Wyoming 2023 Trip Report (Day 1)

Written by ceddammit

Good day and welcome to Day 1 of my official Wyoming State Vacation! When most people think of Wyoming, they think of Yellowstone National Park, or maybe Devils Tower. As you know, I am not most people (is anyone?). So, I am bringing you The Rest of Wyoming. Day 1 was spent along U.S. Interstate Highway 80, between the cities of Cheyenne and Laramie, which means I was within 13 miles of the Colorado border all day.

I started at the Ames Monument, which hadn’t been on my itinerary, but it came highly recommended by a friend I was visiting in Colorado just the day before. And it was only a couple miles from my primary destination for Day 1. The Ames Monument was erected by the Union Pacific Railroad in honor of two brothers named Oakes (did his friends call him “Oakey”?) and Oliver Ames. Oakes Ames was a U.S. Congressman from Massive Chew Sets Massachusetts who played a vital role in getting Congress to fund the first transcontinental railway. His brother Oliver was named president of Union Pacific during construction of said railway. So, why was this spot chosen as the site for this monument? Because it overlooks the highest spot on the transcontinental railway. Well, it did when they built it. The railroad itself was relocated in 1901 to an easier grade a few miles to the south. I’ll stop yakkin’ now and let you take a look at the monument:

Ames Monument rising from the lonely high plains of southeast Wyoming.
Yeah, the Union Pacific had some money to throw around back in the day.
East face of Ames Monument
North face of Ames Monument
West face of Ames Monument
Detail of west face

Regular readers may have noticed I have an obsession with what I call “heroic trees” – trees that have successfully established themselves in places where you wouldn’t expect a tree to succeed. In other words, trees that grow out of solid rock. But where and when did this obsession begin? It began when I was in high school. Well, actually, it began when I was OUT of high school: summer vacation. I was on a family trip that involved driving across southern Wyoming, and we stopped to see this “point of interest” located in the median strip of Interstate 80:

Time now for the meat of Day 1. Two miles northeast of Ames Monument and two miles northwest of the original heroic tree, there stands a series of massive rock formations called Vedauwoo. For a mere five bucks, you can go in and see these formations up close, or even climb them. Or you can continue to follow U.S. Forest Service Road 700 as it meanders through 6 or 7 miles of smaller outcroppings collectively known as Devil’s Playground, for free. I’m not a technical rock climber, so I opted for Devil’s Playground. Here’s some of what I saw along the way:

Devil’s Playground includes whole mountain tops exposed by erosion…
…as well as individual rocks just stickin’ up out the ground.
Those are two people at the top of that rock – better climbers than I.
I think this one would make a good RSB logo…am I right, RSB’ers?
Rocks here have eroded in a somewhat unusual manner…
The edges have been rounded around the cracks.
Thus, they don’t look as contiguous as some other rock formations.
They look more like loose blocks haphazardly piled by…SATAN!
Where’s Mario when you need him?
This rock is eating a tree!
This one is a fossilized giant human skull, no doubt about it!
Vedauwoo seen from a distance.
Vedauwoo seen from a greater distance.
I think I need to add another category of heroic trees.

Oh, hey! Have I mentioned my rental car yet? Well, much like my Nebraska trip a few months ago, I am renting from Budget, and I selected the Mystery Car option rather than reserving a specific type of car (e.g., Standard, Economy, Minivan, SUV). Once again, I got a Dodge Challenger, though this one isn’t forest green. Also, it was dirty when I picked it up, and I have made it dirtier since then. Here’s what it looked like today:

That’s a big rock, but not as big as this one in Arizona.

Sorry for the automotive interruption. Let’s continue down Forest Service road 700:

An entire mountaintop of characters just beginning to be exposed by erosion
Aspen forest glade surrounded by rocks
Sleeping teddy bear?
End of road 700

We have reached the end of road 700. But am I gonna quit there? Nope, let’s double back and see what we missed on the first pass.

I like this rock and I cannot lie!
All you other brothers can’t deny!

At this point, I seriously considered paying the five bucks to get into the Vedauwoo area. But it was getting late enough that I decided to call it a day, and maybe come back if I have more time over the next few days. So, I headed into Laramie, where I had dinner at Crowbar & Grill. I ordered the Loon (a burger served open-faced with gravy, cheese curds, and green onions) with Pad Thai Fries on the side. The Loon was absolutely delicious. There was a sweetness to the Pad Thai Fries that I had not expected – I wouldn’t say I disliked them, but I wouldn’t order them again.

And finally, sunset over Laramie, as seen from my hotel window:

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