Day 10 Summer Vacation 2009

We left Cheyenne shortly after breakfast. There isn’t much of the original or 2nd generation Lincoln Highway left in Wyoming. Most of it has been torn up, or buried underneath Interstate 80. The second generation Lincoln Highway is what is now known as US 30 and that is what most people consider to be The Lincoln Highway. The third generation is what is now Interstate 80. We are in search of the Lincoln Highway that was the original, before there ever was a US 30 or an I 80. Here is our route for today.

Just West of Cheyenne there is one section of original Lincoln Highway that was preserved by widening the median between the Eastbound I 80 and the Westbound I 80. This little patch of land is known as Lonetree, because of the single tree that is growing up through the rocks. There isn’t a tree to be seen for miles in any direction. This spot is also marked with a Lincoln Marker painted on a post.

West of Lonetree we came to the Ames Monument. This is a large pyramid that was built by the Union Pacific Railroad to honour the Ames brothers for their involvement in building the first coast to coast railroad.

While we were at Ames Monument, we were able to enjoy some of the wildlife that was nearby. A prong horn and some prairie dogs.

We then got off the Interstate at another small section of the Lincoln Highway that was not removed or buried and headed on up Summit Hill. The view from up here, looking down on the Interstate was fantastic.

I don’t imagine that anyone gets off the Interstate to come up here and see this view, Unless you are searching for original sections of the Lincoln Highway, how would you know about this spot. Mostly everyone will take the off ramp and pull in to the Summit Rest Stop and think that they are seeing a great view, but they haven’t been up here on the top of Summit Hill. We did go into the Rest Area and that was worth the visit, but being at the top of Summit Hill was the best.

There is a large monument of Lincoln here, and a small Lincoln Highway display inside the rest area building and the view wasn’t bad from behind the glass windows of the rest area building.

Here is a better look at the Lincoln Statue, he doesn’t look very happy. Perhaps he is upset at all the speeders as he gazes down on I 80.

Next stop was in Laramie Wyoming. We wanted to stop at The Wyoming Territorial Prison which has been restored. This is the prison that held Butch Cassidy. There are lots more photos of the prison on my Flickr site.

In downtown Laramie we stopped for a bite to eat and then moved on towards Rock River Wyoming. Along the way we could see snow capped mountains off in the distance. It is 28 C and not a cloud to be seen where I stepped out of the car to take these photos.

Near Rock River there is another piece of the original Lincoln Highway, but you cannot go on it, because it is private land. So we just parked and pretended that we drove on it.

We stopped in Rock River for a look around, not much in this 4 building town. There is Hostler’s General Store with their Lincoln Gas Pump, The Longhorn Lodge, the Longhorn Restaurant and the Double Shot Bar.

Between Rock River WY and Medicine Bow WY we got stuck in some road construction. We had to wait about 20 minutes for an escort vehicle to arrive to escort us through the construction.

Unfortunately because of this construction and the escort we were unable to leave the road to visit the Fossil Cabin. This cabin is made entirely out of dinosaur bones. It would have been neat to see. Karen did manage to snap a photo as we drove past.

We saw this very odd something in the middle of a field. Still unsure what it is, perhaps a hay stack ?? Whatever it is, it is huge.

In Medicine Bow is The Virginian Hotel. The hotel is thought to be named for the famous novel written in Medicine Bow, The Virginian, by Owen Wister.

Inside the Virginian was like stepping back in time to the early 1900’s

Of course we had to sample the home made pies and ice cream. Karen had the Pecan Pie and I had the Peach Pie.

Across the road from The Virginian Hotel is the Medicine Bow Museum. There is a Lincoln Highway Concrete Marker here as well as a pyramid made out of petrified wood. Although we did not go inside the museum, there was lots to see outside on the property.

West of Medicine Bow we saw another snow capped mountain and some wind turbines

Between Medicine Bow WY and Hanna WY the Lincoln Highway stretches out ahead of us and meanders across the land till it reaches the horizon. You don’t see this kind of beauty if you are on the Interstate blasting along at 80 mph. You certainly can’t pull over on the Interstate to take photos.

In Sinclair Wyoming is the Parco Inn, another impressive building.

In Rawlins WY we came across the Strand Theater with its ghost sign.

We raced along beside a Union Pacific train as we drove through Point of Rocks Wy. On the opposite side of the road is the reason why this is called Point of Rocks Wyoming.

Between Point of Rocks WY and Rock Springs WY were some more impressive rock formations.

We arrive in Rock Springs Wyoming where we have hotel reservations for tonight.

To see all of todays photos, you can check them out on my FLICKR site.

Tomorrow we are heading to Evanston Wyoming.