August 2023

Travel - Steamboat to The National Parks

 

If you have read my other stories in my blog, they have all been about solo road trips. In 2020 I wrote about 48 states in 48 days, in 2021 I wrote about Prince Edward Island and the coast of Oregon and California and in 2022 a trip across Canada. For this year’s trip, I convinced my wife, Michele, to join me and we set off to visit a handful of National Parks in the US and Canada.

 

Backstory: In July of this year I drove to Colorado, picked up Michele in Denver and headed up to the mountains for a two-week stay. Knowing we would be coming back out this way in a little over 3 weeks, I left my car in the Denver Airport at an extended stay economy lot and flew home.

 

Day 1: Steamboat, CO to Rock Springs, WY.

I picked Michele up in Steamboat, it’s a long story, but we had planned our 4^th annual trip to Steamboat with our group of Denver friends. The plan was us to fly out of Boston on Wednesday, pick my car up at the airport in Denver, spend one night in town and then head up to Steamboat for 3 days of fun in the mountains. On Wednesday morning I woke up not feeling great, and in fact had body aches since Sunday. Out of an abundance of caution I tested for Covid, and was positive. Michele tested negative so off she went. Using what I think the latest CDC guidance is, I stayed isolated until Saturday (5 days from 1^st symptoms) flew to Denver and stayed in a hotel near the airport and met Michele at noon in Steamboat, after our friends had left.

From Steamboat we headed north to Craig, Colorado, then directly north to the Wyoming border and 1-80 Westbound. This drive triggered a memory from when I first got out of college and was working for a finance company in Denver. My job was to visit the Appliance, Television and Motorcycle dealers we financed and check their inventory once a month. If they sold something and had not paid us, I collected the money. Normally my route took me east out of Denver once a month, but one time, I think in May, I switched routes with the guy I worked with and did his route, which took me to Steamboat, Craig and then up this same road to Rawlings, WY. Back then, it was Prairie dog mating season. The prairie dogs were crossing the highway in alarming numbers. This first time I saw one, I braked to avoid it. Further on up the road there was no avoiding them, I ended up just cringing and running them over. The Prairie Dogs were safe today and I got through the area with only a little PTSD.

 

The pictures attached are from Wamsutter, WY. We stopped here because good friends of ours have a daughter who lives here. We didn’t try to catch up with her, but we had to say we stopped. The town is just a truck stop and some homes half-way between Rawlins and Rock Springs. She has made a nice little life of it here and I can tell you it sure looks better in August then when I have stopped here in January, but it really is in the middle of nowhere.

We pulled into Rock Springs and checked to what looks like a new Holiday Inn Express and it really exceed my expectations. I drove through Rock Springs last winter on the way to Jackson Hole and on that route, there was nothing but a McDonalds, a Best Western and some gas stations. Just a few more exits west on the highway is new part of town with a Walmart, a ton of restaurants and many hotels. We will prepare for our first National Park of the trip tonight and be heading out first thing tomorrow.