We left Evanston this morning and stopped on the way out of town at an information center to pick up a map; however, it was too early in the morning for them to be open. Did take the opportunity to see some buffalo and their calves in a nearby pasture. Also happened to read an information plaque about the Bear River which runs through Evanston. Interest fact about the river - it flows 500 miles through ID, Montana, Wyoming and Utah. According to the plaque, it is the longest river in the US which does not run to an ocean as it empties into the Great Salt Lake. That would be an interesting kayak trip! Stopped for breakfast in Green River, Wyoming where the Green River flows south and east to the Colorado.
I always find Wyoming to be an interesting state. It has a lot of natural resources - oil, gas, coal, wind, solar, chemicals, cattle, etc and some of the most interesting topography in the nation. We see more antelope herds here than we do in any other state, mixing with the cattle and horses. Below view will give you some idea of the wide open spaces with windmills on the far horizon.
When we left I-80 at Rawlins and headed northeast toward Casper, we passed Independence Rock (which I'm sure I have mentioned in previous blogs). It's a huge outcropping of stone and was supposedly the point where the pioneers were supposed to arrive by the Fourth of July in order to get over the Sierra Nevada before the snows came. As we passed by the huge Pathfinder 101 Ranch, there were road signs depicting the various pioneer trails which passed through the area. Later in the evening, I looked up the Pathfinder 101 Ranch and found that the 140,000 acre ranch is for sale for a paltry $19.8 million (just in case you were looking for something more expensive than a home in Chadron).
After leaving Casper, we took I-25 south for a while in order to hit US 20. I guess we could have continued way east and come out near where Tim lives in Rochester, NY. The US 20 here is named the Crazy Horse Memorial Highway which I'm sure is different than what it is called back east. Originally, we were going up to Rapid City, SD and stay either at Ellsworth AFB or at a Best Western in Rapid City. Both were full, so we decided to stay on US 20 which is how we ended up in Chardron. Huge city of about 5000 people, but had hotel, bar/restaurant, and a state park where we could get out, stretch and get some fresh air.
p.s. Did I mention that it rained mid-afternoon which shot down our golf plans again. We think the golf gods are not with us on this trip, but we will try again tomorrow. It was fun watching the rain clouds and lightning move across the prairie.
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