Day 26: Still on the Road
Today was one of our longest drive days in a while. Knowing that, we packed up and headed back to the Dinosaur NP for a morning hike to get some energy out. The boys wanted to go back into the exhibit for a second look, so we did that first.
During the fossil hike we saw a couple of more fossils, enjoyed the cool, cloudy fresh air, and then headed back to the RV.
The drive started off with a bit of a surprise when we were in a neighborhood and had to cross a bridge with a 6-ton weight limit (we are 9 tons). There was no turning around, but I also reasoned that we never had more than 6 tons on the tiny bridge at once due to our length. Happy to report that we crossed the bridge and nothing collapsed.
Today’s road was more of the same bumpy, no shoulder, two-lane road. We spiced up the sage brush again with a little time in a mountain pass with aspens and grass. A bit exhausting to drive, but doable. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Flaming Gorge, named after how it looks when the sun shines on the red rocks. Rob usually gets the short end of the driving stick: I do the hours to start, we do lunch and then he drives for a bit before I finish the final hours. He has the hardest job because post-lunch sleepiness is very hard to fight on these roads. Today seemed extra tough, so after a brief snooze I was back behind the wheel while he took a nap in the back.
We entered Rock Springs, Wyoming, which is not my favorite place. Eight years ago, we were flying over there on the way to Denver, and it was so bumpy that I was sick for hours. I vowed to never go back. Wouldn’t you know it, today’s fuel stop was in Rock Springs. All three boys thought it was hilarious as they all knew my passion to never go back. It ended up being a great town filled with all their favorite restaurants and the kicker was that the gas station was even named Kelly’s and had amazing squeegees. I took my words back and said it might not be the worst place ever after all. It made them all smile in victory.
We finished up our last two hours of driving and ended at another great camping spot that Rob found. This one has horses freely eating from the grass between camp spots. We are dry camping again, but the boys were both able to take showers while we were at the dump station, just like they did when we took our first trip.
Tonight’s dinner was a “clean out the fridge” meal. Frozen dumplings, hot dogs, and edamame for the win.
Tomorrow’s drive should be a nice short one: only two hours to get to Jackson, our home for the next nine nights.