Park your Tauntaun anywhere.
We woke up ready to make the long trek to Omaha. Apparently mother nature had other ideas. We made it all the way to Rawlins when the road closed…AGAIN. Granted it was snowing like hell and pretty treacherous out there, but we just wanted to keep on trucking. This time we got further into Wyoming, but still nowhere near the Nebraska border. So, we hunkered down, again, with everyone else who had been trapped along I-80 in Wyoming for the past two days. Hotel rooms were scarce after 12:00 noon.
Day 4: Still…in…Wyoming… We had a plan. Wake up at dawn and hit the road. The snow finally stopped. The sun was shining, but the wind was still blowing. I’m pretty sure the wind never stops blowing in Wyoming. Also, here’s a tip if you plan to travel across country, avoid Wyoming. The only time it seems to be OK to cross is June through August. I’ve heard that it can snow on July 4th, so be warned.
Regardless, determined to get the hell out of that state, we hopped in the car and made it all the way to Laramie before they shut down I-80 again. It was maddening. The sun was shining in Laramie, how could it be treacherous 50 miles down the road? OK, fine. It wasn’t the best conditions even to Laramie. The wind was blowing like hell and snow was swirling everywhere. We saw three different vehicles go off the road. I blame the drivers being stupid more than the road conditions.
Same state, south is icy, north is dry
Luckily, my friend Christi and her boyfriend met us for lunch in Laramie. They were a HUGE help. They broke the news that I-80 was unlikely to reopen again that day, but there was another way out of the state. We headed north on some state highways, or as I like to call them, very nice back roads, to get to I-25 and then I-90. So, north we went to Gillette and then finally east to Rapid City, South Dakota.
All I know is that we celebrated getting the hell out of Wyoming once we finally got to South Dakota. I do have one last question for Wyoming. What’s up with the red freeways? The asphalt was red colored on I-25 and I-90. It might be that way in South Dakota too, but it was dark by the time we arrived.