No Wandering in Wyoming

 Wyoming has a LOT of open space!  What a difference between the traffic on I-25 in Colorado and I-25 in Wyoming!  I think we encountered more cars in half an hour in Colorado than the whole time we were in Wyoming.

About half our trip in Wyoming was on the I-25 interstate, the remaining was on Wyoming Route 59. Gilllette is almost straight north of Windsor, Colorado where our son and daughter-in-law live. Don drove, Glen rode shotgun and I was content in the backseat. 

 

Not much to look at here except trains with their coal cars.  Wyoming has been the biggest coal producer in the United States since 1986.  The coal that comes from here is lower in sulfur, so it burns cleaner than coal from other states.  

Those long lines of coal cars needed a lot of engines to pull them!

Almost all the way back to Parker, Colorado there were storms brewing.  Luckily, we hit a few light and brief showers or drove through the area right after the storm had passed.  

No heavy traffic on the road we just went over either.  I wonder if people from Wyoming even know what it is to experience a traffic jam.  Boy, I would have been ecstatic to drive on the mostly empty roads to work years ago.

Going to Gillette

 Our last adventure was to the small town of Gillette, Wyoming.  Why there you ask?  To pick up our son-in-law, Glen and take him home with us to Arizona.  Our granddaughter Hailey was assigned to a physical therapy place there for a 6-week internship.  He flew to Utah and helped her drive to Gillette.  There is only a very small airport there, so it would be quite a process for him to fly home.  Luckily, we were still in Colorado, only 4 hours away by car (or truck).   We drove up on Saturday morning and left on Sunday morning, so it was a very quick and short trip.

Previously called Donkey Town and Rocky Pile, Gillette was founded in 1891.  The current population is probably around 40,000 people.   On Saturday afternoon we took a stroll in downtown Gillette.  At 4:30 PM not much was open and there was almost no traffic on the street.  It sure made it easy to find a parking spot!

Can you see the photo bomber between Glen and the cute bear?  👀

Basically, the downtown area is about two blocks long.   Definitely no crowds to worry about here. 

Hailey decided to take a break and have a short chat with a guy named Abe. 

Even though this is a small area, bronze sculptures were in abundance.  The tall lady below is "Belle".

Here is a cute grouping right in front of the children's store. Apropos, don't you think?

A group of retired people had set out their camping chairs on the sidewalk!  I guess that is what people do on Saturday night here to create their own entertainment.  As other individuals walked through, the group would clap and holler.  I was up for the challenge and skipped by them.😂😂

We met up with Hailey's host grandmother at Wyoming's Rib and Chop House for a nice dinner.

This is the church that Hailey will be attending while she stays with Elsie Peters. We left right after church to head back to Colorado for the night.

Hailey and Elsie Peters, her "adopted Grandma".  We discovered that Elsie grew up in Tucson and knew some of the same people we did since she attended Grace Lutheran Church there.  What a blessing for Hailey!  She has her own bedroom and bathroom in the basement and a loving person to watch over her.