I hit the ground early this morning after little proper rest. Refer to other blog entries to understand why! All part of my “vacation”. One day I’ll take a proper vacation on a luxury beach resort and probably have a mental breakdown after being left alone to read a paperback novel.
Checked out of the Motel 6 before the sun was fully up. Drank a vicious cocktail of Mountain Dew (half of a 20 oz bottle from the lobby vending machine, the rest was put in the SUV after I recognised it’s potency and potential for later en route), copious amounts of water and coffee from reception. Despite massive fatigue from a variety of previously documented factors on this trip, adrenaline was pushing a 42 year old guy forward to do something new.
Drove the brief distance to downtown Cheyenne along the Lincoln Highway (Route 30) from the motel, who needs I-80 apart apart from the speed? No traffic as it was early Sunday, traffic lights in the downtown grid were flashing amber. I like this place for that reason alone, as otherwise it seems a bit sad at the edges. Took a detour up to the recently renovated State Capitol building (saw it last night after breakfast on the drive back to the motel in the dark from a distance, although due to fatigue I may have been hallucinating), took a picture from the middle of empty Capitol Avenue or whatever then lost interest as I had more pressing interests, such as finding a venue for the 2nd breakfast of the day/trip. Village Inn just off downtown did the job. I drove past various state museums etc. before I found it. I Wolfed down Eggs Benedict with hash browns in record time with orange juice and another cup of coffee. Overpaid for the experience frankly compared to Denny’s last night which was great, no ketchup was offered although I never asked. The drinks pushed up the tabs, then you have to add your own discretionary tip.
Last night’s 2 glasses of lemon water were free. Plus I was getting talked to by the young waitress who was there after midnight about the music festival in the mountains she was planning on spending her Sunday at with her friends. However I had other plans, I tipped her an extra dollar to let her down gently(!) The guy this morning simply wanted to shake my hand initially for being Scottish and ask me how you pronounced “Islay”. He liked his Scotch, if I wasn’t so tired I’d have talked to him for another 5 mins before heading east! Takes a while every time to ease into the Americans love of Scotland and particular the whisky sometimes. They assume we all drink it daily. Sometimes various Clan questions too! They ask me questions like I’m an expert, then I attempt to avoid disappointing them and also myself by admitting I only know so so much about back home.
The original version of this trip which never happened last year had Fort Collins, Colorado as the first night followed by Cody, Wyoming the second night as a staging post for Yellowstone etc. However in the all too brief period of time I was between jobs, close inspection of my Rand McNally US Atlas pointed out the obvious. The High Point of Nebraska is adjacent to the Wyoming and Colorado borders and accessible by a network of local roads from I-80. Strictly speaking it’s a detour, but I’ve done crazier things in the past, and part of these trips are the wacky bits that make no sense to anyone but yourself. Note that this is not absolute rule. Changes to the 2010 trip were never made as the entire thing was cancelled shortly afterwards. It remained deep inside me as a future target.
On the 2011 version it was an integral and mostly secret early part. Fort Collins was still the first night early on but that changed as I realised I had to be heroic out of Denver airport and reduce the Sunday mileage a bit! This was before I knew that there was going to be an unanticipated “Battle of the Alamo” that night in Denver. Also I stuck to Cody at first before deciding that the detour into Kimball County, Nebraska justified reducing the risk there too. 2011 had a motel reserved in Cody which was cancelled and substituted for Thermopolis, Wyoming. You can tell me I’m rambling about all these boring planning details and logistics when I come home, for me it’s all part of it. Sometimes I get it right and compliment myself, sometimes I fail to do the full research and laugh at myself afterwards, either way it’s all part of the experience!
So after the 2nd breakfast of the trip, joined I-80 and painfully drove due east into the rising early morning sun. Sore on the eyes. I’d transferred Internet saved instructions from the netbook on how to get there from Pine Bluffs, Wyoming down the back roads, but the version I transcribed by pen onto a bit of paper from a saved webpage in the Motel 6 after documenting for future historians “The Battle of the Alamo” (2011) didn’t match the obvious local State route numbers from I-80 and wasn’t the best so I didn’t attempt to navigate from the Wyoming side. The Rest Area at Pine Bluffs did however provide a necessary emergency comfort break as breakfast, liquid, altitude and jetlag played havoc on my system whilst on I-80 for 30-40 miles after Cheyenne. I also grabbed all the necessary Wyoming free travel literature. That was a bonus, got stuff I needed such as a map of Wyoming. Previously I was navigating from memory and other sources. Yeah, right....
