We left Westminster, CO about 11:15 A.M. bound for Salt Lake City, UT with a scheduled overnight stay in Rawlins, WY.  Weather & road conditions were excellent.  Our initial route is along secondary roads northwest towards Fort Collins, CO which avoids following minor roads through the Rocky Mountains.  An hour out we stop at what is probably the last Dunkin Donuts until we get to Salt Lake City.  Got to have our Dunkin.  Our thermos cups will keep it hot for about 1 1/2 hours.  Love that technology.  We enter Wyoming about 1:30 P.M.  It’s Sunday and there is not a lot of traffic on the road; at least compared to Colorado.  The scenery is beautiful but after a while it sort of all melds together.  Obviously there are a lot of farms & ranches in Wyoming as there is a lot of pastureland along I-80.  Occasionally you see cattle, but not a lot compared to the size of the pastures.  You rarely see the ranch or farm house.  I did see some trash and recycling containers alongside the roads that probably leads to their houses.  Gives a new meaning to “son, it’s time to take out the trash” (that’s why they start driving their pickup trucks by the time they are 12).  I did notice a lot of travel rigs on the road.  I’m thinking if you live here when you go shopping you better have a camper.  In high winds and bad weather they have remotely controlled gates to shut down the interstate.  If you need a safe haven in those conditions you better take it with you.  I’m not saying it’s a day trip to go shopping but there has to be an explanation why some exits along the road just say “Exit ##” – no name like “nobody lives here”, just Exit ##.  In short it’s pretty but, there is not a lot to look at.  It helps explain the 80 MPH speed limit.  Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a plane fly over Wyoming.  My mind wanders as we travel along – do these people live close enough to each other to qualify as “neighbors”, is State Farm licensed to do business in Wyoming?

Ride through parts of Wyoming with us

About 3:30 P.M. we called it a day and moved in to our lodging at the Fairfield Inn in Rawlins, WY.

Around dinner time we started researching where we might dine.  We found a Thai restaurant a little over a mile away called Anong’s Thai.  When Jeanne asked the front desk clerk if she knew about the place her response was “I’ve never heard of the place”.  Fortunately we had an address and the GPS knew where it was.  Thai food in Rawlins, WY?  We are on an adventure.  Sometimes you find a treasure when you go out on a limb.  This was one of those times.  The complimentary cup of sweet & sour soup was excellent.  The crab Rangoon appetizers we ordered were also as was my sweet & sour chicken with rice.  Jeanne enjoyed an excellent curry dish.  Highly recommend a visit if you are in town.

All in all it was a great day.

Monday morning we hit the road about 10:00 A.M. to finish our journey to Salt Lake City, UT about 300 miles distant.  The scenery is similar to yesterday but eventually becomes more mountainous.  We enter Utah about 1:45 P.M. and decide to have lunch at Arby’s.  After lunch we are treated to a special ride coming down the mountains.  The trip down lasted at least five minutes.  I video taped it after we started down.  Unfortunately I could not load it into the blog program.  I will try to post it on Facebook.  We arrived at the Residence Inn in downtown Salt Lake City about 3:45 glad to be ahead of the afternoon traffic rush.

This was our ride from Rawlins to Salt Lake City

Dinner turned out to be a couple of tacos and a beer at a mixer right in the hotel at a complimentary mixer.  What a great way to finish the day.

For the next week we will be doing some genealogy research at the Church of Latter Day Saints facility (Ancestry.com headquarters) as well as some touring of Salt Lake City & vicinity attractions.