summer storm in Lander, Wyoming

The rough weather continued throughout the drive from Dubois all the way to the junction before Diversion Dam road.  My mental back and forth over whether to attempt the four hour drive to visit Sarah, or to take the "easy" way out and head over to the ranch in Lander to visit Pee Wee, just a little over an hour and a half away continued.  I weighed the costs (monetary-fuel was on average $3.70; physical-rough weather=higher likelihood for an accident; the time-it was 9 p.m. at that point) as well as the benefits (I hadn't visited Sarah, but for a fun, short night in November, and we always have a way of finding a great time; nor had I seen Pee Wee since August, and he's my good friend and the best boss I've ever had).




I mulled it all over, and upon reaching the WY 26/287 junction, I thought it best to call it a night.  I headed to Lander, knowing it was too late to drive the 35 extra miles to the ranch, only to wake Pee Wee at midnight.  So I settled into town, cursing the rain as it soaked through my truck topper, my Carhartt jacket, as well as all the great Forest Service swag I had picked up in Idaho Falls (e.g., Idaho Noxious Weeds Handbook, written by my very own professor :) 




I slept long and late, it felt amazing.  I woke at 9:30 the next morning to a complete white out; there were 3 to 4 inches of snow on vehicles around Lander, and I just hoped that the roads would be passable.   I hopped in the truck and headed south on WY 287 to make my way down to WY 789, the long, eastern winding road to the Twin Creek/Red Bluff Ranch.  I hadn't made it out of town yet when I saw the sign that WY 28, the mountain pass along my route south toward Pinedale (a later stop on my road trip) was closed.  Snow plowes sped toward my truck and the once familiar ranches were foreign in their white haze: I couldn't see a thing and decided that the trip to the ranch, over a slick and muddy dirt road was not the safest idea, so I turned the truck back toward town.

 This graph is the 7 day history of precipitation in Lander...Those spikes represent Wednesday and Thursday's weather...ridiculous.  FYI, I just learned this lil' fact: one inch of rain is equal to a foot of snow-there ya go, Lander.

Those pink and red numbers in the seventh column from the left represent visibility...not a lot of it- 1/4 mile visibility at about noon.






I headed to one of the only dry places with an internet connection, the local Safeway store, and holed up there checking the Wyoming Department of Transporation (WYDOT) site and the NOAA-for any travelers/roadtrippers out there, these websites are your best resources while on the road...I can't stress it enough: they have realtime information and I should have consulted them before heading into WYO, since this storm was forcasted, yet in my excitement I just assumed the weather would be perfect, it was my vacation after all...hah!


But when things seemed to be at their worst (not making it to the ranch, not reaching Pee Wee by phone to tell him, or visiting Sarah) they just as quickly began to fall into place when I called friends in the Lander area, and got two offers for a place to sleep the coming evening.  I met my old co-worker, Red, for lunch at the Lander Bar, we then drove to Riverton to inquire about a new pair of show chaps that he wanted made special with fringe on them.

So many...I want them all!




I headed over to my friend's ranch, where I was able to rest and hide from the continuing rain and snow.  I thought that the trip had been changed so much due to the weather, and I was really feeling down, which doesn't often happen. 

 Getting the feeding truck warmed up for the evening feed.

Ranch hand.

Fuel station at the ranch.




Waking the next morning was surprising.  The weather had calmed and I saw it as my window to attempt the South Pass on WY 28 in hopes of reaching Pinedale to visit a friend.  Lucky me!  The roads were passable, the sky was blue, and I had an early start.  This trip was starting to get back on track!