Well today was interesting in a “drive over country” sort of way. If you have ever driven I-80 across country you can relate to the variety of driving experiences you encounter along the way.
We left Elko around 8:30 am after refueling (Gas $3.35/gal)
and headed east. We were expecting wind
from the south (moderate w/gusts to maybe 45mph). Not a good wind forecast when you are heading
east. Sure enough, 50 miles out of Wendover
the winds arrived. From there to Salt
Lake City it was two hands on the wheel and reduced speed. Oh, and we had some
blowing dust across the dry part of the salt flats. In a car all that is not so bad or likewise
in a big heavy semi. In a relatively
light, high profile RV towing it can be a challenge in a crosswind.
There are lots of “ups-and-downs” across Nevada. Many people who have never traveled there
picture it as all flat desert. There is
a lot of that, but traveling east/west you cross a lot of ridges and several small
mountain passes (6,000-7,000 ft variety}.
After a late lunch and refueling at a Flying J Truck stop in
Tooele, UT, it was Salt Lake City and up the Wasatch Range to Park City and
eastward. Gratefully, the winds mostly died down and we arrived in Ft. Bridger,
WY around 4:30 MT. We lost an hour
entering the Mountain Time Zone.
Enroute, we saw a cowboy (Actually probably a Basque
sheepherder/rancher on horseback checking on his sheep). Entering Wyoming the first thing we saw were
the snow fences although the entry town of Evanston where they close I-80 for
weather in the winter seemed busy. There
were lots of Fireworks shops (Utah business?)
We are staying at a “Mom and Pop “ RV park in Fort Bridger,
WY. (6950 ft elevation). We have stayed
here before and it is a convenient east/west overnight stop along the way. It is adjacent to the Fort Bridger State Historical
Park, a reconstructed replica of the original trading post started by Jim
Bridger and a compadre in 1843 on the Oregon California Trail as a fur trading
post to trade with the Mormons and other emigrants on their way west. It subsequently became a Federal fort in
support of westward expansion. The state
has done a great job with the restoration and it is worth a visit. Alas, again we leave in the morning and will
not be able to do an in-depth tour.
Maybe on the way back.
We had a lite dinner in the RV and early to bed. It will be major dose of Wyoming tomorrow then Kimball,
NE in the NE panhandle east of Cheyenne, WY tomorrow night.
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