Right up until the truck pulled out of the driveway and it was pointed north, I was not sure the trip was happening. On again, off again and emotional highs and lows kept me in doubt for a few weeks. But medical issues aside, the trip was on! In the passenger seat was a Wyoming first timer and most eager passenger. The early morning air was electric with excitement and expectations.
I'm a Missouri boy but since my first trip to Wyoming and the Wild West, I've been hooked and even tell folks that Wyoming is my adopted home. My eager passenger who also happens to be my niece, Josie, was more than ready to get out there and see this enchanted land. Because of my autoimmune issues, and my wife Stachia's insistence, I needed a trustworthy traveling companion who, if the occasion presented itself, be someone who would be able to take care of me. This was Josie who was more than capable to take on this task. Besides, the only thing greater than a trip out west is taking someone for their first time. The weather was good, expectations high, truck packed and the event was on.
My least favorite part of the trip is the first 700 miles. Until I cross that Wyoming state line it is just windshield time, music jammin' and a whole lot of flat nothing (Sorry Nebraska). Multiple phone calls seemed to break up the trip a bit. Stachia checking up on me? No. How's Josie? Are you taking care of her? Stopping and taking a break every now and then? Wait a minute here. I thought I was the one who needed looking after... Yes mam, she is fine and we are getting along great. This will not be the last interrogation of me over Josie's wellbeing, but little did they know, it was my pleasure to make sure this trip was perfect.
Periods of talking about various subjects, periods of extended silence and a whole lot of singing to the radio kept us sane across the Great Plains. After a mandatory stop and mother approved bathrooms, we crossed the Missouri River from Iowa to Nebraska and gave Josie her first new state. Little did we know it was to be a trip filled with construction zones, one after another. So many that it became the joke of the trip. Leaving Lincoln, you guessed it, a construction zone getting on I-80, we were finally and officially westward bound. Our goal for the day was a little town in central Wyoming called Wheatland, about 800 miles into the trip. But first, crossing into Wyoming the phone rang...another Josie checkup. We gained Josie another state.
Eastern Wyoming is full of rolling hills, desert and a whole lot of wide-open spaces. I assured Josie that the better and more scenic part of the state lay ahead and not to judge until all the evidence was in. Reaching Cheyenne, we turned north through more wide-open spaces and vistas as far as you can see. After Cheyenne, there is a definite lack of rest stops, connivence stores or any other civilization. Just antelopes and desert. I expected a phone call but luckily there was no cell service. Pulling into the small town of Chugwater, I was redeemed. Rest stop, bathroom duties done and a cooler check later, we were back on the road. The cooler was our version of the refrigerator and cafe combo, road trip style.
We pulled into Wheatland just before dark and got our room. Day number one under our belts and it was time for a good night's rest and back on the road tomorrow. The Motel 6 felt the need to decorate their lobby with spooky, scary doll's heads for Halloween. I could have done without that nightmare.
Tomorrow....Big Horn Mountains and Big Horn Canyon.
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