The De-Tour: Day 8 — Ghost Towns

September 24, 2017.

We woke up in Monte’s driveway without having been rained on at all the previous night. Glorious.

Ben and Kristen had taken off early — around 7 — since they had a long drive in front of them before work the next day, and we got word from Glenn (who’d stayed at a Super8) that he too was taking off, and that Derp could keep those gas cans…but not more excuses for showing up without extra fuel.

Ready for some downtime, the rest of us took it easy, happy for both the break in the weather and the mud-free ground.

I made breakfast in the driveway — the last of my eggs, sausage and strawberries, and even used a plate, knowing that there was a kitchen sink just inside the back door that I could use to clean up! Mike and Mark headed to the local coffee shop, where — as luck would have it for Mark — they were big on the country music. And Monte and Devin — with a real bed — slept in.

It was noon when we started thinking about getting back on the road, but we knew that there was some ham and CB radio tuning that we wanted to do — and where better to do it than here with Monte’s dad (the expert)? So, we all got our rigs dialed in using his fancy tools, and he even made a new mic for Mark, who’d previously been able to listen but not talk.

Oh well, that’d been nice while it lasted.

Finally, at 2:30 we headed out — first to the grocery store to provision, and then south. First towards Kirwin, an old mining ghost town, then towards Lander and the surrounding area, and then ultimately to a new adventure in Utah.

But, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves.

On the road to Kirwin, we passed a herd of farmed buffalo, and then our first stop was at the abandoned Double-D Dude Ranch — our first of three ghost towns for the day — where we also aired down for the remainder of the relatively-easy-but-still-bumpy road to come.

From there, we continued up the valley through snow, early fall colors, and several wide water crossings. A beautiful drive really.

At the end of the road, we found Kirwin. An amazing ghost town with a crazy history. Read all about it at https://adventuretaco.com/the-de-tour-day-8-ghost-towns/

Originally published at adventuretaco.com.