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The Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives 102 Old Lincoln Way West Galion, Ohio 44833 (419) 462-2212 Voice |
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Number 14
Longest 5 Miles of My Life
Kids,
After several days in Evanston, I was finally on my way to Utah and Salt Lake City some 80 miles away.
It was shortly after lunch, I waited until the Sun came out then headed for the outskirts of town.
In Wyoming and Utah the Lincoln Highway is sometimes difficult to follow.
With the building of I-80, the Highway can be any one of several places:
All by itself somewhere,
The right of left lane of I-80,
The service road on either side of the road or anywhere in between.
Accordingly it can go for miles then abruptly stop, turn right or left
then contiune on in any one of the above configurations.
It can be paved, gravel or just plain dirt.
Going out of Evanston, it is paved and follows Wasatch Road to the old Port of Entry
then continues on as a dirt service road.
Wyuta is actually the first stop in Utah, but for some reason I missed the sign on the power station.
It snowed the night before, so there was several inches of snow on the ground, and
while maybe not the best road in the world, it appeared none the less passable.
After all, How bad could it be and how long could it go?
Several hundred yards in I knew I'd made the wrong choice, but there was no turning back.
The road was narrow and while initially there were tracks to follow, they soon disappeared.
Well, you know what they say...
"If you don't like the weather in Wyoming, wait 20 minutes and it will change."
It went from bad to worse...
The snow began to fall and white out conditions began to prevail.
It was hard to differentiate.
I could feel the tires start to slip below 23 or 30 miles an hour,
so I couldn't stop for fear I might get stuck and not be able to get started again.
The road while mostly straight went up and down over a few hills.
Off to the side not 25 yards away was I-80, but it might as well have not been there at all,
since it was impossible to reach.
I just keep going for what seemed like an eternitiy,
hoping I wouldn't catch a rut wrong and end up in the ditch.
Finally I saw a light at the end of the tunnel:
Wasatch or all that was left, a watertower.
This is looking back toward Evanston.
Off to the side, you can see a Union Pacific matainance crew sitting in a four wheel drive vehicle.
You should have seen the look on their faces.
I asked them to sign the guest book and asked for directions to Wyuta the first stop on my list.
Duh, it was back at the Port of Entry near the power station, so I had to go back and put up the Flag.
It was exactly 7 miles back to Evanston on I-80 then another 2 to the power station.
By that time 20 minutes had passed, the snow had stopped and the sun was out.
You can see my tacks off to the right...
"The longest 5 miles of my life..."
Warmest Regards,
BACK-13
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Designed By: The Starman
You are Visitor #
Since December 23, 2001
After several days in Evanston, I was finally on my way to Utah and Salt Lake City some 80 miles away.
It was shortly after lunch, I waited until the Sun came out then headed for the outskirts of town.
In Wyoming and Utah the Lincoln Highway is sometimes difficult to follow.
With the building of I-80, the Highway can be any one of several places:
All by itself somewhere,
The right of left lane of I-80,
The service road on either side of the road or anywhere in between.
Accordingly it can go for miles then abruptly stop, turn right or left
then contiune on in any one of the above configurations.
It can be paved, gravel or just plain dirt.
Going out of Evanston, it is paved and follows Wasatch Road to the old Port of Entry
then continues on as a dirt service road.
Wyuta is actually the first stop in Utah, but for some reason I missed the sign on the power station.
It snowed the night before, so there was several inches of snow on the ground, and
while maybe not the best road in the world, it appeared none the less passable.
After all, How bad could it be and how long could it go?
Several hundred yards in I knew I'd made the wrong choice, but there was no turning back.
The road was narrow and while initially there were tracks to follow, they soon disappeared.
Well, you know what they say...
"If you don't like the weather in Wyoming, wait 20 minutes and it will change."
It went from bad to worse...
The snow began to fall and white out conditions began to prevail.
It was hard to differentiate.
I could feel the tires start to slip below 23 or 30 miles an hour,
so I couldn't stop for fear I might get stuck and not be able to get started again.
The road while mostly straight went up and down over a few hills.
Off to the side not 25 yards away was I-80, but it might as well have not been there at all,
since it was impossible to reach.
I just keep going for what seemed like an eternitiy,
hoping I wouldn't catch a rut wrong and end up in the ditch.
Finally I saw a light at the end of the tunnel:
Wasatch or all that was left, a watertower.
This is looking back toward Evanston.
Off to the side, you can see a Union Pacific matainance crew sitting in a four wheel drive vehicle.
You should have seen the look on their faces.
I asked them to sign the guest book and asked for directions to Wyuta the first stop on my list.
Duh, it was back at the Port of Entry near the power station, so I had to go back and put up the Flag.
It was exactly 7 miles back to Evanston on I-80 then another 2 to the power station.
By that time 20 minutes had passed, the snow had stopped and the sun was out.
You can see my tacks off to the right...
"The longest 5 miles of my life..."
Warmest Regards,
BACK-13 |
Email-Index |
NEXT-15 |
HOME |
Designed By: The Starman
You are Visitor #
Since December 23, 2001