Long Run to Pinedale WY
Trip Start
Sep 05, 2007
1
17
23
Trip End
Nov 10, 2007
Pinedale, Wyoming, United States
Saturday, September 22, 2007
I made it to Loveland and then started to head north on 287 from there which was a nice 4 lane road. I didn't realize that highway 287 also went downtown Ft. Collins CO which is where Colorado State University is located. I quickly ran into stop and go traffic on this busy Friday afternoon around lunch time. Students were out and about; there was also some kind of bicycle rally going on which also created problems for traffic. I don't know what kind of bicycle rally it was but men were dressed up as women wearing skirts and wigs; the women that I saw were wearing wigs and bright colors. You can see what I am talking about from my pictures I will post. There were also some people standing on the corners holding signs encouraging people to go to church and the like. It was wild to see such as act but I made it through there without being harassed by anyone.
Once I left from Ft. Collins, the road narrowed down back to a 2 lane. The speed limit increased to 65 again so I knew that I was coming up on some wide open, desolate country. Turned out I was right, the country side had some hills and you could see for miles at the top. It was a perfect day for a drive; it was very clear with a few clouds in the sky. It was only about 75 miles up to Laramie from Ft. Collins so I was not far from the Wyoming state line. I crossed over into Wyoming and the landscape did not change much. Maybe a little more wide open because there were big fences built everywhere close to the road which were used as wind breaks and to control erosion I think. That was the only conclusion I could come up with; it was very windy out there.
I made it to Laramie with no problem and hopped on the big road. Laramie was not as big I had thought; I expected to see some taller buildings. The University of Wyoming is located there but I was not able to tell from where I was. There were mountains west of Laramie all the way to Rawlins and then the landscape turned into another western Kansas. I stopped for fuel in Rawlins and from there began my 150 miles of nothingness to Rock Springs. It was an easy drive from Rawlins to Rock Springs; my truck just had a hard time fighting the wind with the anchor (camper) behind me.
Rock Springs was a bustling place around the time I was there. People were just getting off work and there was also a Flying J Truck Stop there as well. I jumped onto highway 191 there at Rock Springs, which went all the way up to Montana if I was going to stay on the road. I still had approximately 150 miles to go before I hit Jackson and it was already 500 so I stopped and figured where I was going to stay for the night. There were showing to be a few campgrounds northeast of Pinedale WY in a wildlife management area. It was going to be late by the time I got there but I still had some light left for the day and I had some energy left to drive. I took off on 191 north for another 125 miles of nothingness. As darkness fell, I could see roads going off into the distance towards some lights. The countryside was covered with Natural Gas rigs and the only signs of life I saw were the workers who were just finishing their shift and were heading home. I am glad I did not have any mechanical problems along the way; they may not have stopped to help me because they were too worried about getting home on this cool Friday night.
I was coming into Pinedale and was looking for the sign for the Half Moon Wildlife Management area. I found it and turned the direction towards the campground. On the map, there was not a road showing to be passing by the campgrounds so I knew that this place was probably going to be in the back country. The road I had turned onto was a paved 2 lane road that went about 3 or 4 miles and then ended. I came to a gate that looked like an entrance to a cattle ranch; the road crossed over a cattle catch in the road (I don't know the correct word for them). I stopped and thought "Well, I hadn't seen anything that said anything about a wildlife area so far, I guess I will keep going and see what I can find out." The gravel road zigzagged back in the country for a couple miles. I finally came to a sign that said "Public Access through Private Lands, Please Stay on Road" so I knew I was on the right track. It was 715, dark, raining, and cold when I started this "Hunt for The Campground" I still didn't know where I was or how far I still had to go to find the campground; I just kept driving. I finally came up to a couple signs and where the road split again. I had entered the wildlife area; there was a small, hard to read map on the sign that showed the campground was close by. It showed on the map that the campground was actually behind me; I knew I had not passed it up. At this split in the road, I went left to see if the campground was just over the hill. Of course, NOT, there was no campground or a sign of life at all. I drove until I came to another gate and I saw some headlights up on the mountain that looked like there were coming in my direction. I said "Great, here comes this land owner who is pissed off because I am in a place I am not supposed to be. No one in the right mind would want or need to be out here this time of night" I turned around and quickly sped off in the direction I came. I was hoping not to get stuck on this road that was more wet sand then gravel; it was raining harder now. I came back to the signs and where the road split; this time I went right. I followed the road again, with no clues that I was getting close to any type campground. The road started to climb; it became very rocky and had plenty of potholes filled with muddy water. The road was rocky enough that I started to think I was going to have a flat tire before the night was over; that was all I needed. Now it was 745 at night, I had not eaten and was starving, it was cold, raining, and I just knew I was going to have some sort of problem before I got out of this place. That was only if I ever found a place to put the camper up. I kept going and finally found a hunter who was going in the opposite direction on a road that was made for a single vehicle only. He pulled off to the side and so I stopped to talk to him for a minute. He gave me some good news by telling me to keep going and that I would eventually come to the campground where the road ended. The bad news was that he said that all of the campground spots looked to be full from what he could see. We parted ways and I decided that I was going to create my own spot if that was the case. The road was still very rocky and rough; somehow my safety chains got knocked out. I didn't know it until I came to another cattle catch; the chains caught, jerked my truck, and about gave me whiplash. I had a feeling (literally) of what had happened and just hoped my chains were not damaged. Whew, thank goodness they were ok and not bent or broken after a quick inspection.
I made it down to Half Moon lake and found the campground. They were some people around but the place was not full like the hunter had said. I found a spot in the trees and proceeded to put the camper up in the rain. Feeling relieved, I ate some ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner and got the bed ready. Hopefully I will sleep well in this rain and everything will look better in the morning.
