August 9: sad day.
KOA’s are not as comfortable as they used to be. But I was tired enough I slept most of the night. At about 3:00am I woke up with my body telling me, “I think you may need to use the restroom.”
I convinced it otherwise. Since I would have to leave my cabin and walk across the road I became determined to not use the facilities.
“Okay,” my body said, “but don’t blame me if the results are disastrous.”
My body finally succeeded in persuading me at 7:00am. I stepped out of the cabin into fog.
“Oh, that’s either lovely or creepy,” I mumbled.
I had about 500 miles to cover today and my map app telling me it would take almost 8 hours so I didn’t dawdle.
Last night I determined a spot on the road that is only 5 miles away from a Colorado town. So, I took it and collected my 5th state sign. Then I immediately turned around and continued on my way.
Here’s my summation of Nebraska. Nebraska heading east isn’t so bad. Nebraska heading west though… holy Hanover it is one long state! I did gain my hour back. But that only means I traveled that much longer. Right?
I approached the Wyoming border ready to get my last state sign. What? Wyoming counts. A paint truck was right in front of it. “Oh, I don’t think so!” I won’t go into detail on how I obtained the photo but I got my 6th state photo.
I pulled off the interstate and went into the small town of Pine Bluff, Wyoming. Although, I’m pretty sure some of it has to be in Nebraska. Years ago I had found a weird random statue there. Since then, the town has grown a bit and it took some doing to find it. But again, the longer it took the more determined I became to find it.
Our Lady of Peace video
On the way through Cheyenne last Saturday I encountered a problem at the gas pump. On the trip back, I decided to get gas in Laramie instead. However, the distance between the two towns seemed to be farther than I remember. I started to panic.
I pulled into Buford, Wyoming – population of 1 to get gas. Two people were working in the store when I walked in to get my receipt. I should have asked, “Which one of you is the resident?” But I didn’t. I did notice that Buford has the most expensive gas along I-80. At least between Wyoming and Omaha. So, yay me!
Years ago I visited the Lincoln monument rest stop between Cheyenne and Laramie. I stopped there today. It’s different than I remember it. I could have sworn it was a replica of the monument in Washington. It very much is not. Hmmm….
Lincoln monument video
I stopped in Laramie for lunch. Then I rested at the Sinclair rest stop. My reasons for stopping so much were twofold. One, I wanted to hang onto my vacation just a little longer. And two, I’m tired. I drove over 2,000 miles. My tuckus is sore. My neck is aching. My back is stiff.
But I’d keep going if I could!
Ever hear of letterboxing? I did a search of Cheyenne, WY and got this one.
http://www.atlasquest.com/boxes/clue/?gBoxId=162508
That sounds awesome (if I’m getting the gist of it all). I definitely need to check it out. That would be a fun way to spend an afternoon in a different town. Thanks for the tip 🙂
Hope to see some blogs about your adventures in letterboxing!