Surely it couldn't get any colder

By -
Laramie, Wyoming

We are on our way to Utah to have a few warranty issues fixed on our trailer. We must be quite high as it’s snowing. The nighttime forecast was for -5C, so we got our sleeping bags out as they are rated to -4C. The wind howled around us all night – it’s a horrible place. Lindsay asked the girl in Walmart if it’s always this warm, to which she replied yes – and she was wearing a t-shirt! There were warning signs all along the highway to alert drivers with light trailers not to proceed because of 50+ wind gusts – too late if you didn’t take any notice of the first one. We are pretty heavy, even more so with a full tank of water as we knew we would be dry camping the night. Even so, we were pushed sideways more than a few times. 

The wind was mainly head on, so our fuel economy was crap. One of the reasons Lindsay decided to stop is that he didn’t want to fill up twice in one day! We left our new heater on low for most of the night until I got too warm as it kept the trailer at 9C, now that it’s been off for a few hours it got down to 1C. The daytime temperature in Draper is forecast for around 20C for the next few days, so that is something to look forward to. Today isn’t any better, the wind is still howling and snow is flying around. Who’s idea is this? Lindsay has read that the bears are out and about in the Grand Tetons, it’s a pretty strong drawcard.



 Today we got caught in a traffic jam and the detour route was too far, so we kept going. A semi-trailer had driven up the back of a tanker on a 6% decline and there was oil all over the road. There was nothing left of the driver cab of the second semi - hope he survived (we saw them transferring the load at the bottom of the hill).
Location: Laramie, WY, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life on the road: Trip Planning

By -
Image
Being on the road requires planning, I find the following websites and apps helpful. Remember that low altitude places will be hot in summer, high altitude places will be cold in winter! Websites All Stays  - web version of the App. Shows camping, stores, free overnight camping. I use the app version. BLM lands  - shows the Bureau of Land Management areas Campendium  - shows many camping options on a map Campground Photos  - you can sort by state, area. Map or list view. Casino Camping  - list of casinos that allow RV camping Free Campgrounds  - lists by state, campgrounds are listed to nearest town, no map view Free Campsites  - click on a state and it gives you a map with colour coded spots for pay, free etc Public Lands  - map view National Parks  - check for seasonal closures, names of campgrounds National Wildlife and Refuge System  - you can search by state where wildlife refuges. Oh Ranger  - informatio...
Read more

Hot Springs in the middle of nowhere

By -
Image
Liard Hot Springs, Summit Lake, BC Canada The girl at the information desk in Fort Nelson suggested that we stay at Summit Lake on Stone Mountain. We got a campsite with a million dollar view, right on the lake and it was stunning. Talking to a couple from Fort St John, they told us they had seen some moose just up the road. So we went to investigate to find our own, but unfortunately we didn’t see any moose. They came for drinks that night; our first Canadian visitors and hopefully we inspired them with some travel stories. They want to travel but just don’t have the confidence, it seems to be a common concern amongst Americans and Canadians.  Summit Lake campground The following day we got up at 6am and went in search of our quest again, it was very foggy so the photos wouldn’t have been great, but still nothing. Later that day we went out again and saw our first Caribou. At first I didn’t know if it was a moose or a Caribou – truth be known, I still don’t really know....
Read more

The city that never sleeps

By -
Image
New York City, NY Fulton Station We nearly didn't go to New York because a friend of ours missed the turn off and ended up driving his 5th wheel into Manhattan. Yikes! he still has nightmares about it. After some soothing, Lindsay reluctantly agreed as long as we made sure we knew where we were going. The closest RV park to NYC is in Liberty Harbor in New Jersey. Basically it’s a carpark turned into an RV park, so no ambiance whatsoever. At $97 a night, it’s the most expensive place we have been to but at least we got a day free for staying 7 nights. Inside the Oculus station To say the train system in New Jersey or New York is unfriendly is an understatement. We needed two tickets, one for the PATH which took us across the river to the four billion dollar Oculus train station, then one for the New York subway. The subway is confusing, dirty, old and horrible. There are so many exits and entrances for the same station that you never know where you are going to end...
Read more