Wednesday, July 15, 2009

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.

Jul 15

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.

1274 Lone Tree in median I 80 Mile 333 WY1273 Lincoln Highway Marker at Lone Tree in median I 80 Mile 333 WY1271 Lone Tree in median I 80 Mile 333 WY

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.

1286 Ames Monument WY1287 Ames Monument WY1298 Ames Monument WY

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.

1293 Pronghorn at Ames Monument WY1302 Prairie Dogs at Ames Monument WY1303 Prairie Dogs at Ames Monument WY

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.

1305 View of I 80 From Summit Hill WY1308 View of I 80 From Summit Hill WY

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.

1311 Summit Rest Area  I 80 WY1313 Summit Rest Area  I 80 WY

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.

1324 Lincoln at Summit Rest Area  I 80 WY1314 Summit Rest Area  I 80 WY1326 View of I 80 from Summit Rest Area  I 80 WY

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.

1334 Lincoln Monument at Summit Rest Area  I 80 WY1335 Lincoln Monument at Summit Rest Area  I 801336 Lincoln Monument at Summit Rest Area  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.

1337 Wyoming Territorial Park Prison that held Butch Cassidy Laramie WY1350 Wyoming Territorial Park Prison that held Butch Cassidy Laramie WY1358 Wyoming Territorial Park Prison that held Butch Cassidy Laramie WY

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.

1375 Snowy Mountain west of Laramie WY1376 Snowy Mountain west of Laramie WY1378 Snowy Mountain west of Laramie WY

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.

1379 Original Lincoln Highway near Rock River WY1380 Original Lincoln Highway near Rock River WY

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.

1388 Hostler's General Store Rock River WY1389 Hostler's General Store Rock River WY1381 Longhorn Lodge Rock River WY1382 Longhorn Lodge Rock River WY1386 Double Shot Bar Rock River WY

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.

1392 Road Construction between Rock River & Medicine Bow WY1394 Road Construction between Rock River & Medicine Bow WY1399 Road Construction between Rock River & Medicine Bow WY

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.

1401 Fossil Cabin between Rock River & Medicine Bow WY

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.

1404 Between Rock River & Medicine Bow WY1405 Between Rock River & Medicine Bow WY1406 Between Rock River & Medicine Bow WY

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.

1411 The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY1412 The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY1415 The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY1414 The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY1441 The Virginian Hotel at Medicine Bow WY1442 The Virginian Hotel at Medicine Bow WY

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

1417 Inside The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY1420 Inside The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY1423 Inside The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY1426 Inside The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY 1425 Inside The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY1427 Inside The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY

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

1421 Desserts at The Virginian Hotel Medicine Bow WY

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.

1438 Lincoln Highway Concrete Marker at Medicine Bow Museum Medicine Bow WY1439 Lincoln Highway Concrete Marker at Medicine Bow Museum Medicine Bow WY1435 Medicine Bow Museum Medicine Bow WY

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

1449 View of Mountains between Medicine Bow & Hanna WY1450 View of Mountains between Medicine Bow & Hanna WY1452 View of Mountains between Medicine Bow & Hanna WY

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.

1457 Road between Medicine Bow & Hanna Wy1459 Road between Medicine Bow & Hanna Wy1464 Road between Medicine Bow & Hanna Wy

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

1467 Parco Inn Sinclair Wy1470 Parco Inn Sinclair Wy1473 Parco Inn Sinclair Wy

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

1475 Ghost Sign Strand Theater Rawlins WY1476 Strand Theater Rawlins WY

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.

1477 Train at Point of Rocks WY1478 Point of Rocks WY1479 Point of Rocks WY

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

1483 View between Point of Rocks and Rock Springs WY1484 View between Point of Rocks and Rock Springs WY

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

1485 Welcome to Rock Springs WY

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

Tomorrow we are heading to Evanston Wyoming.

2 comments:

  1. Wow! What fabulous photos Bill....the sights you are seeing are fabulous....must be really something to be right at the spot of every photo you are putting on your site. That Lone Tree was something eh as well as the prison that held Butch Cassidy as well as the view from up on top of the summit. Great idea to have your site as it will always be there as a treasure and reminder of all that you have seen. Glad to see you included Karen's desserts today! (ha).
    Paul Mac

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  2. Your photos are all so beautiful and your trip is almost overwhelming for those of us who can't make it too far from home this year. Looking forward to the rest — best of luck!

    I hope you don't mind that I post a story about your trip on my Lincoln Highway News blog. www.lincolnhighwaynews.com

    Thanks,
    Brian Butko

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