Three Days on the road

Monday night, Tuesday morning I wasn't feeling well, allergies gave me a pounding headache and general lousy feeling. Today is Wednesday and after a good night's rest I feel somewhat better. The miles are taking their toll. Afternoon means driving straight into the sun and there isn't a cloud in the sky right now.

Monday we finished up Nebraska and got into Wyoming.  I had always had cowboy visions of Wyoming, even wanted to live there when I was younger.  When we first entered the state there were some nice rock formations and I kept hoping it would get more interesting; it didn't. Our entire drive was through dry (drought) prairie land, odd placements of cows and horses and lots and lots of sky. There were also plenty of hills.  We kept going up and up until we hit 8,700 feet. Denver the mile high city?  The entire state of Wyoming looks down on Denver. We reached our limit of driving and stopped short of our destination, spending the night in Laramie.  For Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Eastern Oregon it's Pioneer Days, a big holiday.  The hotels are full and we had a bit of a problem getting a room. We found a nice Quality Inn and had a nice dinner and soft bed.

Tuesday we started out and I forgot to fill up with gas. I figured I'd stop down the road but there isn't much in Wyoming.  We got down to a quarter of a tank and I needed a pit stop anyway.  I saw a sign for gas and got off I-80 into a Shell station where the attendant was changing the prices; not down of course.  I paid 4:09 for regular (their mid grade) but didn't fill the tank.  I also paid 4.50 for a bag of Lays chips; robbery I says.  I drove another 20 miles and paid 3.49 a gallon to get the other half tank.  We stopped in a rest area for lunch and trucked on. We hit the highest point on I-80 where there is a memorial to Purple Heart recipients and a huge statue of Abraham Lincoln. Altitude was about 8700 feet.

We didn't drop below 6,000 until we were leaving Wyoming and entered Utah.  Now Utah was what I was expecting of Wyoming. Entering Ogden there were huge rock formations with a cute river running along the highway.  Of course, cameras were not at the ready.  This portion of Utah may be worthy of an Airstream trailer trip.

Weather has been hot and dry, they are in a drought.  Although the humidity is low, that sun will back you in short order. Nights are cool and pleasant.  When I loaded up the van on Tuesday morning everything inside was pretty cool so temps must have dropped quite a bit.

For Tuesday night we stopped in for a visit with my niece, Lindsey, in Layton.  A very gracious host, she offered to put us up for the night, best rest stop so far.  It was great catching up on events and we had a nice dinner at Olive Garden.  A good night's rest and now we're up and ready for the road.  I need to remember to fill the gas tank as I've been cautioned by Lindsey that stations are few and far between as we head to Idaho.

We're staying in Oregon tonight, I've already made reservations as that is still part of Pioneer Days; lesson learned.