Rock Springs

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A Harrowing Drive — Rock Springs to Cody, WY

I had a good night’s sleep in Rock Springs and awoke to SNOW. There was over an inch of it on my truck and visibility was poor. I wasn’t in a rush, having only about a five-hour drive ahead of me, so I hung out in my room for a bit before dressing to brave the weather and schlepping to the motel dining room. There, I had a fortifying breakfast of a waffle and sausage with terrible coffee. It was really tempting to plunk myself down when I got back to my room around 8:45, but I knew the weather wasn’t going to improve and that I just had to bite the proverbial bullet and get on the road.

The drive to Lander, my first stop, was very difficult. There was almost zero visibility leaving Rock Springs and things just got worse as I climbed to the summit of South Pass because, there, the snow was sticking to the ground. My truck has really good winter tires (Michelin Nordics) with tons of tread on them, but because there isn’t much weight in the back end, it absolutely sucks in snow. I avoided take it out on days with snow on the ground when I wintered in SK and really wanted to avoid driving in snow on this trip north… Even though I took my time and slowed to a crawl, I was fishtailing all over the place and grateful that there wasn’t much traffic. The only reason I didn’t go over an embankment a couple of times is because I was going very slowly.

Taking my time going over the pass and driving for the conditions added a mere six minutes to my driving time, according to my GPS. It felt like an eternity!

Thankfully, conditions cleared somewhat as I descended into Lander, where I pulled over at the McDonald’s to get a huge coffee and actually sat inside for a bit to soothe my nerves and check upcoming road conditions. Fortunately, the way north was clear from that point. I am just done with winter driving, especially since my vehicle can’t handle those conditions at all!

The rest of the drive was uneventful and the weather cleared up a little as I pushed on into a landscape of rolling olive green hills that made me realise just how close to home I was! I made it to Cody around 3:00ish and my friend Vicki was waiting for me at her “cramped ground.” I stayed with Vicki last year and it was almost like being home in that I didn’t feel like a guest. So when I got in yesterday there was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders knowing that I could take a break for a few days. Hard to believe I was not even in Culiacán at this time last week! I really did marathon this trip.

More after the pictures.

Vicki introduced me to her lovely neighbours and colleagues, we hung out for a bit, and eventually ordered pizza for dinner, which we were able to pick up since the Domino’s is just a couple of blocks away. I was going to have pizza for dinner in Rock Springs and Vicki’s suggestion that we do it last night came in literally as I was placing an online order. Talk about good timing! We both like to cook, but she’d had a long couple of days of work and I was zapped from driving, so it was the perfect night for a treat!

I’ve been awake for about an hour now and enjoying a lie-in with a cup of coffee. Vicki isn’t a morning person so she’s still out for the count. She’ll eventually get up and we’ll start to plan our day. She has a bunch of errands to run since she has access to a vehicle (she doesn’t have a toad) and we might hit a museum if we have time. Then, she’s working for a few days, so I’ll do the same, although I’m planning for tomorrow to be a lie in bed with a book kind of lazy day… 🙂 I’ll probably be here through to Friday morning. That will give us Thursday, one of Vicki’s days off, to spend more time together since otherwise, we’d just have the evenings. I had planned to get home in one day from here, but the time is too tight. Instead, I’ll probably get as far as Glasgow, MT, Friday, and be home by noonish on Saturday, two weeks after leaving Isla.

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Snow is A Four-Letter Word — Into Wyoming

I didn’t sleep as well last night as I did my first two nights at the hostel. I was a little too warm and, of course, I was achey (and forgot to take some Advil before bed). Still, it wasn’t a bad night compared to my normal and I was up around 6:45 — a full hour later than I’ve been getting up. It was wet and miserable out. I just packed the truck, checked out, and went to McDonald’s for coffee (fantastic!) and to do some online stuff, including firming up my route for today. I decided to head for Rock Springs, Wyoming, as that was roughly the halfway point to Cody. I would do a blip through northwestern Colorado, return briefly to Utah, and then cross into Wyoming.

Over the course of the day, I climbed to over 8,000 ft of altitude. I was not in any way prepared for snow even though I knew it was coming!

I stopped in Rangely, Colorado, after a particularly long climb and descent, to top up the fuel and get coffee. The Kum & Go had the best fuel price I’d seen since Flagstaff ($2.29ish) and they had hazelnut flavoured coffee, which was such a treat! I usually put in hazelnut creamer, but that’s sweet. With the flavour-infused beans, I get the hazelnut taste without the sweetness. This was a very good day for coffee!

Some time later, I paused in Vernal for lunch and to book my hotel in Rock Springs. I decided that since I would have spent 80USD on the last two nights at the hostel, I was going to spend that at the nicest hotel I could get for that price for one night in Rock Springs. I got a deal on a room at the Quality Inn, which is high end by my standards. I get the room, good WiFi, a full breakfast, and a free cocktail! The room also has a lovely armchair and ottoman. I may never get out of this chair again. 🙂

Coming into Rock Springs was scary since there was black ice under slush on the road! I had to slow to a crawl. Moya has really good quality winter tires, but she really doesn’t handle well in slick conditions. I was really glad to arrive. Vernal had felt too early to stop, but by the time I got to Rock Springs, I was past the point where I would have wanted to quit for the day because of the tough driving conditions the last bit.

For some reason, I actually took pictures today!