--moments. With some difficulty, I've had to stop myself from snapping pictures in order that I can just breath in the grandeur of the canvas before me.

As we get onto the sketchy 2" shoulder that accompanies the road, I think about putting Bud in the cart, but he's in good spirits and his cold seems to be getting better and, and I figure it's good for him to be moving. Along the way a few people stop to see where we're going (you get the impression not many folks are walkin' 200 east) and I pass out some cards. One lady named Heidi gives me some drinking water, which allows us to go a little less sparingly on water rations.

Around 16:00 we make it to the Dinosaur Historical Marker/Rest Area on the very edge of Garfield County. Bud finds some shade while I read the informational board. Apparently half of the world's existing T-rex skeletons have come from this area. The next thing I see is a large sign on the lawn which says NO CAMPING.

'Rats! So much for that idea.' I think.

We go over to a picnic table to take a break and grab some quick carbs (gummy worms and a Snicker's) for what I figure will be several more miles, but as I'm filling up the water bottles a lady appears and says 'hi.' We get to talkin' and Tina, the caretaker of the Rest Area, says there's no problem if we want to set up there for the night. She tells me that they had to put the sign up because some people had been making camp fires, and that set the surrounding wheat farmers on edge. I breath a sigh of relief at not needing to convince Buddy to go on further (He'd already plopped down and crashed under one of the tables).