We had three to deal with three plagues today. The oppressive heat, the grasshoppers, and in the morning the attack of the Daddy Long Legs. Patti made every effort not to notice while I brushed the fifty or so spiders off the tent. This was almost as bad as the earwhigs that got into our bags back at Crow Butte.

Before Alzada we got in some of the worst construction ever. This little two lane road was torn up for twenty miles. In the center of it all, a bridge was being rebuilt. Legions of semi's were rushing in and out carrying crushed stone for the highway. We rode the back of the pilot truck over the worst mile.

We spent several hours in Alzada waiting out the heat. We spent enough time in all five buildings to say that, without a doubt, the post office had the best air conditioning. Although the two bars weren't bad either. Especially the biker bar, where the owners wife wasn't happy to hear us say that the Swedish girl said "Hi". Once she figured out who we were talking about she relaxed. The place's motto was memorable, "Bad food and expensive drinks." Neither was true.

We collected our four gallons of ice and water and headed out after noon. We went south into Wyoming, towards Devil's tower. This was the begining of several days heading west instead of east. Also of hills, the blackhills started immediately beyong the state line. As always within four hours our ice had melted and gotten warm.

Today, just after seeing a fox I got attacked by a yellojacket as I climbed a hill. As the evening fell the grasshoppers stopped attacking us. The road patching continued to squish underneath our wheels - melted by the heat. The abundant Pronghorns began to worry us. We didn't want to smack into one on a downhill in the dark.

We got into Hulett as night fell. We found a hotel, and then a bar where we could eat. We met some great guys here too. I traded shirts with one guy. We had all had a few drinks, pizza's and pickled eggs by then. We had a good time. When I asked if there was an ATM in town I was told, "Do you know where you are? You're in Hulett Wyoming." I responded, "Yeah and that's the biggest town I've been to in four days."