We have been following the Platte River now for 500 miles since Kearney, NE. It is easy to understand why all of the major westward expansion trails followed this river - it teems with life on its shores and provides irrigation for all of the farms that grow in that area. I can imagine bringing my family on the hard journey west and at some point along the trails that follow the river finding a plot of land that was not taken near a nascent town and just peeling off and claiming for ourselves.

The Platte flows from Walden, CO at an elevation of 8,099’. We entered at Kearney, NE elevation 2,152’. Every day - roughly 30-35 miles, elevation rises by 200’ or so. It is impeccable how this grade holds over the 500 miles and now in Glenrock, WY we are 5,009’ which was 200’ more than Douglas yesterday. Did the river make this perfect grade or was the grade there and the river found it? Either way, the Platte provides life for the country through food, the locals for livelihood and all of the creatures and plants that thrive along its banks.

I had a really tough day today. Legs were sore for the first time. Maybe this lead to my back getting tight halfway through the day. The heat nailed the coffin shut and I survived the day. I know one good night’s sleep makes all the difference…

Toward the end of my run, I was on a plateau for 17 miles going solo and came upon a power plant on the Platte. It was massive and I finally saw where the endless coal trains delivered their payload to…The Dave Johnston Power Plant. In the picture I took you can see the coal is a mountain that is continually feeding the plant. Not sure if this was what they meant by “clean coal” but interestingly enough the plant is owned by Berkshire Hathaway - Warren Buffets company. The plant is a 922 Megawatt facility that will be decommissioned in 2027. The EPA provided some info on that “clean coal” plant in 2006:

CO2 emission of 7.7mm tons, SO2 emissions of 20k tons, NOx emission 16k tons and Mercury emissions of 223 pounds.

Perhaps the silver lining is that right next to this plant I also saw the beginning of a massive wind farm that is also owned by Pacificorp through Berkshire Hathaway. They are a smart bunch - phasing out one and looking forward to the other.

I love the expanse of Wyoming and hope the pics below capture some of this if only in a small way.

All for tonight -

Thank you for your support.

Cheers,

David.

P.S. Chris made a wonderful lamb ragu for dinner and we both had seconds leaving a portion…Lucky was lucky enough to get it and a funny video ensued which is at the end of this post