Onto Denver...Day 4

Today was a rather harrowing day of driving. I enjoy driving but today was really not very fun. Upon leaving Rock Springs, Wyoming, the weather was overcast. The rain started and the further we got down I-80, the worse it got. By the time we drove into Laramie, we were trying to outrun a very black bank of storm clouds. While enjoying a great lunch at the highly recommended Altitudes restaurant, the storm clouds caught up with us and dumped some of the biggest hailstones I've ever seen. Not enough to dent the vehicles, but we were all amazed at the size and rate at which they fell; I'm thinkin' they were about 1/2"-ish...wow! Enough rain descended to fill the gutters in a matter of minutes - now that's rain!

After lunch, we wanted to see some of the historic buildings of this cowboy town, so we proceeded to drive through town and to the University of Wyoming to see some architecture of the late 1800's. Unfortunately, it started to snow like no one's business...yeah, snow. We finally gave up and left town towards Cheyenne and eventually Denver.

It wasn't long of being on the road that the snow increased, along with the wind, gusting to 50+ mph. Pretty dangerous, to be sure. Snow blowing every which way, and big rigs all around driving at 65 mph or more. I'm so glad we made it through that stretch with no mishaps.

We were happy to stop in Loveland, Colorado for a letterbox, driving through a wonderful piece of road that cut through gorgeous rock along side the Big Thompson River. We stopped at a gift shop on our way, called The Dam Store, but due to the high wind they had lost power. They were still letting folks shop, but the store was dark! Needless to say, we didn't buy anything...

Today's distance: 400-ish miles
Weather: snow, hail, rain, high wind
Low temperature: 33*
Highest elevation: 7,000 ft
Letterboxes: found, 1
Pics snapped: only 12
Impulse purchase of the day: Peanut Buster Parfaits & Blizzards
Price paid for gas: $2.59/gallon
Times crossing the Continental Divide: 2
Favorite things to see from the highway: antelope herds and wind turbines

Great Quote from the University of Wyoming Athletic Department building, recorded in stone: "Man is of soul and body, formed for deeds of high resolve." I love this!

Thankfully, it's sunny and in the mid-60's here in Denver. It's still a bit breezy, and the traffic is pretty much like home, but at least it's not snowing.