Breaking Down in Rock Springs, WY

We left Dave and Ridgway State Park and headed north.  As we were driving north, we started seeing lots of smoke clouds.  We texted Dave and he let us know the area we were headed to was far from the fire so we would be okay.

We arrived at our Boondocker's Welcome host's property at Vega Lake in Collbran, Colorado.  We shared their property with another couple who also full-time travel in their RV.  

That's us hidden among the trees

 

Boondocking with another couple

 

 We had a nice view of the lake from our campsite.  

Our view of Vega Lake

The next day we went in to town to walk around.  The downtown was just one block long and it included an American Service Women's Memorial.  

Dedicated July 4, 1991

We stopped in one shop and a lady there told us about a Gymkhana that was going on at the Rodeo Grounds.  We didn't know what a Gymkhana was but it was within walking distance so we walked over to check it out.  

Gymkhana is a term used to describe an equestrian event consisting of speed pattern racing and timed games for riders on horses.

There were grandstands with shade so we found a seat at a distance from others and watched the kids compete.  

The first event we watched was Speedball.  For this event the rider has to put a ball inside a bucket and is timed.  For the real little ones, an adult would walk/run the horse with it's little rider to the bucket so the kid could drop the ball in the bucket and then ride back to the starting point.  All of this is timed and if they miss the bucket, they get a "no time". 

 

 

 

 

The older kids ride on their own and really push their horse for a fast time.

 

 

The next event we watched was called Keyhole.  There was a course set on the ground made with flour.  Here their horse must enter through the open neck and go past the straight portion before turning around in the circular portion.  After turning the horse must pass through the straight portion again and out through the open end and past the finish line.  Contestants are disqualified if the horse steps on or over any white course markings. 

Here is a Keyhole participant from a different angle.

The little ones also competed in this event.

There were two other events that we missed; Pole Bending and Open Ended Figure 8.  Overall it was fun to watch the kids compete and learn more about rodeo events.

Boys hanging out

Waiting his turn to compete

Horses wear jewelry too!

Every cowboy/girl needs a little divine assistance.

Time to wash her horse before taking it home.

After two nights at Vega Lake, we moved on to a livestock ranch just inside the border of Wyoming in the town of Savery.  We spent one night on the Harvest Host property of Ladder Livestock Ranch.  The owners have been raising cattle and sheep in this valley for six generations.  Their property is in both Wyoming and Colorado. 

 

Upon arrival, we walked up to the front door of the house and knocked.  The owner greeted us and instructed us where to park. 

The Little Snake River runs through their property.  We walked over to it for a look. 

How is this for a view out our windows?

Look how big those rolls of hay are!

Unfortunately we didn't see much of their livestock.  On a walk we took to go look for them we got chased back inside the trailer by mosquitoes!  We each got at least 5 bites and were happy we turned around when we did.  

The next day we drove further in to Wyoming to Green River where we stayed on a business property just off I-80.  It wasn't much exciting but a safe place to spend the night as we made our way towards the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National parks. 

The next day we made a stop at WalMart in Rock Springs to stock up on food and supplies before heading north.  While I was putting our groceries in the refrigerator, Al was checking out the trailer and noticed some weird tread wear on our back two tires of the trailer.

They definitely didn't look good so we called around to different tire centers in the area for someone to take a look.  We needed to get this fixed before we headed any further since we were now in a more populated area.  Susan from LJD Towing & Repair and her son, Shawn, opened up their shop for us and we drove over for them to take a look.  . 

Susan, Shawn, and Al in the office

The blue arrow is pointing to a part that is supposed to be on top and not the bottom of the axle.  The red lines show the u-bolts which are supposed to be perpendicular and not diagonal. 

Susan and Shawn definitely recommended not going any further until the issue is fixed.  They recommended a KOA Campground four miles away as a place for us to stay while we contacted Grand Design, the manufacturer of the trailer.  So that's what we did and got settled in at the campground. 

The view out or window

This area of Wyoming is mostly desert like with small bushes and lots of ATV trails.  We did a little hiking behind the campground. 

The KOA campground in the front with Philips 66 oil plant in the background.

So we settled in to a safe place with full hook ups to wait for the repair to our trailer.  I'm so thankful that Al noticed the problem when he did and that we didn't break down on some lonesome highway with no cell service or a town with little or no services.  Now, how long will we be in Rock Springs, Wyoming??? 

Here is our route for this entry: