I've had three great days in Colorado doing traditional vacation things that are all centered around a specific destination and/or point of interest. I spent day one getting to know Greeley. Day two was spent in Loveland and Fort Collins. Yesterday was spent in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. This brings me to today, (Thanksgiving day), which will be my last for this western vacation.

I've said on numerous occasions on these boards just how much I cherish my time behind the wheel. A cruise to nowhere with the roof down remains my favorite way to relax and enjoy life. Those traditional vacation things are wonderful in themselves. But for me, there is something magical about getting there.

Heather has known me long enough to fully understand this. So when I asked her what she had in mind for Thanksgiving day, she suggested we drive to Wyoming. Wyoming ? This sounds interesting. What's up there ? "Wyoming," was her response. I understand this logic !

This would be another entirely new destination for me, and allow me to say that I've driven in Wyoming. We decided to explore the scenery in and around Cheyenne. Since we would be in the area, Heather suggested we also make the 45 minute drive west to Laramie because we can !

Cheyenne, Wyoming is only about one hour directly north of Greeley on US Route 85. With traffic not really a problem on Thanksgiving day, we soon found ourselves at the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center along I-25 outside of the city.

This is a new facility that opened in 2012 to quite a bit of fanfare for its design and functionality. Located in the midst of cowboy country in the least-populated state in the US sits a state of the art facility that has received nationwide recognition for its sustainable engineering.

Power for the building comes from a combination of solar (roof-mounted panels), wind (5 turbines on the property), and geothermal sources. A wildflower green roof helps keep the place cool in the summer. The building's walls were made using the "Rammed Earth" technique. This is just what it says – a mix of earth, rocks, clay, and other elements that are compressed, or "rammed" together. The colors seen in the photo above were added during construction to illustrate the different layers.

The Visitor's Center is located inside a 27,000 square foot building that is packed full of interactive exhibits relating to the history of the region. Unfortunately, the exhibition part of the center was closed for the holiday. But we got to check out some detailed information regarding the center's "green" design.

This is an interstate welcome center and rest stop. The expected "rest stop" things like abundant parking, restrooms, and tourist information are all in place. But what is not expected is the site's 26 acre size that features walking trails, outdoor exhibits, and art sculptures such as the "Wind Code" seen in the photos above and below.

Wind Code sculpture.

The location of this center pays tribute to the Yellowstone Highway from 1915. This was an unpaved road that originated in Denver, Colorado and headed north to Rocky Mountain National Park. From there it continued north through Cheyenne, Wyoming on its way to Yellowstone National Park, hence the name. Connecting these recently established national parks via an automobile roadway was a very forward thinking idea a century ago. The concept would be further developed into the "National Park to Park Highway" that connected 12 western national parks via a 6,000 mile loop.

The marker shown above describes the area's abundant railroad history.

Mother Nature got wind of our plan for "driving in Wyoming" and decided to threaten us with the possibility of winter. We left Greeley with the roof down and temperatures in the mid-40s. The trip to Cheyenne was not only directly north, but also upward in elevation. Upon arrival at the Welcome Center, which sits around 6,000 feet, the temperature had dropped to the low-30s and was now accompanied by strong winds.

My Beautiful Disaster's heater is wonderful, and the heated seats work great. But even they have their limits in the High Plains in late November. So the roof came up once we arrived at the Welcome Center, which was no big deal.

My camera decided to focus on the nearby branches, which made for an interesting picture.

We put the roof up and hit the road again.

The threat from Mother Nature wasn't just about the temperatures. It may not be apparent from the photos. But we also had to worry about road closures, specifically Interstate 80 west of Laramie due to high winds and snowfall. So we decided to make a loop from Cheyenne to Laramie via State Route 210 west and back to Cheyenne via Interstate 80 east. Also known as Happy Jack Road, Route 210 winds its way toward Laramie through Curt Gowdy State Park, Medicine Bow National Forest, and the Sherman Mountains.

We left Cheyenne and headed west on the road less traveled.

Wyoming is the least-populated state in the US, (around 585,000 people), yet is the 10th largest by area (around 98,000 square miles).

The resulting population density of around 6 people per square mile means wide open spaces are everywhere !

Open roads that pass through large fields are the norm.

We followed Happy Jack Road west toward Laramie pleased by the absence of winter. Mother Nature looked like she was going to give us a break.

Approaching a 7,400 foot peak along Happy Jack Road.

The ridge seen in the photo above sits in front of Curt Gowdy State Park.

The 7,426 foot peak seen in the photo above sat off to my right as I passed by the ridge.

A 7,426 foot peak along Happy Jack Road outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

A 7,426 foot peak along Happy Jack Road outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

A 7,426 foot peak along Happy Jack Road outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

A 7,426 foot peak along Happy Jack Road outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

A 7,426 foot peak along Happy Jack Road outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

A 7,426 foot peak along Happy Jack Road outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Mother Nature changed her mind a mere 5 minutes later. Winter appeared out of nowhere.

A cool rock formation off to my right that appears to be around 8,000 feet at its peak.

I discovered after the fact that we had been steadily climbing during that 5 minutes from around 6,800 feet in the previous snow-free photos to near 7,800 feet in the much whiter looking photos above and below.

Two minutes later, we found a little more snow on the ground.

The snow got more intense as we crossed 8,000 feet.

Passing by the Sherman Mountains seen in the photos above and below took us to 8,400 feet.

Passing by the Sherman Mountains.

(L) Point Crawford (8,860 feet), and (R) Pole Mountain (9,047 feet).

Pole Mountain 9,047 feet.

I discovered that Happy Jack Road doesn't actually go to Laramie. The road circles around the Sherman Mountains and connects to Interstate 80 where we would continue our westbound trek.

A memorial to Abraham Lincoln sits at the intersection of the two roadways.

Interstate 80 would take us the final 20 miles west into Laramie.

The Lincoln Memorial sits at Sherman Summit, the highest point along all of Interstate 80 at 8,640 feet. Laramie sits about 1,500 feet lower making our trip downhill from here.

The snow gradually disappeared on our way down from Sherman Summit.

We had a beautiful view into the valley coming down from Sherman Summit.

The mountains off in the distance are part of the 1,000,000 acre Medicine Bow National Forest.