It was a stunningly beautiful day as I headed out of Fort Collins, cloudless sky, 75 degrees. Very quickly, I was climbing. To blow the surprise, I think the highest I got was at Shoshone National Forest, reaching over 9,000 feet above sea level. The trees disappeared fairly quickly out of Ft. Collins. Far to my left are snow-capped mountains as I traversed a broad, high plain. A little bit cultivated, but mainly grazing land, although I didn't see a lot of animals. And I discovered one reason these are called the Rockies: many of the mountains and hills look exactly like massive piles of rubble -- of rocks.
The trees returned, mostly conifers. As I passed into Wyoming along U.S. 287, the trees vanished, along with almost all vegetation. A lot of this drive looked almost like desert. To my right is a railroad track; to my left, long, parallel lines of snow fences. Lots of snow fences all along the drive.
I decided to stop in Laramie, and on the approach, suddenly the road was a bit crowded. Discovered a Catholic church dedicated to St. Lawrence O'Toole:
After praying a few minutes, I headed on. Climbing west of Laramie, I saw repeated signs warning of possible road closures, due to snow I imagine. Here and there I saw white patches -- yes, I know what you're thinking, duh, it's snow! But I don't think so, it was too close to my level. A mountain looms up to my left: purple mountain majesty indeed!
The North Platte River actually looked like a river; at the same time, all the rivers I saw (some very narrow) were clogged with water.
Espying the town of Sinclair, home of "the most modern refinery," I took another detour. Here I saw the Union Pacific line, which was the first railroad to unite the continent. The town was built by the Sinclair Oil Company, and here is the once-renowned Parco Hotel. The doors were locked, but the interior looked well kept. A sign suggested the local Baptist church owned the property.
On the way out of town, a sign informed me that Lincoln Street was part of the Lincoln Highway. Imagine trying to cross the country that way!
Back on the highway, I cross the continental divide for the first time, meaning a moment before, I was far west as you can be, and still claim in any way to be "east." It turned out my trek would weave among the mountains and bring me back and forth across that line, which demarks where the watershed drains either to the Mississippi, or to the Pacific.
Almost hit some critter in "Jeffrey City" which looked like an assembly of about ten buildings. Passing through Lander, I found myself in a broad, beautiful valley. There's a Brew Fest tonight, I won't make it back. My drive took me into the Wind River Reservation. Elevation about 5,500, on the way much higher.
A sign -- easy to miss -- tells me the grave of Sacagewea is down a side road! I turned around and headed down the much rougher road. No more signs telling me where to turn, so I relied on Google to get me there.
It is amazing to me that so little is made of the gravesite of such an important figure; perhaps she is not so important to the tribe whose land this is?
On the last leg of a six-plus-hour drive, I came to a total stop as the two-lane highway was getting repaved just ahead. The 15 minute pause gave me a chance to rearrange my cooler, stretch my legs and chat with the signalman. The traffic from the other side of the hill came through, and now it was our turn; after passing beyond that area, I came into a beautiful valley surrounding the Wind River, along U.S. 26. A sign on the side: "Stay in vehicle. Do not approach bears on the road." It wasn't the first time I was promised bears on this trip, but still none sighted. I intend to mention this in the Yelp review!
Reaching the summit, it seems, of my journey, in the Shoshone National Forest, I am stunned to see snow, not higher up, but all around me. The ambient temperature is 74. It just takes that long to melt.
Around 5:30 pm I arrive at the Hatchet Inn:
After a good night's sleep, and having finished one more cup of coffee, I'm off to the Grand Tetons National Park -- I can see the peaks out the restaurant window right now. I'll spend the day visiting that park, then head north for Yellowstone, which I'll explore till Sunday afternoon.
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