1120 August 29, 2024 Lander

I took a walk down into the town of Rawlins this morning.  It was fairly unremarkable except for this doe with twins standing in an alley.

We left Rawlins and traveled north on highway 287 or the Chief Washakie Trail.  Chief Washakie was a prominent Shoshone leader.

We stopped at the Split Rock Historic Site.  This was the coolest rest stop.  This iconic stone formation was a landmark on the Oregon Trail.  There are apparently rutted trails nearby.  This was also the site of a Pony Express office.  Of course, for thousands of years before that, it was the home of Native American peoples who thought that this was their land.  This was the site of many battles between the people who lived here and the pioneers who came traipsing through.

We walked the trails at the site.

I had my breakfast at a picnic table nestled among the rocks.  Sitting there, it was easy to imagine this place from an earlier time.

There was lots of interesting plant life.

Pricklypear

Gumweed

Rubber rabbitbrush

White sagebrush

We passed Green Mountain and saw groups of pronghorns grazing.

The landscape began to change and we saw red rock.

We arrived in Lander at around noon.  We are staying at the Mountain Range RV Park. It is a small nicely kept park with great views of the golf course and then the mountains beyond. We plan to use this place as a base.  We are planning an overnight Jeep trip in the Red Desert tomorrow.

Tim found a bike shop where he was able to get his flat tire repaired.

This afternoon, we went to the National Forest Field Office and the BLM Field Office to get maps for our offroad adventure.

Tonight, we made a reservation at the Cowfish Restaurant.  We had read that the food was really good and that was an understatement. We shared appetizers; ahi tuna with avocado and wonton with some delicious sauce, mussels and crusty grilled bread, southwestern eggrolls – a fusion of Mexican and Asian cuisine that really worked, and yummy brussels sprouts topped with green apples and hazelnuts. This chef knows how to put foods together! We enjoyed our meal and had excellent service.

We walked through town.

The sun set over the mountains. There is a lot of wildfire smoke making the air pungent and hazy.