7/8/15 FIRST GLIMPSE OF ROCKY MOUNTAINS

Our day started from Cheyenne KOA at 6:45 AM  MT.   Not far out of Cheyenne you pass through rolling hills of the high plains area.  Lots of grassy fields and oil rigs dotting the landscape.  Interstate 80 west of Cheyenne was recently resurfaced making for a smooth ride.  We steadily climbed up hill from over 6000 ft and the moho engine worked hard.  It was rainy and foggy west of Cheyenne and continued to be rainy until we were west of Laramie.

Medicine Bow National Forest near Laramie is a destination that should be on everyone's bucket list.  It was very foggy and raining as we went through this areas, but what we saw was intriguing.  We had to use the heat in the RV since the outside temp was 50 degrees and dropping just east of Laramie.  Elevation in this area was 8700 feet.  We pulled out the sweatshirts today.

As we approached Rawlins we came to the northern most extent of the Snowy Mountain Range.  Winds here often exceed 70 mph, hence, all the wind generators that cover the ridge tops as far as the eye could see.  This area is critical as a winter forage place for Elk and Mule Deer.  The valley is maintained in a natural state so the vegetation supports those herds.

At Rawlins, we turned north on US 287, a 2 lane highway with a rough surface.  However, this road took us through some spectacular terrain of the high plains.  Rocky bluffs would outcrop along side of a hill, snow drift fences stretched along the road for miles, and we crossed the Continental Divide at 7174 ft in elevation just north of Rawlins. 

At Muddy Gap we turned west on US 287 toward Jeffrey City.  There were some beautiful rock outcroppings near the highway just before we turned west.  We started to see more "big hills" in the West which they call The Green Mountains which is the southern part of the Wind River Indian Reservation.  I don't know why they call them the "Green Mountains"... they look brown to me.  The pictures don't so justice to the beauty we have seen today. 

Road construction and we aren't on the Alcan yet.

After the construction zone, we entered the Shoshone National Forest with its awesome mountains and rock formations.   There was a lot of sage brush in this area along the roads.  I noticed at a rest areas earlier today one could smell the sage growing around the parking lot and wondered what it was, but never dreamed it was actually sage.  We love putting that in dressing at Thanksgiving and it grows wild out here.

You can tell when you arrived in Fort Washakie in the Wind River Nation by looking up at the side of the hill.

After Fort Washakie, we approached the Teton Mountain Range far off in the west according to the map.  We saw deer, a heard of antelope and marmots along the way.  We stopped at a rest area to walk the dogs and pick up a new road map (the one from last year was worn out). 

Traveling north toward Dubois, we mostly saw the rolling hills of the high plains even though we are only a few miles from the Teton Mountain Range to the west of us.  The clouds obscured some of the views we had hoped to see.  Just west of our path is Gannett Peak, Elevation 13804, which is the highest point in  the state of Wyoming.  This is the part of the trip we begin getting anxious to see some of the things we have traveled so far to see.
  

It is now 57 Degrees and light showers at 2:00 PM MT.  The hills are getting bigger as we got closer to the mountains.  At one point the views were so incredible, we had to pull over and just take in the beauty along the Wind River.

We arrived at the Dubois KOA at 2:30 PM Mountain Time and filled up with gas before going into the campground.  Gas is getting more expensive the closer we get to the mountains.  $3.05/gallon.  However, last year when we traveled west we were paying close to $4/gallon.  Dubois has a population of 954 people.  It is a quaint little rustic town convenient to the Teton and Yellowstone National Park entrance.  We splurged this evening and ate out in a restaurant at the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois and then visited the General Store.

A special note about Dubois. A few years ago there was an HBO movie made called "Taking Chance" . It is a heart rendering story about the journey of a young Marine from Dubois who lost his life in the middle east conflicts and an officer who came to a point in his life where he interacted with the people of Dubois. The Baltimore Sun 's review said it best, " ... is one of the most eloquent and socially conscious films the premium cable channel has ever presented,..." . Every American should see this movie and after visiting Dubois one can feel why its such a great story that should be told.

The dogs still are on Eastern Time.  By 7:00 PM Mountain Time, they are sound asleep on the couch. 

Today we traveled about 350 miles.  Tomorrow we only have about 90 miles, but will be visiting Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks on our way to the campground in West Yellowstone.  So far it has rained every day and rain is predicted for tomorrow.  Hopefully the weather will be clear enough to see the mountains.