Last night, we fell asleep watching The Magnificent Seven—the newer version. Something about westerns just fits perfectly with life out here. Gayla said she slept great, and I apparently needed some extra beauty sleep… which I think is working out just fine.
With the smell of fresh coffee in the air and a square of honey almond chocolate in hand, we eased into the morning. I wrapped up some podcast editing and assembly while Gayla spent some peaceful time weaving on her inkle loom. It’s nice when work can feel so relaxed.
Eventually, we left camp for a bit of exploring. About half a mile down the road, we spotted a few horses racing. That’s when I also noticed a ham radio operator stationed nearby. She was providing radio support for the horse race taking place in the area. It’s always cool to see amateur radio being put to work in real-world situations like this.
We continued on, crossing a paved road and winding down another forest road, forming a 6-mile loop. It was a bit of a challenge for Clifford, but he handled it well.
By noontime, we were more than ready for a meal—we hadn’t eaten anything since Freddy’s yesterday. We’re now way up Forest Road 707, surrounded by horse trailers and the buzz of race activity. I found us a tucked-away campsite off Browns Park Trailhead, which worked out perfectly.
Location: Browns Park Trailhead, Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming
GPS Coordinates: 41.2405° N, 106.1529° W
With no cell signal, we set up Starlink to stay connected.
Later, I crawled under Clifford. I’ve been hearing a clunky noise when turning and wanted to figure it out. I checked the tightness on a few components, but everything seemed fine. With Gayla behind the wheel rocking it side to side, I spotted the issue: a bad tie rod end. Unfortunately, tightening didn’t help. And of course, it’s not your run-of-the-mill steering setup—it’s a crossover tie rod end for a Kingpin Dana 60 axle. The local parts store had no idea what I was talking about.
We sat down inside Clifford to talk through our options. For now, we’re staying put through the weekend. We found a shop in Cheyenne that looks promising, and we’ll give them a call Monday.
Today’s Stats:
• 14.09 miles driven
• 1,000.2 miles total
Sometimes it’s horses racing, and sometimes it’s parts clunking—but either way, the journey keeps moving.