Got the netbook out, I had another route from Bushnell, Nebraska in there too in various versions and sources opened up to check if I needed. Went across the border on I-80. This was state #44 for me, massive milestone, I can’t recall how many years it’s seen since I went into a new US State. Probably 10 years. I never even considered crying. However last year in May (2010) I cried when I drove into Pennsylvania from Maryland. Weird. I’ve never told anyone this until now. PA was state number one, she’s special to go back too once in a while so maybe that’s why it happened.
Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota and 3 others remain. If I wasn’t so tired I’d tell you their names too. Work it out yourself. Approx 7 miles further on took me to a loop road off I-80 for Bushnell to a series of wide dirt tracks (all numbered in a road system) which eventually led me to Panorama Point, the High Point of Nebraska. Had to stop twice at the side of the wide and empty tracks to check where I was going to next from the netbook. The logic of the numbering system of the roads was simple. If I wasn’t so exhausted I would worked it out sooner. Or in advance. North/South was Odd, West/East Even. The car’s compass confirmed this. So from the Bushnell, Nebraska from I-80 I went approx 12 miles down Road 17 of gravel by myself, 4 or 5 miles along Road 9, 2 along 8, then bits of 6 and 5 before a final mile or so on a very narrow track straight to the High Point. Paid $3 in an envelope at an entry-point in the final section to the local ranch who own the land, I felt it was only fair and part of the experience, although others disagree apparently. Who cares? I’ll never give them money again in my life so enjoy it. Some of the Half Point purists walk the final mile or two to make it an achievement. I didn’t give a monkey’s today, took my temporary Dodge Durango SUV straight to the marker early this morning. Last night in Denver had taken a toll, but I hadn’t sacrificied it due to considering surrender at the Alamo.
I paced around for an extra 5-10 mins there by myself in the light with an pleasant high plains wind. Bison in the next field, wind turbines all around in the distance. Got a self-portrait of myself beside the marker stone at the summit. Maybe I’ll publish that one later. Probably looked terrible. Signed the book. Took too many pictures of the rental SUV beast trophy from last night, more about her later.
She’s got another major deficiency, other than the lack of a working trunk door. This of course was all overridden by her being “available” at a certain time and place late last nite. I’ll probably get even more discount out of Alamo before this is all over! More to follow about her pros and cons. Chortle. Chortle.
After that I came back out the same way as I came in. Didn’t even consider using the car’s compass and my fresh understanding of the back road numbering systems to cut the corner back into Wyoming in case some of the dirt tracks were dead-ends. I got faster on the tracked roads due to my confidence from the way in. These types of surfaces have different driving skills. With all gravel and dust thrown up you could see anyone coming for a mile or two on these dry roads!
Back onto I-80. West, flew back the way I’d come into Wyoming. Better shot of the border than last night offered from the Colorado side on I-25 before midnight.. Could see now see more of the highway on the Great Plains as the sun was higher. No mobile phone signal for a bit. It came in a few miles east of Cheyenne. Texted a short e-mail about conquering High Point #15 to my mother, the closest vehicle to me was 0.5 mile in front. Got her lengthy reply back within minutes just before I looped onto I-25 northbound. Decided it was best not to reply! With these spacious highways and less traffic, you start doing things you can’t consider back home as a sensible person!
It took a while to get to Thermopolis, I pushed non-stop apart from gas. Abandoning Cody for the 2nd night is a vindicated decision. It was great to watch the landscape change, but the final push to Cody today would possibly have finished me.
Up to Casper then across and eventually Thermopolis. I was aware of the fact I was going past some interesting places. Hell’s Half Acre’s sign posts for example jumped out as I drove adjacent to it. Famous place and close, I’d love to study all up the history and visit. However you can’t do it all, so I performed no U-Turn. In the final hour before Thermopolis I saw the Rockies in the background. Couldn’t quite work out if I could see the main peaks in the Grand Tetons from afar. Awesome, snow up top on the higher peaks. The next week etc. is going to be great.
Drinking the first beers of the US trip right now in the hotel at the Hot Springs with it’s convenient lounge. I need to get some sleep tonight before Yellowstone. Quite warm here, A/C’s cranked up high all around. Blue skies. The final bit on my drive here from Shoshone came through the Wind River Canyon which is spectacular after the dam.
Still on schedule. I’ve already done a massive mileage on this one, probably in excess of 600 miles already which is another tale I’ll add eventually to the SUV saga. One thing at a time. Most of it positive! In the good old days when I was younger I used to mess around in Boulder for 2 days after flying into Denver. Go to Irish Bars etc. Plan a gentle hike in a foothill. Nowadays in these troubled economic times no gentle easing in exists, who planned this trip anyway? That maniac deserves to be fired...
However I’ve now voluntarily placed myself into a self-documenting mode, for better or worse? Let me know what you think...
Stu B
Cheers,
Stu del B
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