Now and Then - 10 Years Later

10 years ago + 1 day, Corey and I made a trip out west which included spending some time along the Snowy Range Road in the Medicine Bow National Forest near Laramie, Wyoming. I was working my way out to Denver, Colorado to do a child care presentation at a national conference. But first, Corey and I were doing some extensive sightseeing and visiting friends out west. Les had not wanted to join us, so we took off by ourselves for almost two weeks.

Joe and I made that same trip to Snowy Range Road yesterday and it was amazing to see some of the places I'd seen before and share them with him.

I pulled out the scrapbook that I'd put together after the trip Corey and I made and thought I'd compare some of the pictures. I've also added some of the commentary written in the scrapbook in italics.

Leaving Laramie, Wyoming after spending the night there on August 6, 1999 6:45 a.m...

"It was so cold that morning that you could see your breath. 57 degrees in fact. We had not packed any coats, but I did have a sweater and Corey had a couple of flannel shirts. We used them that morning. It was hard to believe it was the first week in August and so cold. It certainly was not like that in Georgia. It was running at the 100 degree range there.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I noted on paper that "unfortunately we have to be on the interstate most of the day." I had wanted to make up for some lost time. Then we made a route change. Corey was driving on the interstate when I saw a sign that said "Snowy Range Road." It just sounded so intriguing that I had Corey turn around and take that exit instead. WHAT AN EXCITING TIME WE HAD!!! Look at the pictures...

"As we inched higher into the first real mountains we encountered on our trip, we saw the beautiful mountain lake".

Now...

Then...

"While Corey was looking at the lake on the right side, I was noticing what was on the left side - SNOW! When I pointed this out to Corey, he stopped the car and jumped out. This was a small snow bed that had slid down the side of the mountain. Corey made his first read snowballs. After forcing him to finally get back in the car, we continued on up the mountain road (we had left paved roads behind us). Notice Corey in the middle of the bottom picture. He now has his flannel shirt on and we had gotten so high up we were in the clouds."

Now... Then...

"This area had a camp ground. I used the coldest toilet I've ever sat on. A park ranger was collecting trash from the campground so that wild animals wouldn't be attracted to that area. The wind was really blowing and since I had only a sweater to try and stay warm, I was quite cold. I asked if he knew what the temperature might be and he replied that it was at least 32 degrees. Can you believe standing in freezing wind and snow the first week in August!!! When we left this area, Corey used the cell phone because he just had to call his grandparents and dad to let them know what he'd just done."

(Note: the cellphone was a bag phone that one of my daycare parents had let me use on our trip. That was before the days of the cellphones as we now know them).

Now...

Then...
Now... Then...
"This was a lookout point at the highest point of the summit. Corey wanted to go to the top and I was going with him. However, when I got about halfway there, I realized how cold I was. I was in shorts, had my sweater pulled up over my head with only my face showing and tears were running down my face from the cold. I went back to the car and turned the heater on full blast and started laughing at how absurd the entire situation was. My family was sitting in 100 degree weather and I was sitting in my car with the heater on high.

Notice the trees. You will note that limbs only grow on one side of the tree. The wind blows cold constantly and the limbs cannot grow like normal trees. We found out that this area is usually closed after the first snowfall of the year because it becomes so impassable. We saw no evidence that anyone lives up here."

Now...

Then... Now...

Then...

(I would never in a million years believe that 10 years after Corey and I rolled through the Snowy Range Road, that I would be visiting it again living in the state of Wyoming and enjoying it with a new husband of five years. Wow.)