It's always fun traveling across the salt flats between Wendover and Salt Lake City. Today the smog was so thick that we could hardly make out the Wasatch Mountains - only the snow-covered tops showed above the smog. We were lucky that the traffic around SLC was going the opposite way as we were heading east. Driving up the pass through the Wasatch is fun with spectacular views, Park City is a great ski area and the homes there are fantastic.
Crossing into Wyoming at Evanston, we stopped at the Bear River Rest Area/State Park and checked out the exhibits of how the pioneers came through there. There was a fenced-in area in the back which had two bison busily comping the grass. Sign said "Bison are Dangerous", but these two looked more content to eat grass than charge any unsuspecting tourists. Saw an interesting display which explained the difference between bison and buffalo. I know the North Dakota crowd is very familiar with the difference, but it was interesting to learn the distinction.
The speed limit in Wyoming is 80 mph, similar to the new raised limits on I-80 in Nevada. I was reminded of the fact that, back in the day, the speed limit out West was reasonable and prudent. In other words, you could go as fast as you wanted. If you got in an accident, it obviously wasn't reasonable or prudent :-). That all ended when the federal government mandated the 55 mph and threatened to cut off federal funding for highways if states didn't follow the rules. Nowadays, the states can determine their own speed limits once again.
Driving through Wyoming on I-80 is always fascinating. It is a state which has a lot of everything (except people) - oil, coal, pronghorn antelope, cattle, cowboys, oil wells, etc. We saw several cowboys out rounding up sheep and cattle - neat touch of the Old West. At Rawlins, we headed north up toward Casper. Again, it was one awesome view after another as we crested one ridge, travelled through the valley, and then crested another mountain range. I think we crossed the continental divide at least three times in Wyoming - all of them at elevations greater than 6700'.
One interesting historic spot was Independence Rock. We last visited that location in May 2015 when we were returning from our annual trip. It's called Independence Rock because it is the location the wagon trains hoped to make by July 4th - the midway point on their trip from St Louis to Sacramento.
Arrived in Casper to thunder and lightning which has continued through the evening. We're actually out in the suburbs of Casper which has really grown in recent years. Subdivisions, shopping centers, restaurants, etc. abound!
Tomorrow we're heading to western North Dakota. Not sure exactly where we're going to stay, but probably somewhere in the Bowman area.
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