Tuesday, May 16, 2006
RV World Campground, Rawlins, WY - May 14-15
The first thing you notice when driving across this part of Wyoming are the "Strong Winds Possible Next 5 Miles" signs which, if you measure it, are positioned every 5 miles.RV World is another Passport America park, not quite as nice as Ft Bridger, but still better than a lot we have stayed at. PA rate is $12 for the first night, $15 thereafter, for full hookups and WiFi. It has very friendly owners; we enjoyed Bob & Debbie's company here also.
Rawlins is perched on the edge of the Great Divide Basin, the only place in North or South America where the Continental Divide splits significantly. Since I-80 crosses a stretch of the Basin, we had to cross the Continental Divide twice to go from the Pacific to Atlantic drainage (neither crossing is the highest point along I-80 -- that's located east of Laramie at 8630 ft, which is even higher than Donner Pass in CA). Water in the Great Divide Basin flows to a series of saltflats and ponds in an area known as the Chain-of-Lakes, and if you had a big enough hose, you could actually fill the Basin to the lowest spot on the surrounding Continental Divide.
If you've been following our travels for a while, you know that we have serendipitously stumbled on to different "painted" animals, like the Painted Catfish in Jackson, MS, and the Painted Geese in Longmont, CO. Different local artists or groups paint an animal with their own theme, and then they are all auctioned off, with the proceeds going to selected charities.
Well, Rawlins has Painted Pronghorns, but they weren't starting until late May. We asked around, however, and learned that most of the painting was being done at a gallery on Main Street. Unfortunately, the shop was only open by appt, but we were able to peer through the window and see 15 or 20 finished pronghorns, and they were all quite cute.
Much of the rest of Rawlins is somewhat attractive, with a busy well-kept historic downtown area, numerous well-maintained Victorian homes, and the historic State Penitentiary, an impressive Gothic structure that is strangely appealing.
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 3:37 PM 
