It was still snowing off and on this morning when I set off. Overnight there was only an additional inch of snow so the roads weren't too bad. However, there were some slick patches to watch out for.
I passed over the Continental Divide before long at 7,000 feet above sea level (Gee...I somehow feel so divided about doing so. Groan. Guess it's all down hill from here. Double-groan. OK I'll stop now).
After fueling in Rawlins, I began my journey north/north-east towards Rapid City, SD and I-90 east. SD-287 is a two-lane, well-groomed road that goes from Rawlins to Yellowstone National Park (if you go that far). The scenery is kind of like traveling through wheat field country (but no wheat) with a ring of mountains surrounding you from a distance (or if you took a frosted flake, magnified it 1,000 times, and then traveled throughout the landscape). As you approach the far side of the ring, you pass through into another new "wheat field-like" setting with a new ring of mountains in the distance. Also, it totally stopped snowing as soon as I entered SD-287. Even so, there was snow all around from the previous day(s) (hence the frosted flake analogy. And no, I didn't eat frosted flakes for breakfast.)
It was mainly two lane all the way to Rapid City where I'm staying for the night. Around Casper, WY, the sun broke out into blue skies (time to get out the sun glasses!). Heading east on US 18, I saw some coal train progressions. In fact, within about 10-miles, I saw 5-6 caravans of coal cars. Although I don't have an exact count, I bet there were between 150-200 coal cars in one train unit. That's around 1,000 train car loads of coal that I saw go by (some were heading in the opposite direction having been already unloaded). The energy needed to pull that amount of weight is mind-boggling. Yet there were only 2 locomotives in the front, and one or two locomotives in the back. Needless to say, it took a while for the train to reach it's traveling speed!
Arrived at Rapid City, SD and it's around 10-below-zero. If the temperature continues to drop and the wind picks-up, it's gonna be cold!
After calling the family, it's time to turn in. I thought about taking a shower, but I don't want my hair to freeze by the time I walk back to the truck! Tomorrow, if all goes as planned, I'll be in Wisconsin (but not yet home). I'll be early with the load so they I'll probably drop in the drop yard near Green Bay and then eventually take another load to the drop yard in Oak Creek. Then it's home!
Oh yeah, Milwaukee supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow tonight. I believe this is the same storm that closed I-80 across portions of Nebraska this morning. If so, the trip planners did a great job getting me around the storm (for the most part) so I wasn't stuck anywhere. And they did this before it even started snowing (when I was still in California). I'm impressed. I'm hoping by tomorrow, the roads will be cleaned up enough so that the driving will be good as I follow in the path of the storm. We'll see....
miles driven = 563
PostScript: I forgot to mention Wyoming's snow fences (to prevent blowing and drifting on the roads). If you ever decide to put a snow fence up on your property be sure to consult with the Wyoming DOT. They've got it down to a science--how to make 'em, how to place 'em, how to stagger 'em, how close to the road they should be, etc. It was interesting to see all the various ways they "planted" their snow fences along the drive today.
7:54:00 PM
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