How to Spend 32 Nights in Rock Springs, Wyoming - Part 1

 So here we are in Rock Springs, Wyoming waiting for a repair to our trailer. 

 We were all settled in to a camp site at the KOA in Rock Springs, Wyoming with full hookups (electric, water, and sewer) and wondering how long we would be there. 

 

 

 

We got to looking for things to do in the area.  First up was a visit to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.  We left for the day trip driving south on Rt 191 then west across the bottom by the dam and then north on the other side of the river and then east back to Rock Springs.

 We made our way south to the Flaming Gorge Dam.

It is still possible to drive on the dam in this post 9/11 time.

We should have brought out paddleboards and swim suits!

After crossing the dam we drove west. 

We did a little hiking on the Canyon Rim trail in the Red Canyon area of the park.  Near the parking lot were these long horned sheep.  

 

This photo makes me look like a daredevil (which I'm not)! 

We found a great place for our picnic lunch and enjoyed the scenery and our sandwiches.

Some people out enjoying the day on their boats.  Wish it was us too!

Before we headed north, there was a loop road suggested to us called Sheep Creek.  That was a beautiful drive!

Well that was a nice drive with some beautiful scenery.  We especially liked the loop road through Sheep Canyon.   

Searching the internet for more things to do, we found the Sweetwater County Event Center had a roping contest one night so we went to check it out.  We were the only spectators.

What we observed is a steer is released from a chute and then two cowboys/girls pass a timing laser beam which starts the clock.  The first cow-person tries to rope the steer's head and then once that is successful the second one tries to rope the back two legs.  Then their time is recorded with the fastest time as the winner.  There is a judge in the ring who waves a flag if there are any penalties and then time is added to their score.

(Most of my photos are blurry because they were moving so fast!)

Once the steer is roped, it is very quickly released.  Even if the cowperson has to let go of their end in order for the rope to loosen to not harm the cow. 

Some of the steer had protective "helmets" on to protect their horns.

We enjoyed our first roping event and feel like we attended a real Wyoming type sport. 

On Thursday afternoons, Rock Springs has their farmer's market so we went to check it out.  There were not many stands but we enjoyed walking around the small downtown. 

Who knows what this is from???  Comment with your answer.

One Friday night we went back to the Sweetwater Event Center to watch the Dwarf Car Nationals just for something to do.  It was a shame we had taken showers before and were all clean because we got so dirty from dust flying around the track! 

Okay, we did that and don't need to do it again.  This event was not a hit with us.  

While in our adopted town we spent one morning volunteering for the local food bank.  A semi truck full of food arrived at the Sweetwater Events Center Parking lot.  Most of the food was already boxed for handout.  We had to put bundles together for easy movement to people's vehicles.  There was quite a line up of cars but it was all very orderly.  There were also a lot of volunteers for the food distribution.

 

 

 

  

The first vehicles in line received a box of fruit, box of whole seasoned chickens, big bag of breaded chicken breasts, bag of potato wedges, 12 small cartons of orange juice, and a box of vegetables.  As items ran out, those vehicles further back received what was left until the last cars received very few items.  Only about five cars were turned away with no food.  It paid to be early!

Each grouping of boxes below is for a vehicle.

As the cars pulled up, I instructed Al and another guy which boxes were ready for them to put into a vehicle. 

Al loading food into a car

  

That was our excitement for the day.  At least we were able to give back while stuck in Rock Springs!

Another day we went for a drive to see Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge.   

This area was better visited with some ATV type vehicle so we didn't get to see too much but at one stop we saw this huge bull moose sitting along the shore on the other side of the river from us.

That same day we drove from Seedskedee to the intersection of Rt 28 and Highway 191 where there is the Farson Mercantile which is known for the giant ice cream scoops.  This was a single scoop for each of us!  It really was too much ice cream if that is possible.

 

On August 26th, our 15th day in Rock Springs, a mechanic from Lippert Industries came to our campsite to inspect the damage to our trailer and write up a report.  He was on his way to Colorado Springs, Colorado when he stopped by Rock Springs to review our trailer so the repairs could be ordered.  This was just the first step in our repair.  

We were dealing with three companies for our repair, Grand Design, the maker of our trailer, Lippert, the maker of the frame, and Dexter, the maker of the axles.

And now that the work report has been written we wait for the actual work to be done.  Kyle, the mechanic said the guy who writes the report is usually the one who does the work.  That means we may need to wait for Kyle to go to Colorado Springs and do a repair there then return home to Michigan before he heads our way.   Ugh!