No Bull [photos follow]

With the storm dwindled into a few scurrying rain clouds, the drive from Rawlins to Fort Laramie took less effort. Still, the hypnotic barrenness of Wyoming's high desert had me looking for a place to pull off the lonely two lane highway for a break -- which gave me the only interesting item to share for the day.

The long stretch of leveled shoulder had a high wire fence separating the road from a partially fenced pasture. Two animals were grazing in it; nope, not cattle, those are bison! And up the road, another cluster of animals, a larger species of deer than I have ever seen.  

A wildlife management study, the sign on the fence said. I will try to retrieve the photos from my camera this week.

The invasive orange barrel species spreading over Wyoming's highways, however, won over my curiosity about Fort Laramie. When the AM radio road bulletins began warning of construction-caused backups between me and Denver, I abandoned my plan to touch another part of the Oregon Trail and turned south.

Tonight's shelter is a hostel in downtown Denver. My fellow umbraphile (aka solar eclipse geek) and I are staying with Europeans who have also come to witness the event; Barbara is in the girl's dorm, and I am in with the guys. 

I enjoy hostels, actually. Less privacy, true, but also much less sterile.