Rock Springs, Wyoming
The part of the trip between Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado and Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Monday - 27 June 2011

The first thing one sees as one enters Wyoming - on the East side of IH 25, just South of Cheyenne.

The Wyoming visitor center on IH 25 is located just South of Cheyenne, and a few miles north of the buffalo on the hill.
It has a generous parking lot on a bluff and the actual visitor center is some 15 feet lower than the parking area.
It is interestingly designed, well staffed with friendly and knowledgeable folks.
The view from the parking lot gives a view of classic Wyoming.

Look carefully on the left - note the Windmills for electrical generation.

I do not think that we entered Cheyenne, or so it seemed, we did not see an urbanized area,
just turned left on to Interstate 80 and proceeded to drive nearly the length of Wyoming East to West.

Many miles down the road, and not near any population center we passed a huge Walmart warehouse.
It was alone on the side of the road, and seemingly busy.

Along Interstate 80 sometimes it there were ridges, windmills and trees.

Sometimes there were rock outcropings.

Sometimes the plateu dropped dramatically.

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The town of Sinclair has a large Sinclair refinery...
and an old Sinclair gas station with pre-credit card pumps.

Tuesday - 28 June 2011

The Rock Springs, Wyoming KOA is positioned on the West side of town.
It is set about 400 yards back from IH 80.
Between the campground and the highway there is a petroleum storage tank farm with a woven board fence separating.

On the West and north sides of the KOA there was a bluff, which extended North and defined the western edge of the town.
Rock Springs is an oil town. For a place that is isolated and has few natural amenities it seems moderately prosperous.

The industrial zone on the North side of town. - Picture looking West, taken from US Hwy 191 heading North.

On the West side of the road the bluff continued for miles.
Looking Northeast in the far distance we saw white capped mountains seemingly floating off the horizon.

This morning the sun was shining on the snow capped mountain tops and
the lower parts were in the shade and not as visible, creating the effect that the mountains were floating.

A man in town told us to watch for a herd of wild horses some miles North of town.
These may be that herd.

More floating mountains.

Miles and miles of dry land - with splashes of very hardy flowers.

New barn framed up. Some miles South of Pinedale WY.

Close enough to see the darker lower parts of the mountains.
Looking East, a few miles South of Pinedlae WY
and about 70 miles SSE of Jackson and Grand Teton National Park.

In Pinedale we visited the Museum of the Mountainman which prohibits photograpny (sigh).
It is a well focused museum which has very good exhibits on the Mountain Man of the Rockies - fur trappers and traders.
Then we headed on to Jackson WY where we spent one night in a rather crowded KOA 2 miles South of the town of Jackson.
After getting the Rpod set up we drove on throgh Jackson and into Grand Teton National park on a scouting mission
determining where we would camp the next several days.

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Grand Teton National Park - WY