We made another early start in order to avoid the Salt Lake City morning rush. Within the first 10 miles we started up to a pass over the Wasatch Mountains to the east of the city. It is a long grade and by the time we hit the pass, at 7,400 feet, we moving at 40 miles per hour. One of the first thing to hit us when we got into the Wasatch Mountains was that the temperature dropped to 37 degrees, a 30 degree drop from the campground. The high temperature we encountered today was 92 degrees, so we had a nearly 60 degree temperature range on out trip.

Once over the Wasatch Mountains, we were on a high plateau at about 6,300 feet until we reached the Wyoming border. I had an image of Wyoming that was shattered during this trip. I had always envisioned it as a mountainous area. Well, it is not. Basically, Wyoming is a high plateau, with an average elevation of 6,700 feet, that is interrupted by a series of north-south mountain ranges. Consequently, as we drove east, we had to endure a number of passes with the truck struggling to take its load to the other side. The last of these mountain ranges was near Cheyenne and we crossed the pass at 8,600 feet. Once over the other side we in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and the western edge of the Great Plains.

The terrain through most of Wyoming is essentially treeless. Most of the vegetation is short grasses and brush. There many interesting rock formations along the route, especially around Green River. This is cowboy county... I saw one working a fence line along the Interstate. As you drive along Interstate 80 you can see cattle and some horses grazing on the range. Interestingly, at one point we saw a small herd of Pronghorn Antelopes grazing alongside the horses. Like Utah and Nevada, Wyoming is also the land of open spaces, with few towns scattered along the highway.

Our destination for tonight is Kimball, Nebraska. We are in a campground just outside of town and will not have the opportunity to see it. One of its claims to fame is that it is near the highest point in Nebraska which is 5,424 feet. Even the town's Web site says that "looks more like a rise in a pasture than the highest point in the state." I guess it will be downhill from here tomorrow as we cross Nebraska.