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 5^th 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 6^th 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!