Boston or Bust: Day 5

We woke up to bright sunshine at around 6:45am and got the day started. By 8:00am we were rolling down the gravel road towards Highway 20 full of coffee and a mix of instant oatmeal, creamy rice, and trail mix. We polished off breakfast with the last of the Nyssa, OR, apples.

A couple of small towns later we were in Themopolis and seeing signs for “The World’s Largest Mineral Hot Springs”. We made our way to one marked as “State of Wyoming Bath House” and had a great conversation with Kathy who was the current operator.  The facility consists of two pools, one indoor, the other partially covered and outdoors. The temperature is perfect, around 104, and we soaked for 10 minutes while enjoying conversations with the other travelers. One set was heading to Jackson, before going to Yellowstone, so we passed on our recently gained knowledge. The bath is free, a product of the 1896 deal with the Shoshoni Chief Washaki when the settlers bought rights to the land to start a town. 

We took advantage of the showers and the free wifi to get both clean and post the blog entry for Day 3. We rolled out of Thermopolis around 10:45, later than I wanted but adding pictures to the blog can sometimes take awhile since they have to upload first. 

Wow! Wind Canyon just south of Thermopolis will forever be what I picture when I think of a steep sided and beautifully colored gorge. You can see over a billion years worth of Earth’s history in the layers of rocks as you drive by them. To the right of us was the roaring, churning river that appeared to be flowing uphill at times due to the layers of rock it had cut though. Native Americans had seen this effect as well, and had given the river two names: upstream from the canyon it is Wind River, but downstream from the canyon it is called Bighorn River.

We left the gorge and entered rolling prairie that stretches out as far as the eye can see in all directions. Mountains break up the horizon, and oil rigs pop up from time to time. Highway 20 is broken up with tiny towns that more often than not don’t even include a population on their entering signs, just an elevation. 

We followed the Highway 20 Bypass around Casper and began following the same road the early Oregon pioneers did along the North Platte River. After Glenrock, we were forced back onto I-25. We got back off in Douglas, WY, the birthplace of the famous Jackalope! We also used this stop to restock on fruits, veggies, ice, and gas. We were back onto I-25 for a short trip to Orin, where Highway 20 begins anew.

It has become a game to remember to take pictures of either the colorful “Welcome to (city name)” signs or the sign that indicates population and elevation. Some of these tiny groups of houses are literally “blink and you’ll miss it” places. We love going through all of them, big and small. The record so far for smallest is Lost Springs, WY, with a population of 4.

We did our selfie stop at the border of Wyoming and Nebraska around 6:30, and drove six miles before seeing a little run down RV park and thought we’d ask about parking there for the night. Dusty wanted $65 a night for a hotel room, but was willing to let us park in the empty RV park for $10. The combination of not having to dig catholes and no worries of breaking trespassing laws, made that amount more than worth it. So we got change for a $20 and made Harrison, NE, home for the night. 

Dark clouds to the east started to worry us, so we put our “tarp over the back of the hatchback” plan into action. The wind never let up, but the combination of magnets and old hooks attached to various parts of the car gave us confidence that the old tent cover wouldn’t make a run a crossed the field and escape. We were able to have part of the cover hooked inside the car and used the closed doors as another securing device. Not having the open place at the bottom of the hatch as an airflow opening made the inside of the car slow to cool down, and around 2am the wind had worked part of the cover loose causing a hook to thump the top of the car. Rain hadn’t come at that point and I took the noisemaking cover down and crammed it into the driver’s side. Considering it was our first attempt at preparing for rain, I feel pretty good. I fell back to sleep until the breaking dawn woke me up again. Sleep continued to elude Shar, who had the full moon shining in her eyes.

Milage Travelled: 304

City/Towns Passed: Worland, Kirby, Lucerne, Thermopolis, Shoshoni, Moneta, Hiland, Waltman, Powder River, Natrona, Casper, Shawnee, Lost Springs, Keeline, Lusk, Node, VanTassell. Harrison 

Temperature at 10:00am: 77