Day #5 - June 18, 2010

Salt Lake City, UT to Rawlins, WY
327.8 miles

I started the day with coffee and a pastry at Les Madeleines on East 500 South in downtown Salt Lake City. Fred & Angela recommended this cozy bakery to me. They have a pastry specialty called Kouing Aman. It has a buttery hard outer pastry crust and a soft custard center. Yum. It was a great way to start the day and thank you, Fred & Angela.

I left Salt Lake City about 9:30 a.m. and headed east. The Lincoln Highway in this part of Utah and Wyoming is now Highway 80 for several hundred miles. For about the first 20 minutes or so, the road climbs steeply to Park City, UT. In winter this is a great skiing area and I could see from the highway some of the ski lifts in the distance.

I made a short pit stop in Coalville, UT (photo below) and checked out the Summit Furniture & Merc Company Building, built in 1909. There is still a lively business there today; lots of people in the store. Unfortunately, I missed the annual pig roast a week earlier.


I crossed into Wyoming about 11:30 a.m. and stopped for a short time in Evanston, WY. They have quite a few Lincoln Highway signs directing traffic through town, and a River Walk and park. I walked along the river for about 15 minutes. It wasn't very scenic (so no photos) but it was relaxing and enjoyable.

The highlight of the day was Ft. Bridger, WY. I had lunch at the Wagon Wheel Motel & Restaurant on the main street, the only restaurant in town I think. Many of the locals were there. I had fried chicken and fries; so much grease but so good. Cigar smoke added to the ambience.

Just across the street is Fort Bridger Historic Site. The small fort was established by Jim Bridger in 1843 as an emigrant supply stop along the Oregon Trail. It lasted just a few years, but it proved to be one of the hubs of westward expansion because of its location on the Oregon Trail, California Trail, Pony Express Route, Overland Stage Route, and later the Lincoln Highway. The Mormons obtained it in 1850, and the U.S. Military obtained it in 1858 as a military outpost.

Cabins were built adjacent to the site in 1928 to accommodate Lincoln Highway traffic.


1858 Officer's Quarters

Wash House (left); School House (right)

Museum (1880s Barracks)

Lincoln Highway display inside the Museum

Buttes along Highway 80. There are lots of wide open spaces in Wyoming and long distances between the towns. Much of the scenery looked much like the photo below.

Arrived in Rawlins, WY about 5:30 p.m. Think I'll stay in the hotel tonight and explore the town tomorrow. Tired from the long drive.