Day 145 – August 2 – Rock Springs, Wyoming

First order of business today was to go to Moose Junction and see if we could get some Howling Wolf beer.  As we headed back to the main road, we had to wait for the bison herd to cross the road again.  They had been to the river for their morning drink and were headed back to graze.  Just as we were getting ready to move out, thinking they there all across, here came 2 or 3 running pretty fast to catch up with the herd.  We decided they had the right-of-way and waited for them.  I don’t think they would have waited for us.

We had to back track about 5 miles north, but it turned out the trip was worth it.  I went into the deli at Moose Junction and asked if they had the beer.  The guy at the register said the wine shop may have it but they didn’t open until 9; a 20 minute wait.  Just then a woman came in and asked what I needed, I explained and she said, “Come with me”.  I followed her to the wine shop and she unlocked the door and showed me where to find the beer.  I got two 6-packs and paid.  She locked the shop back up.  It was really nice of her to open it up just for me and I thanked her for doing that.

We turned south towards Rock Springs, where we will pick up interstate 80 east.  It was about 175 miles, so we plan to stop at Rock Springs for the night.  As we drove, Wyoming put on her own display of scenery.  We drove along the Snake River through a valley bordered with mountains on each side.  The river would trade sides of the road from time to time.  We climbed up a pass in the mountains and down the other side and then had the Hoback River playing the same game; going from side to side.  The bluffs were red and the pine trees were shining against the stones.  It was very pretty.

After a while the Hoback River turned off from the road and we started driving through high desert.  The landscape was flat and the sage brush was about all we saw for some time.  Then we saw a couple of Pronghorn Antelope on the side of the road.  I didn’t get stopped in time for Dorrie to take a picture, so we drove on.  Not too far down the road we saw a fair sized herd of antelope and we managed to get some pictures.

Less than 50 miles from Rock Springs we saw a motorhome on the side of the road and the remains of a tire on the road.  They were headed north and we were headed south.  I thought about it and decided to turn around and see if I could help.  We stopped and I asked if the rubber was from his trailer (he had a trailer with a car on it) or from the camper.  He said it was the camper.  He said he had called and the service he used was having a hard time finding a tire.  I said I have two and he could have one if he wanted it, but his tires were 255 X 70 X 22.5 and mine were 235X80X22.5.  He said he would wait and see what the service said when they called back.  I said if nothing else it would get him going if they couldn’t find a tire, but he declined.  So we turned around and headed back south.

We arrived in Rock Springs around 2 in the afternoon and parked on the Wal-Mart lot.  I got permission to stay while Dorrie got her hair cut in the store.  It was driving her crazy because it was so long.  Well, the girl took care of the long hair.  Dorrie thinks it is too short, but it looks good.