Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming

Monday: Steamboat Springs-We started off our morning waking up a fella in the laundrymat at about 5:30, where we got to wash our clothes. The laundrymat was in the same parking lot where we slept, so wasn't that convenient? Also, got to use their wifi while we were there.

As an added bonus, got to see a hot air balloon outside. It was very pretty against the mountains.

After we ate our breakfast at the park, our usual eggs, bacon, and green tea, we headed out. In our quest to stay off the interstates as much as possible, we headed west. We went through a town named Craig where chainsaw artists display their masterpieces in their city park, some of which are very detailed.

This one is Anthony's favorite, as growing up he was a Ram's fan.

I liked this one.

Still heading West, we decided to visit the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

When we went to the visitors center, they weren't open, however, there was something much more interesting. We saw three horses tied together eating on a tree. Two of the horses had packs on them, and one had a saddle. Anthony knew right off that these animals, and whoever rode them, were in it for the long haul. Then we saw a man and asked him if the horses belonged to him. He said, no, he belonged to the horses, ha! We asked if we could take pictures and then we started asking questions. Come to find out, his name is Doc Mishler, and he has ridden all over the USA bringing awareness to Feed My Hungry Children. He said that he speaks at churches to help raise money, but the churches use that money to build bigger churches. He seemed a bit irritated at that. He gave us a piece of paper with more information about the mission to which God has called him. Then he just rode off with his three horses.

Even his pots jingled as he rode off. I didn't really want to go to the Dinosaur Natl Park, but was glad we got to chat with this man.

Here are the pics we got at the National Park.

Not really being interested in dinosaur bones and fossils, what got me the most excited was this whole huge wall of fossils was surrounded by a nicely air conditioned building. Aaahhhhh.

As we left the park, and in our quest to finally head toward the Tetons and Yellowstone, we took off. We thought we knew where we were going, but came to a "T" in the road with no signage, so we turned north, and drove, drove, and drove, for about 10 miles or so. Deciding we may be on the wrong road, but seeing some spectacular scenery, we decided to crank up the ole GPS to give us a little help. Well, we were not on the road we thought we were, and this is the road it told us to turn on next to get to where were supposed to be:

Yup.

So we trusted it, and ended up driving about 10-15 miles on dirt roads before we ended up where we wanted to be. 

We ended up stopping in a park in Rock Springs, WY, and we cooked a one pot meal called Mexican Quinoa. It was not bad at all, and when the jalapeños and garlic were sautéing, it even got the attention of a few of the children playing in the park. They said, that sure smells good, and it did. 

We visited the bathroom before we left, and when we got on the road again, Anthony realized he had left his hat in the bathroom, so we went back and the bathroom door was locked for the night. Well, I thought he was going to cry. It was his favorite hat. You know the one:

Yes, THAT one. Well, when we woke up the next morning, we headed back to the park, and thankfully the door was unlocked. Opening the door with bated breath, there was his beloved hat right where he had left it. He is one happy man. It really doesn't take much.

Last night we spent the night in another WalMart parking lot with what seemed like 100 other camper/RV'ers in Rock Springs, WY. It went really well, except for the jerks who, at 12:30, decided it would be funny to shoot off fireworks pretty close to us. Well, Anthony just drove us across the lot to get away from those crazy people.

Don't know if anyone is counting, but that made several days without a shower. This trip I have done several things I thought I would never do, one of them was sleeping in a parking lot, the other is taking a shower at a truck stop. So we decided to put a few dollars in the Haslam's pocket (for those who don't know, Tennessee's governor's brother, Jimmy Haslam, is the owner of Flying J, and they are based out of Knoxville) and visited the truck stop to see what it is all about. It was well worth the $12 we paid. We got to share a shower, or it would have been $12 each. Yikes. But it was surprisingly nice, and would definitely try it again if we needed to.

Just in case any of you are skiddish about doing this, this is what it looked like.

Not too shabby, and they provided the needed linens.

After several days of thinking we may make it to the Tetons and Yellowstone, I am hoping we may actually do it today. Wish us luck. We are hoping the July 4th crowd isn't there yet.