Hartsel, CO

No place to stay in Hartsel. Water is contaminated due to mining in area. We were lucky the girls were allowed to camp on a ranch.
BETH writes - After a good night's sleep with the brightest night light one could want (the moon) we started our long downhill off Boreas Pass. My mom's cousin Sue joined Bethany and me today for most of the time. At the bottom of the pass we ended up in a town called Como. Como was a bustling town at one point, but now has a few houses and a historic roundhouse from the old railroads. The rest of the 40 miles of today was spent through Colorado's high prairie. Beautiful in its own way, but I definitely prefer the mountains. The road and wind were less than nice to us today. We had about 30 miles of washboard and a 15+ mph head wind. Sore from the constant vibration we ended in the town of Hartsel. After a early dinner in the local pub - very interesting - we got a tip as to where to ask to camp since Hartsel has nowhere to stay or camp. We went down the road at camped in the lawn (if you could call it that) of the office for a 28,000 acre ranch that raises Buffalo. The office had showers and the secretary was nice enough to stay long enough for us to enjoy our first shower in three days. We feel asleep to the grunts of the buffalo and Bethany finally got to see the stars before the huge moon lit the prairie.
JAN writes - Sue and I rode part way with the girls today. Sue rode 25 miles. I only managed 5. The altitude on the uphill really got me. I guess I need to stay under 10,000 feet! The wind and the washboard or sandy road was a battle for biking today. Really tired out the girls! We met them in the tiny town of Hartsel, hoping to spend the night. Unfortunately, we found there was no place to stay. A woman in the general store told us to go 2 miles to a ranch and they would probably let us pitch a tent. The 28,000 acre ranch is being sold in pieces and a woman who works for the development company not only gave the girls permission to pitch their tent, she gave them water and let them use the shower in the office bathroom. Sue and I made sure they had supplies and we drove to a motel in Salida for the next 2 nights.