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RoadTrip Rendezvous: Wyoming
Public art project in Cheyenne
Preparing for branding on a ranch near Fort Laramie |
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Exactly what is a "RoadTrip Rendezvous?"
Now that we've had our first one -- it happened the first
week of May, 2005 -- we've come up with a definition. Participants
take roadtrips that share one element: their itineraries converge
at a set location in North America for a day or two. Participants
meet, share a meal or two, and do something interesting together.
The "something" might be anything from a music festival
to a duck race -- North America is a big, fabulously diverse
continent. In the case of the first RoadTrip Rendezvous, the
"something" was a cattle branding on a ranch in
southern Wyoming.
Expert solo roadtrippper Geneviève
(Gen) Lauzière hit the road first, when she left
her home near Granby, Quebec, Canada, on Wednesday, May 4th,
and headed west on her way to Ft. Laramie, Wyoming. The next
day, Bob Schaller, Megan Edwards, and Mark Sedenquist left
Las Vegas, headed north up Interstate 15, with the same destination:
the ranching area between the small Wyoming towns of Guersney
and Torrington. By midday on Friday, two other couples were
on the road: Kathleen McMahon & Gerald Thurman of Tempe,
Arizona, and Charlie and Betty Carmona of Los Angeles, California.
Gen covered the most ground, having driven
nearly 1860 miles (2991 kilometers) by the time she reached
Torrington, Wyoming. It was an amazing pace for a solo driver,
but she reported that she still had time to sightsee on the
way. Mark, Megan, & Bob were unexpectedly delayed when
Mark drove their SUV into a treacherous ditch while stopping
to check on the effects of the record spring rainfall at "Little
Jamaica," a spring just north of Littlefield, Arizona.
After getting a much-appreciated tug from a local rancher,
the trio headed past the spectacular San Rafael Swell in Utah
and on up to Torrington. Kathleen and Gerald took time to
explore the state capitol building in Cheyenne, Wyoming, savor
a local brew at Snake River Pub & Grill, and admire the
"boots" public art project.
Continued
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