Our Trek - Day Five (July 24)

On day five, we left Estes Park heading north. Our agenda for the day was to visit the town of Rawlins, Wy. where my family lived when I was about 2 years old. My parents have not been back there in the 30+ years since they left. They wanted to see the town, church etc.
Leaving Estes Park took us through Big Thompson Canyon. This was a beautiful place with the river following the road and tall canyon walls on either side of us. I did not take any pics, but Joel had the video camera on. This road was winding and our son's tummy couldn't handle his breakfast and the curves at the same time. He ended up throwing up in the car. Obviously, we had to pull over to the side of the road to clean him and the car up. But one thing about camping, we had everything we needed (clorox wipes, trash bags, change of clothes, etc) with us.
Our journey took us through Loveland and Ft. Collins, Co. Once we got into WY, we went through Medicine Bow National Forrest via Snowy Range Road. This was a very beautiful drive with pullouts for spectacular views of scenery. While at one of these pullouts, we saw a yellow-bellied marmot. We also enjoyed the plant life we saw. This was a great drive.
We spent about an hour in Rawlins, Wy where we visited the church where my Dad pastored, the site of the house we lived in, the hospital where my brother was born and the prison my dad ministered in.
Then it was on to Rock Springs, WY where we camped at a KOA. This is an interesting part of the country. It looks like how I imagined the old west. And the night we camped there was an extremely windy night. It made me realize just how tough conditions can be there. While we were doing our laundry in the campground laundry room, we talked to a woman who was in Wy to work on the natural gas pipeline being built. She was working as a welder's apprentice. She is from FL, but she and her boyfriend were living in their camper at this campground (as were many people camped here) so they could work this temporary job that pays a lot of money. The wind, the sand blowing around, the people following jobs, etc. made me realize I was in a modern day cowboy town. The people aren't following cattle jobs or chasing gold mines, but they are following pipeline jobs and chasing large paychecks. There was a certain feel of excitement and adventure to it all!We went to bed to the sound of loudly howling wind whippping the tent around. At about midnight, I woke up noticing the sound of the wind was gone, but the noise from the interstate and the trains went on all night. This is a busy little part of the world.
To see all the photos from day five, click here. (once you get to the album, click on "view as a slideshow" on the right side of the page.)

(photos by Leah Belle @Sweet Tea are copyrighted and may not under any
circumstances be used without express permission)