Day 19 - Every Day is an Adventure!

I am SO glad today is over!  7+ hours on the road, rain, hail, wind, 2-lane highways and a LOT of tension in the car!  It is good to be done for the day to say the least!

Rain moved in during the night last night and the temperature dropped quite a bit too.  We woke up to a very wet, gloomy day....maybe this has to do with why OUR day was "gloomy"!
We rolled out of our Cabela's campsite around 10:45am after no shower and having a yummy breakfast that we cooked up in our little kitchen.  This Trader Joes Toasted Coconut pancake mix is AWESOME! You gotta go get yourself some!!  A tiny bit of butter on top is really all you need but syrup is delicious too!

Below is the last photo I shot of Nebraska before crossing over into Wyoming.  You can see the gloom in the sky and the flat farm land...Wyoming's landscape is MUCH different and it changed so quickly!

Sidney, NE

Onward into Wyoming, the Equality State or the Cowboy State depending on who you talk to!  You guessed it....NO, there was not an opportunity to even snap a photo of the Wyoming welcome sign through the rain and massive construction project that was going on around it - dang!  So, I found one (thank you Google) to show you.  It really was a cool sign too! 

Just after I took the above picture of Nebraska, I shot the photos below.  You can see how different the land is.  All of a sudden there are large rock formations mixed in with beautiful landscape!  I am certain that these photos would have been much better if we would have had clear skies but you can still see through the mist and clouds the difference in our view.  I'll tell you, I do like Kentucky but Wyoming, I think I would choose you over the Bluegrass State! I have been to Wyoming before.... a long time ago with Mike when we went on a snowmobiling trip through Yellowstone in January 2001.  The Grand Tetons are a sight to behold and I so wish that we would have had the time to make it there on this trip!  The kids will love Wyoming so this will be a destination point for us all on a future adventure.

Between Cheyenne and Laramie, WY

Laramie, WY happens to be the home to a giant head of Abraham Lincoln!  I kid you not....this enormous monument sits just on the northern bank of I80 as you wiz by!  The head was built to honor Lincoln's 150th birthday.  The head is bronze and it sits on top of a 30' granite pedestal.  Robert Russin, a University of Wyoming art professor is the one to thank for this monstrosity.  It was constructed in 1959 and was originally placed on a hill overlooking the old U.S. Highway 30 but when Interstate 80 was completed just 10 years later, Lincoln was moved to his current spot which is a rest area between Cheyenne and Laramie.

As we continued west, we passed by the 7,000' elevation of the Continental Divide which is just outside of Rawlins, WY.

Rawlins was our next stop for lunch.  We pulled in to Penny's Diner which, in my opinion; served up a darn good buffalo burger! 

The stop for lunch wasn't until 2:30pm which was 3 1/2 hours into our day.  I wasn't sure what Shale's plan was regarding how long we were going to be on the road today but with yesterday's long day behind us and the time spent in the car today....my back was starting to really hurt and I know Shale was uncomfortable.  Based on our conversations last night, I was pretty sure we would be pulling over within the next couple of hours to set up camp.  Well, that didn't happen!  This is when the rain really started to come down, the hail started up and we could barely see in front of us. Shale had to slow way down just so he could see the road.  Large trucks would pass and kick back even more water on us- it was pretty hairy!  We pulled over in Rock Springs to get gas. Shale thought it was too "trashy" of a place to stay for the night so we kept going.  He thought perhaps at this point it would just be best to press on into Utah - 2 1/2 more hours!  Agh!!  We wouldn't get in until late but....I guess not having to drive tomorrow, at all; was the bonus.  Ok.

The more west we traveled, the clearer the sky became and again; so did the landscape.
The mountains started to look a little more like the ones in Arizona and there were large
expanses of beautiful meadows.  Some with horses, cows and even sheep!

Utah would be next and I was hoping that maybe I would get lucky enough to get our photo with the Utah sign since the last few have not worked in our favor.  WoooHoooo!   Utah got smart and put this particular sign at a turn-out!  Shale was so happy he didn't have to battle the edge of the highway for this one AND.....we weren't going to get flattened!

BONUS!!  On the eastbound side of the highway, the Wyoming sign stood tall!
Yes, we ran across and snapped this picture since the sign from earlier in the day
was not accessible!  

The northwestern part of Utah is beautiful.  It definitely helped that the sky cleared up a little and we had some sunshine.  There was light at the end of this gloomy day's tunnel and I was so happy!  We were only about 40 minutes outside of Laketown and Garden City, UT which sit on the banks of Bear Lake where we will be staying until Friday morning.  I am really excited about being here!  My niece Kasi is living here for the summer and is working at the Pickleville Playhouse.  We are going to hang with her tomorrow, see the show and have dinner - yippee!  My Sister-in-Law Kindra and her husband Russell will be joining us also. They live just a little over two hours away in Pocatello, ID and will be driving down!  Tomorrow, is going to be a good day!

Driving into Utah

We found a place to camp for the next few nights and raced to get things set up while we still had a little light.  Boy do we miss our "Pit Crew"!  I am actually outside our trailer now writing today's blog and it is wonderful!  The sounds of other campers talking quietly, Shale's music playing, wood fires crackling and the soft glow of our strung cafe lights surround me - this is a good ending to a rough day.

While I am sitting here, the kids have finally sent in their daily report and photos.  I am very proud of them for keeping me updated so I can share with you!

Grandma and Grandpa had gotten tickets to a musical at an outdoor amphitheater (My Old Kentucky Home State Park Amphitheater) in Bardstown, KY.  

Bardstown, KY

The musical they saw was The Stephen Foster Story (America's first great composer).  "The musical is set to take you back to the 1850's with lively dance, timeless music and breathtaking costumes!"  This is what one review that I pulled up on the internet stated anyway.  According to Eli, it was a really good show....good job Grams and Gramps!!

The bottom left photo is Sammy popping her head through a cardboard cutout

Well, it is well past midnight now and most everyone around us has gone in for the night, I guess we should close things up too.  I am looking forward to a good nights sleep and a restful day tomorrow.
Kasi....I know we talked just a bit ago and I didn't tell you we had just pulled in - Surprise!  Don't kill me when I see you.....I love you!

Ha!  I am certain this sign is correct and I can't wait!

Until tomorrow......