KEARNEY NEBRASKA TO LARAMIE WYOMING…RAIN, SUNSHINE, HEAVY WIND GUSTS, COLD TEMPS & SLEET!!

MY MONDAY NIGHT HUNTER’S FULL MOON PHOTO CAUGHT 3 UFO’S HOVERING OVER KEARNEY NEBRASKA

Our rig’s electrically assisted couch can fold out into a surprisingly comfortable bed or it can fold down into half a bed & it was that second option I decided to try out Monday night.  First time sleeping in a totally horizontal position in a couple months & happy to say I had a good night’s sleep with no vertigo problems.  Best part was having Pheebs jump up on the bed to wake me up for morning snuggles.  Doggy stuff is always the best part of anything:))

WE STARTED OUT WITH RAINY SKIES, THEN MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES THEN FINISHED THE DAY IN SLEET

HERE’S ANOTHER REASON WE PREFER THE WEST….WIDE OPEN SPACES & INTERSTATES WITH MUCH LESS TRAFFIC

Overcast skies & warm temps as we rolled out of Wal-Mart's parking lot at 6:50 a.m.  Gassed up the rig & we were westbound on I-80 twenty minutes later.  A few sprinkles on the windshield then a steady light rain for 20 minutes which was just enough water to help our wipers clean all the smooshed bugs of our windshield.  I saw a slight patch of light in the cloud cover & thought it odd until a couple minutes later a most amazingly beautiful full Hunter’s Moon began slipping slowly out of the heavy cloud laden sky.  We watched that Moon for the next 20 minutes as it gradually sank (well not really because it is the Earth that is rotating upwards) towards the horizon where it slipped into a low ground hugging cloud bank.  The fact we could see the Moon told us we had clear skies ahead & 40 minutes later we finally drove into bright morning sunshine.

NEBRASKA HAS SOME INTERESTING SCULPTURES IN THEIR REST AREAS

WE’RE DOING GOOD, THIS IS ONLY OUR 2ND McDONALDS STOP SO FAR (OGALLALA NEBRASKA)

<<< KELLY STANDS IN NEBRASKA’S COOL MORNING  AIR DREAMING OF WARMER ARIZONA DAYS

It was somewhere west of Ogallala that I first became aware of the fact we were finally in the true west.  Seeing the rolling hills & a few rocky buttes I definitely had that great western feeling roll over me.  We even had tumbleweed tumbling across the road in front of us.  I began scanning the horizon for any tell-tale sign of mountains.  Fooled several times by low hanging cloud banks on the horizon I never gave up watching for them.  It was somewhere well east of Laramie where I did catch sight of a few lower peaks but they were not the snow capped Rockies I was looking for & it did occur to me that maybe on this particular route the high Rockies were maybe not going to be visible at all.  Guess I’ll find out Wednesday morning as we make our way further west along I-80 from Laramie to Rawlins Wyoming.  

KNEW WE WERE IN THE WEST FOR SURE WHEN WE SAW TUMBLEWEED BLOWING ACROSS I-80 & NOTICE AGAIN THE ABSENCE OF HEAVY TRAFFIC:))

THIS TYPE OF SCENERY WILL SOON BE THE NORM FOR US

BIG COYOTE SCULPTURE A HOWLIN ON A HILL

Turned out to be a mighty fine mornings drive as we steadily plodded westward in calm air.  Big blue sky with big puffy white clouds.  I soon became aware we were climbing far more long grades than we were going down any grades & this told me the whole land mass was rising to meet the Rocky Mountains somewhere a hundred miles ahead.  We steadily gained altitude & with that altitude winds began picking up substantially & from Cheyenne on we were being rocked by heavy wind gusts. 

ROLLING ON PAST CHEYENNE WYOMING

EVEN MANAGED TO NAB MYSELF A BARN TODAY

LOVE THESE ROLLING HILLS THROUGH THESE HERE PARTS

SAW SOME GREAT LOOKING SKIES TODAY

The Big EEE had her work cut of for her as she not only battled her way up the long grades but right into the teeth of those biting mountain winds.  Sometimes down to 50 mph & a lot of time in her low gear range she just soldiered on & never gave us a speck of trouble.  I was worried we were going to have the same problem we had last March on the way home with the engine cutting out.  So far so good & in a hurry to touch wood I quickly placed my hand on my head.

