ELK MOUNTAIN TO ALCOVA – 122 miles

After crossing the interstate, look for a road on the right and follow the track as it heads north on seldom traveled County Rd 115. This bit of two-track heaven meanders through sage hills and shallow valleys as it connects I-80 to Highway 30. Along the way you’ll need to open and close a few gates in barbed wire fences. Near the north end look for old rock walls that still stand from the abandoned mining town of Carbon (circa 1881). The town’s substantial cemetery can be found on the west side of the road too. After the dirt ends you have roughly nine miles of tarmac before reaching the town of Medicine Bow (pop. 284).

The WYBDR turns north onto a long paved segment on Highways 487 and 77 and passes the countless wind turbines of Dunlap Wind Farm. The track then ascends into the Shirleys on moderate-level roads with loose rocks, occasional ruts and sandy patches. You’ll soon descend more fun roads and the trees will open up to sage covered high desert again. The roads north of the Shirley Mountains are wide and fast. They seem to go on forever, but eventually they pass by Alcova Reservoir, descend a red rock canyon and end at the town of Alcova (pop. 86).