Flickr Home Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/albums
Thank you to all who have added information. I'll be very grateful for tips about things to do and see as my wife and I travel east from Wyoming across Nebraska.
David
In 2022 I went to the Tetons, at which point I was 3 weeks into a marathon road trip. I drove through Wyoming and Nebraska (and on and on to GA) in a marathon driving session with only a few pit stops for gas, rest, and food.
There is not a lot out there! I had a ton of fun though screaming through Wyoming at breakneck speed honestly (high mph limit + perhaps a little extra ). But I don't remember seeing much of interest on the main highway. Would love to go again and take a bit more time off the main drag.
There IS an awful lot in Wyoming. Like Ed Abbey used to say about the desert : leave the car, and don't walk, but crawl on the ground. (But don't forget a canteen or get lost!). In Wyoming, avoid grizzly bears who actually prefer spicey food (yourself, accidentally pepper sprayed too). My habit was to drive those long interstate sections at night, leaving me more quality time for back roads and walking during the day. Same with Nevada. Only use Fwy 80 if you have to get from Point A to B as fast as possible.
When I showed up in Wyoming to work near Red Desert, I too thought that there's not a lot there. WOW, I couldn't have been more wrong.
Thad Gerheim
Website: http:/thadgerheimgallery.com
I haven't been to Red Desert in a long time; in fact, it was during the only time I fortuitously tried out Ektachrome 100X sheet film, the warm variety, and late in the day.
Mostly I had to fit decent Wind River backpacking trips within a 10-day vacation break, including the long drive to and from here on the coast. Last did that just before the pandemic, but being retired, allowed myself two full weeks instead, for sake of a more photogenic and casual drive back.
Alas, even the Winds are experiencing more fires due to beetle killed pines, but not on the horrible scale of here in Calif or even southern Idaho. How many more decades the last of the glaciers will hang on in the highest portion of the Winds is a troubling question. Only a few are still left in the high Sierras. Each time I visit either area, there are fewer Pikas, which are especially affected by the climate warmup.
In any State between the high plains and the west coast, if you stick to the Interstate Highways you are not going to see much of anything. Why? Because the Interstates were designed to get you THROUGH the states as fast as possible -- which means the flattest parts of the States -- and the most boring. Last time I drove to St. Louis, I could have taken I-70 all the way. I would have gotten there faster, but I opted for the "Blue Highways" instead to cross Kansas and Missouri. I got to see lots of beautiful small towns with wonderful photography opportunities -- as well as the Churchill and Truman museums, etc. If I had taken I-70, all I could photograph would be Stuckey gas stations.
And to anyone who thinks there is nothing to see in Wyoming -- please, Please, PLEASE, Spread the word!!!
I tend to be thoughtful and kind if I encounter too many people on local trails, and warn them about the carnivorous deer and cattle with rabies.
Let's not forget Brucellosis. Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, prairie dog plague, and West Nile. Be CAREFUL out there!
Like I said, wasn't much on the interstate, that was in fact my point. I was so tired after 3 weeks of constant photography along with a bout of covid I didn't have the mental capacity to do more photography. I'd like to go back! Wyoming still looked amazing driving through.
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