Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Wyoming...Yippee!
Wyoming is a truly awesome place. Talk about wide open spaces! The landscape in the southwest part of the state is so barren of anything but grass, that they actually place cut-outs of horses and buffalo on the hills so you have something to look at!
Cheyenne, Wyoming was like an oasis in the middle of a desert of grass. Suddenly you come upon civilization, water, trees, billboards, and lots and lots of people. I have to say that I had mixed emotions; the city girl in me was happy to see civilization, but the adventurer in me was kind of diggin' the solitude of the prairie.
But the one thing that Cheyenne, Wyoming has that I am very interested in is The Big Horn RV Center, where we will have our new generator installed. We will once again be able to have air conditioning, television, and the use of our microwave and hot water. Ahhhhh...all the modern conveniences. Prairies are all fine and good, but they are a lot nicer when you're clean and can have a hot meal.
That said, we are once again traveling in comfort. Which is good news because it feels as though we are heading back into the prairie. It is just unbelievable how much space there is out here. Not a tree or house or anything in sight for miles at a time. Just grass, fences and highway. And then we came across this sign for the small town of Lost Springs. Notice the population?
A little further on we came across this old homestead. Maybe they were former residents of Lost Springs?
Cheyenne, Wyoming was like an oasis in the middle of a desert of grass. Suddenly you come upon civilization, water, trees, billboards, and lots and lots of people. I have to say that I had mixed emotions; the city girl in me was happy to see civilization, but the adventurer in me was kind of diggin' the solitude of the prairie.
But the one thing that Cheyenne, Wyoming has that I am very interested in is The Big Horn RV Center, where we will have our new generator installed. We will once again be able to have air conditioning, television, and the use of our microwave and hot water. Ahhhhh...all the modern conveniences. Prairies are all fine and good, but they are a lot nicer when you're clean and can have a hot meal.
That said, we are once again traveling in comfort. Which is good news because it feels as though we are heading back into the prairie. It is just unbelievable how much space there is out here. Not a tree or house or anything in sight for miles at a time. Just grass, fences and highway. And then we came across this sign for the small town of Lost Springs. Notice the population?
A little further on we came across this old homestead. Maybe they were former residents of Lost Springs?
Over the Hills and Through the Woods
So, it's been a while; two months to be exact. We are now in Rapid City, South Dakota, where we've been for all of the time we've been missing. Until recently, the wifi connection here was less than adequate and I could not get any of my photos loaded. I know!...I could have at least continued with the blog, but it just ain't the same without being able to share my pictures. At least, it's not to me. Excuses made, let me try to get caught up with where we've been and what we've been up to.
First stop was colorful Colorado.
We spent the first night in a WalMart in Rifle, Colorado. I don't think I mentioned it, but our RV generator died on us while we were in Moab. You just don't realize how much you like something until it's gone. Especially things like generators...in metal motorhomes...in the summer. By the time we got to Rifle it was late afternoon and it was all of 105 degrees in the motorhome. We spent all afternoon and evening sitting in the shade of the building trying to catch a breeze. Thank goodness we had an appointment to get a new generator in Wyoming. Too bad that was two days away.
The next day we drove higher into the mountains and the temperature was much cooler. We even saw some snow on the mountain peaks and a lot of water rushing down the sides of the mountain from melting snow. We drove through Vail, Colorado, which is truly a beautiful place. I didn't get any pictures of the town, but I did get a picture of what was left of the ski slopes and the melting snow.
The mountains are so incredibly beautiful. But they sure put a strain on the motorhome's engine. I'll leave this post with a picture of Mark putting the radiator hose back on after it blew off while we tried to chug up the final big grade. Notice how cheerful he looks? Of course, he has yet to see the downward grade of this mountain crossing! Oooooweeeee baby!! We kept seeing signs that said things like "Don't think it's over yet!". I'll admit that I did not have the presence of mind to take pictures of these signs...I was too busy hanging on and praying...but I found this picture of one of them on the web.
First stop was colorful Colorado.
We spent the first night in a WalMart in Rifle, Colorado. I don't think I mentioned it, but our RV generator died on us while we were in Moab. You just don't realize how much you like something until it's gone. Especially things like generators...in metal motorhomes...in the summer. By the time we got to Rifle it was late afternoon and it was all of 105 degrees in the motorhome. We spent all afternoon and evening sitting in the shade of the building trying to catch a breeze. Thank goodness we had an appointment to get a new generator in Wyoming. Too bad that was two days away.
The next day we drove higher into the mountains and the temperature was much cooler. We even saw some snow on the mountain peaks and a lot of water rushing down the sides of the mountain from melting snow. We drove through Vail, Colorado, which is truly a beautiful place. I didn't get any pictures of the town, but I did get a picture of what was left of the ski slopes and the melting snow.
The mountains are so incredibly beautiful. But they sure put a strain on the motorhome's engine. I'll leave this post with a picture of Mark putting the radiator hose back on after it blew off while we tried to chug up the final big grade. Notice how cheerful he looks? Of course, he has yet to see the downward grade of this mountain crossing! Oooooweeeee baby!! We kept seeing signs that said things like "Don't think it's over yet!". I'll admit that I did not have the presence of mind to take pictures of these signs...I was too busy hanging on and praying...but I found this picture of one of them on the web.
