Wyoming Part I

Today is June 14, in two more days we will be five weeks into this twelve week adventure!  Up until this point we have stayed primitive and improved campgrounds and we have boondocked in truck stop parking lots but tonight is our first night dispersed camping on BLM land.

..but let me back up…We entered Wyoming today after a stop in Coalville, UT last night.  After gassing up and grocery shopping in Evanston, WY we drove to Kemmerer, WY and then to the Fossil Butte National Monument. 

We didn’t have much time to explore the sights yet, but we did spend time at the visitor’s center, obtained the Junior Ranger books, maps, and information about the area.  We then set off to find a place to rest our wheels for the night.  We read about dispersed camping, but we had not yet tried it – since most of the state of WY is state land we thought it might be a good time to give it a try.  Thankfully Google Maps worked well enough to show us the county roads in the area and we could see a few where it appeared we could turn the rig around.  Speaking of turning the rig around – we had to turn it around today and did so in too narrow of a space…when we did it we damaged our electrical cord.

We didn’t realize this until we found our camping spot and started to set up the rig…at that point we realized the damaged cord resulted in the trailer lights on one side not working.  Thankfully because Husband had hooked up the solar system for the Hideout he had the tools necessary to fix the cord.  We worked together to strip the wires and reconnect them.

I’m really proud how efficiently and effectively we worked together to fix the cord.  I am also proud of the kids who sat together and worked on the Junior Ranger books quietly and calmly while we were busy. 

In the end we repaired the cord and then enjoyed dinner in the wide open space of the high Wyoming desert.

We ended up parking near some railroad tracks and the kids were waiting all evening for a train to go by.  But I am not sure if these tracks are in use – we did see three trains off in the distance on another track.  Perhaps we will be awoken in the night by a train!

The sun sets late here.  We were getting good power with the panels until 8pm! Being able to position the panels for maximum gain is a huge benefit.  

We are all looking forward to a hike at Fossil Butte tomorrow and to the kids earning their next Junior Ranger badges!