Medicine Bow
From Walcott (exit 235) to to Little Laramie River (exit 297) you will
be able to see the Medicine Bow Mountains to the south (your right if
eastbound). A lovely scenic route can take you right over Snowy Range
Pass with is in the shadow of Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 feet). The pass
is almost 11,000 feet - about the easiest way to climb a 12,000 foot
mountain. The road is closed during the snow season (inquire
locally).
Just take exit 235 at Walcott and follow WY-130 all the way, over
the pass, to Laramie at exit 311.
Note: the other, slightly shorter, peak next to Medicine Bow Peak is
Sugarloaf Mountain. There is a string of beautiful, Alpine lakes along
an extended mesa just east of the peak. You'll see a forest road on your
left about 2.5 miles beyond the pass. There are also several lakes right
at the pass with convenient pull-offs but we likes the ones on the east
side of Sugarloaf much better (and there was no one else there).Laramie
Laramie (and West Laramie) are accessed from exits 310 through 316. For
a drive-through, we recommend taking exit 313 and follow the US-30 signs
to the center of town. Watch for the right turn at Grand Avenue - the
US-30 sign there is easy to miss.
If you have time to stop a while, there are several interesting
walking tours. Phone (toll-free) 1-800-445-5303 for an information
packet. Even if you can't stop, it is interesting to read through all
the stuff they have assembled for tourists.
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US-30 rejoins I-80
at exit 316 but you're not really finished with Laramie, yet. There are
two monuments, both at scenic overlooks, that are worth visiting.
Lincoln Monument
The first is the Lincoln Monument at exit 323. America's
first transcontinental highway, opened to traffic in 1922, was
officially named Lincoln Highway. This became US-30 across most of the
country to the WY-UT border (US highways were numbered from east to west
and north to south - just the opposite of the Interstate system). The
old 'named' highways have long since been forgotten but, somehow, the
repeated efforts to preserve the knowledge of the Lincoln highway
persists. What we have included here is a very brief overview. To read
more about this fascinating story, view: Lincoln
Highway.
The stone Lincoln Monument was placed at Sherman Peak by US-30 (Lincoln
Highway) to mark the highest point of the transcontinental highway. Now
placed in the rest area at exit 323 so travelers may appreciate it and
the history of the highway (now I-80) which has been so important to the
economic growth of the U.S.A.
Henry Joy
Monument
(For information about the contribution of Henry Joy, see
the article at 'Lincoln
Highway'). The Henry Joy monument was originally sited just west
of Rawlins but moved to the Summit Rest Area at exit 323.
Ames Monument
A pyramid-shaped stone mass at exit 329 was built be the Union Pacific
Railroad to honed Oliver and Oakes Ames, influential in the early
construction efforts of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad.
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