Bjbpe

I struggled for a while to get pictures on my threads. Now that I have them in place, I've received a couple of questions/comments regarding the locale of the photographs. Given my enthusiasm for the Rockies I thought I would send out this thread for folks who may be interested.

The pictures were taken in the Medicine Bow National Forest in South-central Wyoming. The forest is located in the Rocky Mountain chain about 35 miles west of the town of Laramie (population about 30,000, home of the University of Wyoming, famous for the imprisonment of Butch Cassidy as well as the movie "Man from Laramie"). Laramie is located in an area of plains with an elevation of 7,000 feet. The town is relatively level in all directions and sits at the base of a relatively low summit on I-80, elevation of 8100. Since it is well developed there are plenty of trees but when you proceed west on WY130 toward the distant mountains the topography is that of rolling, treeless prairie gradually rising to an elevation of 8000 feet in the tiny town of Centennial, population 200. Centennial is a very popular attraction for snowmobilers and skiers and might be compared to a poor man's (very, very poor) Vail or Aspen. While driving out to Centennial you will be able to see an area called the "Big Hollow" on the south which is an excellent example of very heavy erosion due to the high prairie winds.

It is at Centennial where WY130 begins a relatively steep climb up into the forest (Lodgepole pine at the lower elevations, spruce and fur as one goes higher up) all the way to the Snowy Range pass at an elevation of 11,000 feet. On the way up one will pass the Snowy Range Ski Area, base elevation of 9,000 feet and top at 10,000 feet). The signature picture was taken at a pull-off on the pass and depicts Medicine Bow Peak, elevation 12,000 feet in the background. Needless to say, at that elevation, snow is likely at any time of the year but, of course, is really heavy during the winter months. I believe the snow depths at the end of the winter are somewhere in the range of 300 - 400 inches. I also am told that Snowy Range pass is the highest in Wyoming.

Proceeding westward we can see the other picture taken near Lake Marie, a beautiful mountain lake at the base of Medicine Bow Peak that is the terminus for many hiking and snowmobile trails in the area. From there the highway begins to slowly descend through very attractive forest with outstanding views of the Colorado mountains off in the distance.

This highway is one of the designated national by-ways and is regarded as being off the beaten track. You really should not go there as we want to keep it all to ourselves.

One other interesting fact about Medicine Bow Peak is that it used to be a barrier for piston-engine airplanes (back in the fifties). When making a trip from Denver to Salt Lake City, these older airplanes had to fly north along the Colorado front range until they got past the Wyoming Range and could then fly west and south to Salt Lake. It was a well known fact that, when a pilot might be running late, he might jump over Medicine Bow Peak with inches to spare in order to make up time. I'm told that this was something of a "milk run" but was not permitted by the brass. On one such illegal run they did not get enough altitude and slammed into the face of the peak. Everybody was killed and, due to the miserable weather, the bodies were removed with great difficulty. Matter of fact, the engines are still there as they were too heavy and remote to get them out of there.

Just a few words about one of my favorite places in the world.

Barney

Alan

How does the car perform at that elevation? do you noice a significant power drop Vs. much lower down?

Alan

Bjbpe

Hi Alan:

No question that the performance is a little off - not much and certainly not to the point that I would want to take any measures to correct it.

Matter of fact, the performance of us homo-sapiens is a little off too. I think I mentioned in a previous note that my wife and I both taught skiing at the local ski area. We would oftentimes get folks from the east coast out here for a skiing vacation. They would have arrived the day before and hit the slopes the following morning. Many would have a lot of trouble performing at 10,000 feet. The solution was oftentimes to have them drink a bottle of Coca-Cola. For some reason that would pep them up. Don't ask me for a medical reason but it seemed to work.

Barney

SeanR

Great pictures.

Randy V

Bjbpe

Randy:

I've heard that way back in the early part of the 20th century the colas had cocaine in them but I'm under the impression that was even before WW2. I don't think these people were "high".

Barney

DKWalser

You're right, Barney. Your students weren't "high" in terms of anything other than elevation. However, colas generally have caffeine added. That speeds up the heart and makes dealing with higher altitudes somewhat easier.

I'm glad you were able to upload your pictures. They're worth the wait (if not yoru frustration).

Dave928S

Thanks Barney. Good to see those pictures and hear about the area where you live.