Juliacentralicious

Wyoming: Pepsi is Proudly Made There

The plan was to cut up north about midway through the state to hit Thermopolis, which is home to the dinosaur center, and then to continue east. As a result, we ended up on the smaller roads, which were positively gorgeous. There was just so much space. Positively breathtaking (and no, I didn't actually take any pictures. You have the internet, go google it or something). A moment of silence for how much I loved Wyoming.


Sometime in the early afternoon, we were barely into the state, and damn tired. We were grouchy and neither of us wanted to drive, so I decided that it was naptime. The state park we found wanted to charge us to get in, so instead we found a comfy extra-wide shoulder on the road by the highway and took forty winks. I awoke maybe half an hour later (after much fiddling with the windows and trying to ignore the roaring semis) to a highway patrolman knocking at my window. Crap. I frantically checked for posted signs against roadside naps while handing over my license. He assured me he was just checking to make sure we were OK, but then commandeered my license and sat in his car for a good five minutes with it. Finally he returns with a small slip of blue paper—why? Why a ticket??— He goes on to explain that he's checked the small box that states it is not a citation, and he has also meticulously filled in the comment box at the bottom—"Driver was asleep beside the road, I stopped to make sure they were OK." Even more endearing, he shows me the HP dispatch number on the back, and encourages me to call them if I have any problems while I'm in the state. Aww.
We stopped for dinner at this buffet in close to the middle of nowhere, whose best trait was that we arrived on "Steak and Steak" night. And they were willing to cook it as rare as possible (read: cold in the middle). It was super tasty, and yes, I'm glad to have re-embraced my carnivorism. We got to Thermopolis late—pulled through thanks to a local radio station having listeners call in with ghost stories— and began the search for a motel. Most were booked, and some were expensive, but we pulled into this adorable ghetto one right as another truck did, and were greeted by a woman searching for "Montana," her dog, which turned out to be a yipper much to small for her name. Lucky us, we got the last room after the truck. And then, due to the further annoyance of us having to find an ATM (the woman wouldn't accept checks from out of state, and didn't have a credit card machine), she cut twenty bucks off our rate. Sweet. But then again, the room had a stove but no fridge, and I ended up having to go back to the car to rescue the glass I got from the Thirsty Lion (all the way back from Brewfest with Ivy) since there weren't even cups in the room. Also, our "free wifi" was courtesy of Taco John's, located in the parking lot.

The next morning was the Dinosaur museum! It was right outside the town ("Dinosaur lovers drink at Corkey's"), so we got there early (for us). Pretty impressive stuff—they had a massive Supersaurus, as well as a T-Rex, set up to look like it was taking down a Triceratops. Also a lab with observation windows, dino eggs, and some other skeletons as well. Overall, pretty cool place. Plus, I found a tiny T-Rex necklace charm in the gift shop, so there.

And finally we left Wyoming (sadly). On the way out, I had another brush with the highway patrol—this time less amiable. Turns out going fifteen over the limit isn't actually a good thing. But after another nail-bitingly long deprivation of my license, I was informed that this was a warning and I should watch my speed. Did I mention I love Wyoming? A final thanks to the radio stations that pulled us through: The Fox, The Wolf, The Eagle, The Hawk, and a veritable menagerie of other wildlife. Honestly, would a little creativity hurt?

posted by Julia @ 11:54 AM