May 2, 2010: Driving Across Southern Wyoming

Today was going to be a very long trip. I would have to drive across the remaining part of Utah up to the Wyoming line, and most of the way across Wyoming. My stopping off point for the night would be Wyoming's capital and largest city (with a population of about 55,000), Cheyenne. This drive would mostly be on I-80. This would be my third visit to Wyoming. I drove across the northern part of Wyoming from Cody, WY to the South Dakota line in 2008. This time I wanted to drive across the southern part of the state.


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As I started off, the mountains in Utah looked like something from a Christmas card. They were totally covered in snow. Houses in the valleys were covered in snow. This was May 2nd, of course. It began to snow as I was driving and the road was wet. The temperature dropped to 33 degrees. I was getting a little nervous and wondering again why I moved north and insisted on driving across Wyoming...and I had not even left Utah by that point.

Gas prices are terrible in Utah. I expected the prices would be lower in Wyoming (WY has a reputation for lower gas prices) but wasn't really sure if I could take the chance to drive for another hour until I got to the Wyoming line where I could likely find gas in the city of Evanston. So, I stopped off at Park City, UT. I had to make a left turn to get into a gas station and there was a light. Although the light was green, there was a steady flow of traffic going straight in the opposite direction. It seems as though the person behind me expected me to plow into said traffic just so they could save a couple of seconds on their life. I remember this kind of attitude in northern Utah during my 2008 trip. A driver back then became extremely angry because I did not feel like t-boning a few cars that day.

The scenery was spectacular in Utah. The road had some very sharp curves through the mountains. As time went on, the snow died off and there was not much snow on the sides of the interstate. By the time I reached Wyoming, there was very little snow. The road was dry and the temperature went up.

I stopped in Evanston to fuel up again since I wasn't sure how far I'd be driving before I'd see the next gas station. I also went to a rest stop for a few minutes. An old man noticed my east coast license plate and was surprised. I explained that it was a rental car but that I was from New York. (My plate is from a New England state.) He told me he and his wife were traveling from New Hampshire to see their granddaughter get married in California. We had a nice talk for a while and then went our separate ways. It was an interesting coincidence.

The beautiful scenery of Utah gave way to flat areas with mostly rolling hills. I crossed the Continental Divide at over 6,300 feet above sea level. There was no evidence of snow on the ground and the interstate was dry.

One thing that should be noted about I-80 in Wyoming (and Nebraska) is that the entrances have cattle gates. Just after exits at various points in the road are railroad traffic crossing bars. Conditions can get so bad that the authorities can close the interstate down. All traffic must exit and there are severe penalties for crossing the bars.

Scenery suddenly changed again. I came into an area with beautiful badlands for miles starting in Rock Springs, WY. The badlands were orange-yellow, compared to the red rocks of Utah. This went on for a very long time. Some areas were lighter than others. Some spots looked like piles of small rocks while others looked more like the badlands found in Death Valley National Park or in Montana's Makoshika (badlands) State Park.

As time went on, the badlands transitioned into flatter areas with rolling hills. I crossed the Continental Divide yet again, this time at 7,000 feet above sea level. I started to experience hail. This was only for a short time, thankfully. There were also occasionally some snow flakes here and there.

At a certain point, the sky was dark and ominous looking. I was getting a little nervous as I still had three more hours to go. I wasn't sure what kinds of storms to expect. There was also occasional fog.

Wyoming electronic signs have (at least in the past) warned to watch for wildlife crossing the interstate. This is not too difficult to watch for since much of Wyoming is treeless. Any kind of large animal would stand right out from the plains and could be seen a long way before crossing the road. As I have been told about herds of antelope sometimes crossing the interstate (typically I-25, not I-80) in Wyoming, I was on the lookout for antelope. I did see a few here and there, but I counted less than ten on the entire drive.

For the rest of the drive, I was on flat land with occasionally very slight rolling hills. As I reached Laramie, there was a sharp incline and I was at over 8,000 feet above sea level. The rock formations were beautiful. I passed by the highest point on all of I-80 just east of Laramie. In 1960, a monument to Abraham Lincoln was erected at the highest point along the road. I didn't have time to stop for it but did see it quickly from the interstate.

I passed by Buford, WY. This is the town with the smallest population in the United States. It has a population of 1 person. The only businesses in Buford are a gas station and a fireworks store. I visited this "town" (or rather, tourist trap) in 2007 during my first ever visit to Wyoming. At that point, gas was very expensive because Buford has a monopoly on gas. There isn't another gas station for twenty miles. However, as I passed by it on the interstate, I noticed the prices were very reasonable. It was about $2.79/gallon for regular. Utah was well over $3/gallon.

After another forty minutes or so, I finally got into Cheyenne. The wind was really strong and the hotel had warning signs on the doors saying they close quickly due to the wind. In any event, it was great to get dinner and be able to relax at the hotel after such a long drive.