BY THE TIME WE CAME ACROSS THIS SIGN WE WERE ALREADY GETTING KNOCKED ABOUT PRETTY GOOD

HERE’S WHERE EAST/WEST I-80 CROSSES BUSY NORTH/SOUTH I-25

Monday night looking at my Atlas I figured we would just go as far as Cheyenne Wyoming today but with the weather so nice in the morning I set my sights on Rawlins.  By the time we reached Laramie the winds had beat us up pretty good so with Rawlins still a hundred miles away we decided to seek shelter at a Walmart Supercenter in Laramie.  It was 2 p.m. mountain time & we were done for the day.  We had found safe haven & weighed anchor.

 

JUST EAST OF LARAMIE IS THIS ABRAHAM LINCOLN TRIBUTE

 

IT WAS SO TOTALLY COLD HERE AT THE LINCOLN SITE MY FINGERS NEARLY FROZE TO MY CAMERA

Again we were lucky to find a totally flat spot in a hilly Walmart parking lot.  On the south side of the coach out of the wind & under sunny skies it actually felt a bit warm although we were surrounded by much cooler air at our 7,139 foot altitude.  Wind chill factor soon drove the temperature below 30 degrees.  In fact It was so windy in Laramie the crows were flying backwards.  Yes really.  Checked the rig’s oil & tightened a loosened drivers side mirror.  Have only used half a quart of oil so far & touch wood but the rig has performed flawlessly.  Kelly headed into Walmart for a few things she had forgot the day before.  I stayed in the rig with Pheebs to curtail any further counter surfing:))

DROPPING DOWN A STEEP GRADE INTO LARAMIE WYOMING

Rawlins Wyoming will be a major turning point in our travels south.  It is the furthest point north we have to go & from Rawlins we will drop straight south like a heavy leaden rock seeking warmer air.  It was Rawlins one early morning in early October last year we ran into snow, ice, & slush so I’m anxious to get Rawlins behind us just as quick as we can.  We’ll travel straight south until we reach I-70 at Rifle Colorado & from there hang a right turn & set our sights on Utah’s Capital Reef area.  Wednesday is looking like a good driving day but Thursday no matter where we are we could well be into more rain for a day or two.  Sunny days after that……………….

WINDS WERE SO BAD IN LARAMIE WE HAD TO PULL OUR MAIN SLIDE IN BUT WE’RE AS COZY AS 3 BUGS IN A RUG

HEY, WHO YOU CALLIN A BUG

Okay about those 3 UFO’s in my lead photo.  Now you don’t think I would try to deceive you do you??  Of course not & you can see what those night sky objects really were in the photos below & you can also see how deceptions are sometimes easily perpetuated.

NOTICE THE 3 WALMART PARKING LOT LIGHTS JUST TO THE LEFT OF THE MOON

SO THERE ARE THE 3 UFO’S ON THE LEFT

OUR WALMART SPOT FOR THE NIGHT & I THINK WE HAD THE ONLY LEVEL PAVEMENT IN THE WHOLE PARKING LOT…..DOWNSIDE OF THIS WALMART IS THAT IT IS 3 MILES RIGHT THROUGH THE CITY FROM I-80

OUR LARAMIE WALMART SPOT….COUPLE HOURS AFTER I TOOK THIS PHOTO IT WAS SLEETING & WE HAVE A 40% CHANCE OF SNOW OVERNIGHT….OUR LOW TONIGHT IS GOING DOWN TO 28F

In one of last week’s posts I talked about how I was beginning to tire of all the long distance traveling we do twice a year.  Of course I meant what I said at the time but those were my pre-travel feelings & as so often happens it is so easy to pre-judge how one is feeling about something until one is actually doing that something.  Good case in point is my present feeling now that we are actually off our duffs, out the door,& on the road.  As tiring & stressful as it can be at times I still love motoring along the highways & bi-ways of this great land just as much as I did as a highly charged teen-ager with a brand new driver’s license.  If you ever hear me moaning about the long drives again just give me a swift kick & drag me out to a parking lot somewhere & toss me behind a steering wheel…………..:))

AND THIS IS MY PERSONAL FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT TODAY

GROANER’S CORNER:((     

Q: How do astronomers organize a party?
A: They planet.

Q: Why can't you trust an atom?
A: Because they make up everything.

Molecule 1: I just lost an electron.
Molecule 2: Are you sure?
Molecule 1: I’m positive.

Why won’t the elephant use the computer?….He’s afraid of the mouse!

2. Which are the stronger days of the week?…Saturday and Sunday. The rest are weekdays.

3. Which runs faster, hot or cold?…Hot. Everyone can catch a cold.