I slept fantastic underneath the big cottonwood, safe from the wind with all the hills around me. And very quiet. It was a great site. I woke relatively early, broke camp and walked over to the trail. I hoisted my bike up over my head and reached over to put it on the ground. As I did I got too close to the fence and impaled my leg on a barb. I went ahead and jumped over, which was scary because the clips holding the wire to the metal stake could have given out under my weight. But I hopped successfully and assessed the damage. Thankfully it was mostly just a puncture wound, and it would be a bit sore a few days but fine. I was thankful I finally got around to getting a tetanus shot earlier this year. But I didn't have any antibiotic ointment so I figured I'd get some in town. I threw a few band aids on it and rode away. The trail was deserted and I arrived in town soon. The trail kind of ended and pointed me to downtown Edgemont for the official end. I crossed the Cheyenne river and came to a railroad crossing blocked by a loaded coal train. I waited for awhile, both because I didn't want to ride the main highway around and also because I wanted to ride the entire official trail. Just when I was about to give up it finally began to pull away. I rode to the official end at a very nice city park and realized the stores were on the opposite side of town. So I rode over expecting only a couple gas stations but I got a pretty new Dollar General. I found what I needed and attended to my wound and got going back to the park and then south, onward. I was in great spirits as I rode off into the brown hills, no trees in sight. I took the back way of course, and it was pretty hilly at first. I had a good northwest tailwind and I was going pretty good. I stopped at a little abandoned one room school, and got out of the sun and already developing heat and ate a snack. The building was still structurally ok but the windows and doors were open and the inside had nothing but crumbled plaster. As I got ready to leave I realized my front tire was losing air. So I sat and fixed it in the comfort of the school. As I was pumping it back up, a truck towing a trailer slowly rolled up on the road beside me. I thought he was about to pull in and check the place out too. There was an off road vehicle on the trailer so I thought, maybe he's a tourist too. Turns out his rear trailer tire was completely shredded. He turned off towards a farm, perhaps to ask for help. I rolled away still in good spirits. I passed through a really interesting mostly abandoned ghost town, Ardmore. It was way too hot by this point to explore, so I pushed on. I crossed the state line on the deserted highway and then turned onto Toadstool road. Not too long after, my front tire went soft again. I found a couple trees not far from the road and calmly examined the tire for thorns before pulling out the tube. I found 5 imbedded in the tire. I counted my remaining patches, only 12 left. I started the trip with like 100 it seemed although I never counted. So I put a brand new tube in. Got rolling again and the heat was incredible by this point in the day. Mid nineties easily. I pushed on, my water supply dwindling. I was making good progress and only about 8 miles from town, and got another flat. I walked across the tracks to change it in the shade. Just as I finished a railroad worker rolled up in a truck on the rails. I apologized for being there but he sympathized with me and my situation and the heat. He offered some water and I accepted graciously. He wished me well and told me to be careful when crossing. And right after he left I heard a train coming, so I gathered my stuff quickly and went back to the road. I rode the rest of the way into Crawford no problem, and grabbed food and fluids at a grocery store, then went to the city park and devised a plan. I rode off and was so worked up from the events of the day that I took off in the opposite direction. I quickly realized and turned around. I had a tailwind and a good shoulder, and I gradually descended from Crawford and so I made good time. It looked like I would get there without a problem but about two miles out I got another flat. I repaired it quickly but the sun was going down fast too. I grabbed what I needed at the Walmart and took off south on the highway as the sun was setting. I rode a few miles out and rode up a forest service road and am camped a bit away from the road. Despite being so close to town I can clearly see the milky way.