I-80 and WYOMING

Evanston. You might say that Evanston is I-80's western anchor city. There are several good motels and restaurants, here.

Detour for Autumn Leaf-Lookers. Leaf-Lookers).

Fort Bridger. To experience the reconstructed Fort Bridger, take exit 34 and follow I-80-Business three miles to the Fort. You are encouraged to take the walking tour through the exhibit buildings. A cast of costumed (1840-50 era) folks help establish the atmosphere of Fort Bridger as it was back then. (Visit their web site: Fort Bridger.)

Little America. The size of the place has been a tourist attraction since it first opened over 60 years ago. One of the biggest gasoline stations you've ever seen (yes, they sell diesel, too) and about 140 hotel rooms all set in a tree-covered, college-like campus. And all this in the middle of nowhere?

Green River. This is the gateway to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Take exit 89 if eastbound and follow I-80-business to WY-530 (Uinta Drive). Turn right and head south. In Utah the highway is marked as UT-44. At the south end of the lake you will meet US-191. Turn left and follow 191 back north to I-80.
 If you are west bound, take exit 99 and follow US-191 south to the south end of the lake and the junction of UT-44. Turn right and follow 44 back into Wyoming (where it becomes WY-530) and I-80-Business in Green River. Turn left to get back to I-80 westbound.

Rock Springs. Another reminder that Wyoming is wild and rugged, yet still very civilized. The usual cultural activities are available in town. North of town (out US-191) is the Jack Morrow Hills operated by the Bureau of Land Management. (Go to Jack Morrow Hills and click on each outlined area for details.) Surrounded by unique rock formations, fancifully named to reveal what each looked like to the naming individual (e.g., Boar's Tusk) and only 7 miles from the second largest sand dunes in the U.S.A. Yes, you could spend some time here - if you had it.

Rawlins. Continuing east on I-80, you pass several more very small towns (usually less than 200 people). Exit 211 takes you into Rawlins on I-80-Business. Turn left on 6th Street, go two blocks and you're at the restored Wyoming Frontier Prison. They have created a tour which is not recommended for younger children though teenagers love it. It reveals an interpretation of what prison life may have been like during the Wyoming frontier days. There is an admission fee (when we were there it was $4.25 - 3.75 for seniors and children). (If they have a web site it is not functional.)

Fort Steele. Not quite 2 miles north of I-80 at exit 228 is the historic site of Fort Fred Steel. Built in the 1860s to guard local settlers and railroad workers, completion of the Union Pacific 30 years later removed the need for the U.S.Army to continue maintaining a presence here. By this time a town had been establish here and it wasn't about to die quietly - yet.
  In 1922 America's first transcontinental highway, US-30, was officially opened. Named the Lincoln Highway, it created an economic boost to many towns across western America. Now there was both the railroad and the highway; this should have guaranteed survival of Fort Steele.
  Uncle Sam gives - and Uncle Sam takes. In 1939 the highway was re-routed sucking the economic vitality from the town. Then, a little quirk of the natural terrain of Wyoming help assure the demise of the town of Fort Steel: it is a virtual wind tunnel. Ah, but there's more, much, much more at the official web site. (see: Fort Steele) By the way, it is more interesting to read about the site than to visit. We don't recommend a stop.

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Medicine Bow. From Walcott (exit 235) to to Little Laramie River (exit 297) you will be able to see the Medicine Bow Mountains to the south (your right if eastbound). A lovely scenic route can take you right over Snowy Range Pass with is in the shadow of Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 feet). The pass is almost 11,000 feet - about the easiest way to climb a 12,000 foot mountain. The road is closed during the snow season (inquire locally). 
 Just take exit 235 at Walcott and follow WY-130 all the way, over the pass, to Laramie at exit 311.
Note: the other, slightly shorter, peak next to Medicine Bow Peak is Sugarloaf Mountain. There is a string of beautiful, Alpine lakes along an extended mesa just east of the peak. You'll see a forest road on your left about 2.5 miles beyond the pass. There are also several lakes right at the pass with convenient pull-offs but we likes the ones on the east side of Sugarloaf much better (and there was no one else there).

Laramie. Laramie (and West Laramie) are accessed from exits 310 through 316. For a drive-through, we recommend taking exit 313 and follow the US-30 signs to the center of town. Watch for the right turn at Grand Avenue - the US-30 sign there is easy to miss.
 If you have time to stop a while, there are several interesting walking tours. Phone (toll-free) 1-800-445-5303 for an information packet. Even if you can't stop, it is interesting to read through all the stuff they have assembled for tourists.
 US-30 rejoins I-80 at exit 316 but you're not really finished with Laramie, yet. There are two monuments, both at scenic overlooks, that are worth visiting. 

Lincoln Monument. The first is the Lincoln Monument at exit 323. America's first transcontinental highway, opened to traffic in 1922, was officially named Lincoln Highway. This became US-30 across most of the country to the WY-UT border (US highways were numbered from east to west and north to south - just the opposite of the Interstate system). The old 'named' highways have long since been forgotten but, somehow, the repeated efforts to preserve the knowledge of the Lincoln highway persists. What we have included here is a very brief overview. To read more about this fascinating story, view: Lincoln Highway. The stone Lincoln Monument was placed at Sherman Peak by US-30 (Lincoln Highway) to mark the highest point of the transcontinental highway. Now placed in the rest area at exit 323 so travelers may appreciate it and the history of the highway (now I-80) which has been so important to the economic growth of the U.S.A.

Henry Joy Monument. (For information about the contribution of Henry Joy, see the article at 'Lincoln Highway'). The Henry Joy monument was originally sited just west of Rawlins but moved to the Summit Rest Area at exit 323.

Ames Monument. A pyramid-shaped stone mass at exit 329 was built be the Union Pacific Railroad to honed Oliver and Oakes Ames, influential in the early construction efforts of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad.

Cheyenne. I-80 meets I-25 at exit 359, just west of Cheyenne. I-80 slices through Cheyenne, then to Pine Bluffs and the Nebraska border.
 Cheyenne Gunslingers. Unfortunately, this 'show' is only put on during June and July - but, if you might be coming through here during those months, it is an annual event. A very, family-oriented affair (no embarrassing language of fake blood, etc., it is a loose portrayal (exaggerated, of course) of a series of Old West situations: jail break, hanging (but he doesn't get hanged) and a fast-draw shoot-out. It is a lot of fun for both the children and the adults. For more information, stop by the Old-West Soda Bar at 203 w 17th Street (at Capital Street). The gun fights, etc., are put on in the Old Town Square, a block from the Soda Bar (US-30 - which is Lincolnway - and Carey Avenue). They have a very different web site at: GunSlingers.
  Trolley Tour. If you have time to take about a two hour break from driving, stop by the Cheyenne Visitors Center (309 W Lincolnway - which is old US-30) and buy tickets ($8 for the big guys and $4 for kids) and get a fun tour, fully narrated, of town. For specifics, phone the Visitors Bureau (toll-free) at 1-800-426-5009.
 Cowgirls of the West. Perhaps this is cheating - we haven't been there (in fact we only found out about it on the Internet). This is a brand new museum dedicated to the achievements of women in the West. No, they weren't all 'cowgirls' but their web site makes the place seem very intriguing. We'd like to hear from anyone who has visited the place at 218 West 17th Street (right near the Gun-Slingers place).
(Visit Cowgirls)

^{contributed by Bob Masters}

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