Why oh why oh, why'd I choose Wyoming

    I can't tell you how happy I was to see this sign today -- bullet holes and all.
    Not that weather pays much attention to state boundaries, but I was today. I just kept thinking that if I could get to Nebraska and get the heck out of Wyoming, it would stop snowing and raining, the fog would lift and the driving would be easier. My wishes did not all come true, but there was an improvement -- and at least the roads were open.
    Not so in Wyoming. I debated whether to wait out the weather and the Wyoming Department of Transportation workers who were clearing away the remains of a 70-vehicle pileup on Thursday. But I remembered something my friend Bruce told me: "I'd rather drive four hours than sit for two."
   That's the choice I made, turning north at Rawlins 15 miles ahead of the closure, took a right at Casper, WY, and headed straight into Nebraska before turning south to get back to I-80.
   I haven't quite made it all the way back, but I'm glad I did not try to wait it out in Wyoming. I'm still getting text messages from the Wyoming DOT at 8:30 that parts of I-80 are still closed in Wyoming.
    When I left Little America this morning, I was 909 miles from the Kansas City Airport. Tonight, after driving 503 miles, I am 538 miles from the airport. If I had been able to drive straight through on I-80, I'd probably be 406 miles from KC. Still, I'm close enough that I should be able to get there by Sunday afternoon -- if the snow stays away.

Chimney Rock

   This landmark is near where I am staying in Bayard, NE. Chimney Rock served as a guide post to the pioneers crossing the country in wagon trains, telling them that here the plains ended and the climb across the Rockies started.