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Our trip to Sunset, Utah - 2010

Our route home was the same as going but we did find some interesting things on our return trip. We departed Layton, Utah a little before 6:00 AM with the fresh news from the local TV news that indicated that I-80 had been closed on Sunday due to a wild fire. We had some thought of this as we headed out in the dark and by the time we got to Evanston, Wyoming it was getting light and we spotted the smoke from the fire that was now a mile or so off the interstate. We saw the burnt grass on the north side of the interstate and as we passed the smoke we saw open flames behind us.

Wild fire near Evanston, Wyoming.

The interstate was open and we were far from the actual fire but could smell the smoke for several miles. We stopped at the rest stop that marks the highest elevation along what was once the Lincoln Highway. There is a large historic monument that stands at the summit near Sherman Hill. We have stopped at this rest stop in years past but what drew our interest this year was the unique clouds that warned us of rain ahead. The clouds were in long rows running east and west and divided by blue sky.

Lincoln Highway Memorial

And we did get rain a few miles east of here. It was nothing serious but enough to wash the bugs off the windshield. New to us on this trip was the Lone Tree marker. This is at exit 333 and is in the median between the east and west bound lanes. The pine tree is growing in the crevice in the large granite rock. The signs indicate that is was growing there when the first railroad was constructed here in 1867. It has been a tourist attraction since that time and we are not sure how we missed it with all the trips we have taken along this route. The post with the painted "L" is a marker for the route of the original US Highway 30 route.

Lone Tree at Exit 333

Also visible from this stop are the Vedauwoo Rocks that are known to have been hunting grounds and places of shelter for the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indian tribes.

Vedauwoo Rock formation near Exit 333

The rest of the trip was uneventful, except for the great gas mileage. The tail wind pushing us along made it possible to get nearly 34 miles to the gallon with the HHR, this is about 4 miles per gallon more than on the trip out.

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