Travel Day 2, Aurora, Ne. to Rock Springs, WY

Up early today and on the road just a few minutes before 7am. Long day as we put 634 miles behind us. That's rare while towing the boat. But with the early start, and driving until 6:30 local, made for about a 12.5 hour day. My earlier planning had us stopping at Wamsutter, WY., at a Loves truck stop, however it was still kind of early, and there wasn't a lot of room there. So supper and "boaterhoming" at a Walmart in Rock Springs this evening. Started the day out on a good note. The Northplatte Loves did have regular gas at $3.09, and no more than 10% ethanol. With my .13 / gal discount, I paid 2.969/g for 60 gals to top C-Traveler's fuel tank off. The winds today were crazy strong out of the west. Between the strong winds, and slow climb in elevation in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming, for a while I was down to 5.9mpg in the pickup. The additional fuel weight on the boat doesn't make the difference. But the elevation climb and wind on the frontal area of the boat really causes the 5.0 V8 to work hard. Digital warning signs at Cheyenne warned that I80 was closed to high profile vehicles due to 40+ mph crosswinds. Then the digital signs west of Laramie warned closed due to 50+mph crosswinds. For the record, I didn't really consider I was driving a high profile vehicle. ;-) Also, while the winds were howling, they were not a cross wind but rather directly on the nose. Actually, I didn't feel any different effect on C-Traveler behind my F150, then I did towing her through Iowa yesterday with the strong headwinds.Read more