Rough Ride To Rock SpringsMay 31, 2011
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Look At Us All Clean And Shiny
Threatening Clouds
Really Threatening Clouds
| Sounds like a movie, but what an ugly one. Yesterday morning we left North Platte all happy and clean and smiley. We had rested for a day so we were off again. Several hours later we were looking at some very threatening skies as we past Cheyenne and headed for Laramie. We never made it...60 mile an hour gusts forced us to park for the night...and what a night. We were being blown around so much we were afraid if we sat on the jacks we might break them, so we dumped all the air out of the suspension and sat on the frame. Even then we rocked around all night. Lucky for us, however, the techie on board was able to get a satellite signal, so while the truckers around us rattled around in their cabs, we ate a hot meal (complements of our chief), drank some wine and watched TV. It was a little scary (for Pat, not of course for me), but we made it to sunlight. A little after six this morning, I wiped the tears, I mean sleep from my eyes and we took off...target Rock Springs, a little over 250 miles away on I-80. It was blowing pretty good but it was manageable until at 8640 feet, as we topped the Medicine Bow Mountains, we got hit with a blast that tore the cover over the big slide, and almost knocked us off the road. Only my incredible skill at the wheel saved us from being dashed on the rocks thousands of feet below...well actually, from running onto the bicycle lane. A few miles further on we dropped down to the Great Basin, the wind slacked into the 30's and we caught some fuel. Surveyed the damage, it's nothing we can't live with for the time being. A few hours later found us in Rock Springs...which is a very cool town. It's a college town (which means it has panhandlers),so we went to the campus and saw a big exhibit of dinosaurs...took lots of pictures with Pat's camera that we can bore you all with at some time in the future. We figure we have just two days of driving left in front of us...a run to Jackson Hole, and a run from there to West Yellowstone. Tomorrow it's on to Jackson as soon as Pat finishes teaching her class. Looks like about 200 miles on a two lane "scenic" road. How do you spell scenic when you are riding with me?....T-E-R-R-O-R |
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