America the Beautiful

Today started with a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts....for Joanie, of course!  I felt obligated to help eat a portion of the 1/2 dozen....fortunately there happened to be sour cream doughnuts in the box!

After that All-American meal, we headed to the Golden Spike Tower and Bailey Yard....the largest rail car sorting yard in the United States...if not the world.

Joanie in front of a Union Pacific rail car

Just part of Bailey Yard

The Golden Spike

Fascinating to watch all the activity....especially the hump yards where the rail cars are sorted and moved to tracks for their outbound destinations.  There was a docent at the top of the tower who was happy to answer any and all questions.  I am glad we stopped.....it was very interesting.
It is nice when we have one interesting stop on these long days of driving.

We headed out of town, caught I-80, and continued our journey west toward Wyoming.
While Nebraska is a fairly flat state, the terrain starts to change as one approaches the Wyoming border.  The high desert is a lot scrubber and rocky, with views of the snow capped mountains on the horizon.  We also saw a change in the wildlife.....fewer deer and more prairie dogs and antelope.

I drove the first half of the day, which I realized was a good thing when the winds picked up once we hit Laramie, Wyoming.  It is a little scary pulling a trailer when the wind is gusting.  And in Wyoming, those conditions are pretty typical.  Rick handled it like a champ, and we arrived safely at our destination.  It was so windy, we had to really hold on to the door of the Airstream when we opened and closed it, for fear that it might get torn off its hinges.  It was a lot cooler in Rock Springs too.....84 degrees, probably 75 if you factor in wind chill....a pleasant change from the heat we had experienced since leaving North Carolina.

The campground was pretty desolate, as it is used mainly for the county fair in August.  The spaces that they rent out to campers are in the livestock holding area.  Taking this into consideration, one might think that this area could be pretty disgusting, but it really was not bad.  Although the area is all gravel and treeless, it had electricity, water and sewer.  That's all it takes to make this girl happy!  Frankie enjoyed this campground too!  He loved being free of his car seat in the truck and running free in the little grass that existed in front of the main entrance to the fairgrounds.

Looking forward to seeing family tomorrow in Pocatello, Idaho.

Left Holiday RV Park at 9:15am
Arrived Sweetwater Fairgrounds at 6:00pm
Mileage = 486.9 miles