Tuesday . . .
Another Pic of a big hill in wyoming
Today was wind, weather and wildlife day. After a restful night in Twin Falls last night, we hit the road, taking the cutoff on I80 just before Salt Lake City. Jason was disappointed, he has never been to SLC before, and after hearing me describe it, was sort of hoping we’d change our route so he could check it out, but alas, we put Alison in charge of the route, so no detours today . . . she’s a very strict tour guide.
In a shout out to Paula, I drove the leg that took us through Devils Slide in Utah. About 15 years ago she and I crossed that pass westbound in my little old Honda in the dead cold of a February snowstorm. She was married to Austin and AC’s dad at the time, and she called him from a little hole in the wall gas station in the middle of nowhere demanding that he come get her immediately because I was trying to kill us via vehicular homicide. We survived, but our friendship barely did. We found out after we got home to Portland that she had been pregnant with Austin on the trip, which explained the high emotions going on.
We weren’t in Utah for long, and the most relevant thing I can say about Wyoming is that it’s only slightly less boring than eastern Oregon, and is only less boring because it has some pretty majestic mountains, more grass and trees, and less tumbleweed. In addition to a monster thunderstorm today, we saw many many many wind farms. We had never seen a wind turbine in person before, they are really remarkable. I’m including a picture, but they really don’t do it justice, they’re incredibly tall, and each blade is enormous. We also came through some gale force winds, which I guess must be common in the wide open spaces of Wyoming. There are snow drift barriers everywhere and every 20 miles or so there are arm barriers like railroad crossings along with giant signs and warning lights saying “I80 closed when flashing, turn around ahead” . . . makes me thankful we’re doing this in June instead of January.
We saw a real live cowboy at lunch, the only disappointment was that we saw him at Wendy’s . . . oh well, we’ll take our western culture wherever we can find it. Wyoming also boasts a whole lotta antelope – they’re looking pretty scraggly this time of year, they appear to be shedding their winter coats, so they all look slightly leprotic (yes, I made that word up, sue me). We also saw a mess o’ prairie dogs, rather cute little rodents, but they made it hard to find a place for poor puddles to take a leak without getting her leg gnawed off. Henry is faring pretty well today, we drugged him, but only a mini dose, so he’s been up and around, checking out the scenery any time we open a window.
We’re almost to Laramie, where we’re stopping for the night. There is a G & T in Jason’s immediate future, and an ambien in mine.
on June 11th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Yeah, but did that cowboy have a bona fide corncob pipe? I don’t think so. And hey, keep up the great travelogue - it’s a hoot! Yee hawwww
on June 11th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
That prairie dog is SO cute! Don’t worry about Puddles-she could totally do her kung fu moves on it. We mustn’t forget her years as a mixed martial arts cage-fighting poodle.
on June 12th, 2008 at 1:00 am
if a cowboy eats wendy’s chilie and farts on the prairie–does anyone smell it or hear it?
on June 12th, 2008 at 1:04 am
if a prairie dog eats wendy’s chilie and farts in his den–do the other prairie dogs hear or smell it?
on June 12th, 2008 at 5:11 am
I miss you, sprinkle salt all across the country for me. EAT SALT!
on June 12th, 2008 at 5:15 am
give that poor prarie dog a salt sandwich. he needs salt. give him a pair of small knee pads too, I am on my way to Wyoming!