AND SO WE GO - EASTBOUND

Labor Day came and went and so did we after a last round of golf in SLC and a “Last Dinner” with friends;-)  Tuesday morning we headed east out of Park City with our first night’s destination of Centennial, WY.  It was a beautiful day with cloud cover making for interesting shadows as we crossed the rather barren landscape of WY. 

With little else to do but track our way across the Atlas – I noticed that just outside of Green River, WY (about 80 miles east of Evanston) resided the Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport!!  NO JOKE!  Seems that in 1994 NASA determined that Jupiter would be hit by up to 6 comets or meteors, possibly destroying any life on the planet.  Therefore, the Mayor and Council of Green River passed a resolution on July 5, 2004 allowing any citizens of Jupiter to take sanctuary in their town, authorizing NASA to “broadcast this offer to the possible residents of Jupiter and designating the aircraft landing field just south of the city as the Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport.”  To date – no Jovians have sought sanctuary in Green River;-(

Researching the above (and a nap or two for the passenger) took us to about the middle of WY – where we crossed the Continental Divide and shortly after turned onto WY 130, a wonderful, little two lane ‘green dot’ road!!  Boy were we happy to be back on a road like this – brought smiles to both of our faces.

Off on another "green dot" road...

WY 130 took us into the Medicine Bow National Forrest and across the Snowy Mountain Range – beautiful!!  At the beginning of this journey we ran into another interesting item to research.  There appeared to be a VERY BIG ranch just out of Saratoga, WY (just at the beginning of WY 130).  After miles of signs for this ranch – Brush Creek Ranch - more research was in order.   You can enjoy this wonderful 15,000 acre ranch for as little as $1200/night (off peak) for a lodge room to $4000/night for a Deluxe Log Cabin.  You really need to check this one out for your next family or business outing.  It is in a truly beautiful setting.

We – on the other hand – tooled down the road to our most hospitable friends ‘spread’ in Centennial and parked Magic proudly in their driveway;-)  AND – we had the most wonderful evening exploring their property, eating some wonderful WY beef that they grilled for us along with an outstanding bottle of wine and enjoying their company until late into the night. 

Our hosts' house can be seen in the background from our "camping spot".

The view of Magic from the house.

On the ranch tour with Frank, Judy and Tanner.

Truly a beautiful piece of property

Tanner clearly outweighs Elizabeth.

We also got a guided tour of Laramie in the morning before we continued on our travels east.  All in all – a wonderful stay in WY and we thank Frank and Judy for the friendship.

Next up – Gothenburg, NE.  “Why Gothenburg?” - you might ask.  Well, there was a write-up on a “Best Muni Golf Course” – so, we had to check it out.  Soooo, we found ourselves in the trees at the Lafayette Park Campground for a $15/night spot.  It was an early tee time – thank goodness – as it approached mid-90’s with a fairly high humidity factor by the time we were off the course.  It was an interesting round as the course is literally in the middle of the corn and hay fields.  I think the 150 yard markers were a reminder to all to keep up the pace of play or else ----

The Wild Horse links course amid the corn fields.

Very unusual 150 yards markers on the fairways.

Our travel route also approximates the Pony Express trail.  Therefore, it was no surprise that Gothenburg is the Pony Express Capital of Nebraska!!  This required a quick trip to the Pony Express Station and Fur Trading Post in Gothenburg before we continued our trek to Omaha.  Some facts that we did not know – the Pony Express Trail went thru Nebraska to Sacramento via Salt Lake City and also approximates the trail that the Mormons took from the east to SLC. 

 Pony Express station in Gothenburg, NE

Our arrival in Omaha was timed perfectly to get to our parking spot (no pictures needed of this one), change clothes and head to Omaha Prime for a good Omaha steak for dinner;-)

Here's the beef.

Other than eating steak – Omaha’s prime activity was the zoo.  Wonderful exhibits of the desert, rain forests, aquarium – and all the usual –

Very hot and humid at the Omaha Zoo...giraffes in the shade,

Rhinos in the mud, 

Geez can a guy get an umbrella up here?

Tomorrow we roll into the greater Chicago area to visit with more friends (Stinson’s).  There will be more dinners, drinks, conversation, Bear’s game, golf – and who knows what else?!?!?!?!

OH YES – forgot to mention a few little items.  Good thing we are headed to Red Bay for a few ‘corrections’ on the Bus.  While driving in WY, the turn signal indicator ‘arm’ came off in Gary’s hand.  Shortly after – the rear air conditioning unit made some awful sounds and ‘gave up the ghost’!!  Just hoping nothing that actually prevents us from travelling happens before we get to AL.

Fingers crossed for a few more days – E & G