We had a late start leaving Laramie – we pulled out of the Cavalryman’s parking lot around 11am. Our route took us east on I-80 for about nine miles up a steep grade. We were at an elevation of about 7,200 feet above sea level in Laramie. By the time we pulled off I-80 at Happy Jack Road (WY210), we were over 8,600 feet above sea level.

The terrain changed drastically as we climbed into the Laramie range of the Rocky Mountains. We were surrounded by coniferous forest now instead of the high plains grassland and sage brush as we drove through the Happy Jack Recreation Area.

WY210 took us through a section of Medicine Bow National Forest before we came through the Curt Gowdy State Park area at Granite Lake. This is beautiful country with stunning views of forest, open meadows and huge rock formations. WY210 – also known as Happy Jack Road and the Sand Creek Massacre Trail – is a relatively narrow, two-lane road through this area. I was wishing for a turnout so I could stop and take a few photos, but it never materialized.

East of Curt Gowdy State Park, we dropped down to an elevation of about 6,400 feet above sea level and we were in high plains grassland again. We saw a few antelope which favor this terrain over forest.

By the way, the Curt Gowdy State Park is named after a Wyoming native. Curt Gowdy was born in Green River and grew up in Cheyenne. He was the announcer for the Boston Red Sox in the 1950s and moved on to national television sports announcing first for ABC in 1960, then NBC in 1965. He covered many different sporting events and was called “the broadcaster of everything.” His career continued into the mid-1980s.

The detour from I-80 onto WY210 added about 10 miles to our trip but was well worth it. The scenery was spectacular. We eventually rejoined I-80 a few miles west of Cheyenne near the junction of I-25. Our destination was the Sierra Trading Post outlet and fulfillment center in Cheyenne. They have a large parking lot with RV and truck parking in marked stalls 100 feet long.

We checked in with the woman at the counter in the fulfillment center. She took down our information – name, coach description and plate number and an emergency phone contact. She said the information would be passed on to security and the lot is patrolled 24/7. We were welcome to stay through the weekend if we wanted, no charge.

Donna and I then walked over to the outlet store and saw a few things we would want to purchase before we leave. We could see heavy clouds to the southwest and we had a few raindrops on the windshield earlier. We came back to the coach for lunch. Donna wanted to go back to the outlet and shop. I needed to get the Spyder out and ride over to Petco – about four miles away – to get cat food. We were nearly out of cat food and Ozark likes the brand I find at Petco.

I knew I was taking a chance of getting caught out in a thunderstorm, but I quickly unloaded the Spyder and headed out around 1:30pm. Donna went back to the Sierra Trading Post outlet. I didn’t waste any time at Petco and returned just as a few raindrops were falling. I loaded the Spyder back in the trailer and came inside before the skies opened up.

We had a massive thunderstorm approaching. I had to pull the living room slide back in as the wind really kicked up. By 3pm, it was raining hard and there were lightning strikes all around us. Donna was still in the outlet. I sent her a text telling her to stay in the store until the storm passed. She was happy to do that as she was in her element trying on clothes and shoes.

The storm finally moved on to the east around 5pm – but Donna didn’t finish shopping until 6pm! I had the living room slide back out by then. Donna reheated some jambalaya she made in the crockpot two days ago and we watched TV until bedtime.

This morning, it’s cloudy and the high temperature is only supposed to reach 66 degrees. Another thunderstorm is predicted for the afternoon. We’re undecided at this point on whether we should stay put or move on. We have to hit an RV park soon – I’ll need to refill the fresh water and dump our tanks. Either way, I’ll hit the outlet and pick up a couple of shirts and shorts I saw yesterday that were real bargains.