Hello Wyoming! 8/24 – 8/25/18

Friday, August 24, was a travel day from Estes Park, CO, to Rawlins, WY.  It was less than two hours to get out of Colorado and into Wyoming.

We tend to stop every two hours (as long as I have not fallen asleep) to make a pit stop.  We usually pull over and use the trailer unless our timing works and we find a rest area on the road.   I have to say that the highway restrooms are clean.   Some even have unusual signs.

The next rest area even had historical monuments.

It was getting late in the day, so we finally decided to look for a place to boondock for the night.  The first BLM location (meaning free camping) off the main road had about six sites and was basically deserted.  We picked one,  and Scott got out of the car .  When I opened my door and stepped out,  I was engulfed by hundreds of hungry mosquitoes!  I quickly jumped back into the truck and furiously shook my head.  It was obvious we were not staying there. We drove about 40 minutes west to another location that looked  like Mars, but at least there were no mosquitoes.

Scott delighted in the opportunity for some really intense sunset moments.

The following morning we strolled around “Mars” taking in the unusual surroundings.

Still, a reason to smile.

The next day we continued on 287N towards Lander and made a quick stop at Wind River Trading Co. /Indian Museum.  Unfortunately, we missed the grave of Sacajawea and agreed not to turn around and go back.  When we reached Dubois, we stopped to eat lunch.  Next, we travelled through Shoshone National Forest,  Togwotee Pass/Continental Divide, Bridger-Teton National Forest/Grand Teton National Park, and finally to our next destination.

The weather all day was sunny, smoky, and a bit hazy as you can see from my first photo/sighting of The Grand Tetons.

 This was taken from the front seat as the truck was moving.   Darn smoke.

We headed towards Shadow Mountain Campground, which is in the Bridger-Teton National Forest area that offers about ten free sites.   To get a spot, we had to travel up a winding, rocky, dirt road, and availability is on a first come, first serve basis.

We drove a good 40 minutes at about 5 mph until we found site 7 calling our name. Here is a view from the dirt road.

Here we are resting and enjoying the view.

And, shown below is what we are gazing at.

You can barely make out the Tetons in the distance   It became a little more defined as the evening wore on .

More to come from Shadow Mountain Campground and the Grand Tetons as we plan to stay a while.