{"id":726,"date":"2015-10-23T22:52:39","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T22:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/?p=726"},"modified":"2016-12-18T22:58:15","modified_gmt":"2016-12-18T22:58:15","slug":"day-5-denver-co-salt-lake-city-ut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/23\/day-5-denver-co-salt-lake-city-ut\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 5: Denver, CO to Salt Lake City, UT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Day-5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

December 31, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today was the final day of our road trip (and of the year)! Our journey took us through the rest of Colorado, across Wyoming, and finally into Utah. Surprisingly, I drove for most of the day. I haven\u2019t had a lot of experience driving in the mountains so it was a new adventure for me. Wyoming is also an extremely windy state apparently. My car was being pushed around by the wind while climbing elevations as high as 8,000 ft above sea level! There were also lots of warning signs for truck-trailers that were high profile\/lightweight to exit the highway as they were likely to be blown over. The gusts were up to 65 mph! On top of all that, there was snow being blown across the road like a sideways blizzard. It was unlike anything I\u2019ve ever witnessed.<\/p>\n

\"Welcome<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to Wyoming — Last State before Utah!<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were all sorts of signs that said \u201cI-80 closed when lights flashing\u201d with huge barricades closing off the road. There is no such thing in Florida! Another thing we don\u2019t have in Florida? Snow fences. They block the snow from building up on the highway. I have to say, I was pretty thankful for these little tools.<\/p>\n

\"Snowy<\/a><\/p>\n

Snowy Roads in Wyoming<\/strong><\/p>\n

The plus side to this crazy new environment was the fact that Wyoming was breathtaking. The pictures just don\u2019t do it justice. We also drove along the Continental Divide which was pretty cool.<\/p>\n

\"Continental<\/a><\/p>\n

Continental Divide<\/strong><\/p>\n

For lunch we stopped in Laramie, and I was able to see my roommate Laura briefly and she even gave us a suggestion (since her boyfriend goes to school there and she was visiting him). I had a buffalo meatloaf sandwich, which tastes way better than it sounds! Katie had a homemade veggie burger. Everything was divine, and once again local choices win again!<\/p>\n

\"Laura<\/a><\/p>\n

Laura in Laramie, Wyoming<\/strong><\/p>\n

After lunch, the Wyoming area after Laramie was pretty desolate, so we stopped to get gas in case we didn\u2019t have another opportunity. The gas was the most expensive I\u2019ve seen since Gainesville! $3.49 per gallon compared to $2.97 where we\u2019ve gone everywhere else! It was a good decision though because there was literally nothing else around for hundreds of miles.<\/p>\n

\"Pumping<\/a><\/p>\n

This is pre-crisis…<\/strong><\/p>\n

A funny story about this gas station, the wind and Katie though\u2026 Katie was paying for the gas when the credit card got blown out of her hand by a gust of wind. Then, since the wind where we were was relentless, the card kept flying away without an end in sight. Then, I see Katie running (in an icy\/snowy area) after something when I realize it\u2019s our credit card! Then I start running after her, and this guy in a truck wonders what we are doing. Finally, she catches it and comes back. While she is doing that, random truck guy says to me \u201cmy accelerator pedal came out of my truck\u201d as if I could help him. Katie finishes pumping the gas and we get out of there really quick!<\/p>\n

\"Old<\/p>\n

Old Gas Station<\/strong><\/p>\n

Later on, just before the Wyoming-Utah border we stop for gas again but it turns out to be this little old-fashioned gas station that looks like it\u2019s stuck in the 1950s. Well, when we start pumping the gas, it comes out at a rate of about a gallon every 5 minutes and I get bored so I go to the snow pile to make a snowman. I start gathering snow (with my bare hands) and then I look at my palms and they are BLUE. I\u2019ve heard many horror stories recently about people\u2019s extremities turning blue and falling off, so naturally I panic and wipe off all the snow and run back to the car. What I didn\u2019t think about was the fact that my new dark blue jeans tend to rub off on my hands sometimes and that\u2019s what caused the blue hue to my hands. Katie found this hilarious since she had only witnessed me panicking and had no idea why!<\/p>\n

\"Sisters<\/a><\/p>\n

I was so tired of driving after this trip!<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of the day, when we were about 20 miles from my new home for the semester, it started snowing. It was magical! I have never witnessed it snowing any more than a light flurry. This is such a new concept to me, so I haven\u2019t gotten used to it yet. Tomorrow I\u2019ll probably have to dig my car out of the driveway though. \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n

Right now it\u2019s about 5 minutes till 2014 in Mountain Standard Time, so I will ring in the New Year in a new city with new adventures ahead. This year will definitely be interesting!<\/p>\n

License Plate Game:<\/p>\n

Connecticut
\nPennsylvania
\nWe did not get all 50 states. The list is in the car, so we\u2019ll figure out what we\u2019re missing tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Miles Today: 512
\nMiles Total: 2,680<\/p>\n

We actually drove more like 3,000 miles in all but those distances are only from Point A to Point B for each day\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

December 31, 2013 Today was the final day of our road trip (and of the year)! Our journey took us through the rest of Colorado, across Wyoming, and finally into Utah. Surprisingly, I drove for most of the day. I haven\u2019t had a lot of experience driving in the mountains so it was a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[131,148],"tags":[57,149,5,104,43,4],"yoast_head":"\nDay 5: Denver, CO to Salt Lake City, UT » Next Stop: Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hiking Adventure Travel Blog Wedding Planning Lifestyle Recreation Photography\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/23\/day-5-denver-co-salt-lake-city-ut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Day 5: Denver, CO to Salt Lake City, UT » Next Stop: Adventure\" \/>\n<meta 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