Wyoming

Wyoming really was pretty awesome.  Here Casey took an informative picture about Wyoming Winds at a rest area, after a discussion with Marta about a windy rest area.  We think this is what she was talking about even though it was, disappointingly, not windy at all that day.

We took a 30 min. detour off I-80 to a town called Saratoga, WY. Casey has been wanting to go to a hot springs since I have met him, and we have always been foiled. Actually, the truth of the matter is that he is always foiled because I veto the plan. We almost stopped in Colorado once, but it was snowing out and I didn't want to drive another 6 hours all wet. When we were in Mexica, we got on an unmarked dirt road to "Agua Caliente" but I vetoed that, too, because I didn't want to die in Mexico. So Casey found Saratoga on a hot springs website and made reservations for us at the hot springs resort in town. The resort was super cute, with about 30 rustic rooms surrounding the hot springs. They had a series of tubs of different heats, and I assume they all drained into this large swimming pool, which was a really comfortable temperature, like a warm bath. Here's Casey enjoying a Busch light:
Then they had some uncovered and some tent-covered smaller hot tubs. Some of these were almost unbearably hot, especially during the day. At evening after dinner, they all filled up fast, especially the covered ones. Most of the people at the resort seemed to be middle aged couples, we think from Colorado. Here's me enjoying the healthful benefits of one of the covered mineral hot springs:

The town also seemed pretty awesome and it seemed like it would really be a nice place to visit longer. There was a big river through town and they offered float trips, fishing, and all sorts of other outdoor adventures. There was also a public hot springs. When we got there, most people were actually in the public swimming pool, which was not free, even though there was a river next to the pool, and draining into the river, was the hot springs. So, if you are a traveling vagrant and don't have enough money for a chlorine pool, they also offered this option:
(The sign says "hobo pool", but the camera strap is in the way.  argh)

As you can see, many wandering homeless people took a break from hopping freight trains to partake in the slightly murky water. It actually did seem like a really nice hot springs.

I would definitely recommend Saratoga to anyone traveling the mighty I-80.

I would also recommend listening to John Hodgeman's book, "The areas of my expertise" on audiobook.  Underbakke turned me on to the audiobook version, and it made the whole trip (and visiting the hobo pool, in particular) much more entertaining.