Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Wyoming

Monday, heading east on Hwy. 80.
Antelope along highway I-80

Not much differentiates eastern Utah from Wyoming, except that the rolling hills flatten out. The landscape is dotted here and there with antelope and cattle, grazing or placidly watching the traffic go by. There's little green, as winter is rapidly approaching in these parts.

It's beautifully sunny, so hard to imagine what winter must be like here but the extensive system of snow fences on both sides of the road provides a clue as to how harsh the winter weather here must be.

old-style snow fence, angled against the prevailing wind
We are used to seeing snow fencing in the Sierras. The highway passes there have a few of the old-style panels that are slanted so that they lean away from the prevailing winds. Arranged in rows in open areas they help slow down the snow that tends to blow across the highway.

We've never seen so many panels in one stretch of road however! Many are currently under construction, all bright shiny new lumber that really shows up in the sunlight.

These new sections, I discovered, are the result of a 2+ million dollar contract (stimulus money) awarded to a Wyoming fencing company. The system must work, as they are installing them over a 23 mile stretch west of Laramie, an area that is particularly problematic in the winter.
row after row of new snow fencing, west of Laramie
We had planned on a short day, but after a quick stop for lunch we decided to plunge ahead and go all the way to Curt Gowdy State Park, just east of Laramie.


It turned out to be a good decision as we arrived at the park early enough to drive around both Granite and Crystal lakes and check out all the possible sites. We finally ended up back near the entrance where we had a fantastic view of the lake and pretty good cell service.

Sites on both lakes vary greatly in degree of cell access, wind protection, lake view and access, and though most are fairly level, some are a real challenge for longer rigs like ours.

Evening view of Granite Lake
 We ended up on a point where we knew we'd catch the wind if it came up (which it did) but we not only had the fantastic view, we could walk easily to the water, and there was plenty of room to play with shiner. This time of year there are few other campers, so we had all the privacy we wanted.

The scenery in the park is spectacular, with the fall colors in the foliage and the bright blue sky.

This park would have provided a great canoeing opportunity if it hadn't been for the gusty wind that kicked up in the morning, so we just enjoyed the views of the lake and the surrounding hillsides. Beautiful rock formations contrast with the autumn trees. We're lucky in our timing as cold weather, and snow, are predicted by Thursday and soon the colorful leaves will be gone. 

Curt Gowdy State park is in a small unit of the Medicine Bow National Forest, and from what we can see from the road the forest has a lot of beautiful scenery to explore. We've promised ourselves we'll come back and spend a month here, checking out the historic sites as well as the scenery. 
Medicine Bow Forest view
On Tuesday we ventured into Laramie to check out the sites. Our first stop was the Lincoln Memorial, which we had seen from the highway when we first arrived.

It's pretty hard to miss the monument, which stands over 48 feet tall!
Completed in 1927, the Lincoln Highway, the prototype transcontinental route designed for automobile traffic, stimulated highway improvement. It later became federally marked U.S. Highway 30. In the 1950-1960s Interstate 80 was built to carry east-west traffic through Nebraska. Though I-80 parallels the Lincoln Highway route in many counties, the older route continues as a part of the federal highway network.

The monument is in a rest area that also contains a really nice visitor's center, which offers a wealth of tourist information about the area.


Next stop on the list, the famous Territorial Prison, one-time home to Butch Cassidy and several other notorious outlaws.

The entire building is open to visitors, so you can wander among the cells, view the kitchen, dining hall and infirmary, learn about how the restoration work was done, and enjoy the historic displays that eloquently portray the lives of several notable criminals as well as the lawmen who served in the territory at the time. The restoration has been beautifully done, and all the outbuildings add to the experience. 

The prison has had several incarnations, as a theme park, as a livestock farm for the university, and now, historic site.

A bit of each is here for visitors to enjoy, along with several opportunities for living history experiences, such as the broom making factory.

This was a major industry for the inmates, and now reenactors make brooms in the large building that was used at the time, in the same way the inmates did. You can purchase one in the gift shop - three sizes - I bought a nice little whisk broom for the fireplace at home. 'Handcrafted by Dave, the tour guide told me.

Broom-making room at the prison
After touring the prison we refreshed our flagging energy at the Altitude Chophouse and Brewery with an excellent lunch and a couple of very good brews. We can highly recommend the Altitude Amber Ale, and the monthly special, American Rye Ale.

My after-lunch treat was a quick shopping trip to the quilt shop right next door to the pub. We drove around downtown a bit, identifying several places we'd like to check out on our next visit, and  then it was back to camp for us to rest up for the next day's travels.
(click on any photo for a larger view)

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