Journeys: SEND IT - July 13th - City of Rocks, ID

We woke to a chilly morning in Vedauwoo and although the thought of climbing in Vedauwoo was enticing we hastily departed. Now that it was daylight we were able to take in the wonderful southeast Wyoming landscape.

Vedauwoo the next day, again.
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

Endless open range with herds or grazing cattle stretched in every direction as we dropped down into Laramie. Two hours into the drive we stopped in Rawlins to wash and vacuum the truck and stretch our legs. Unfortunately the cleanliness would be fleeting. We endured two hail storms between Rawlins and Green River and after a few hours finally crossed the border into Utah. Our drive through Utah was short, but Ogden Canyon was gorgeous. Steep twisting walls covered in green and rock sparked an adventurous spirit. In northern Utah the adventurous mountains mellowed to green velvety humps with expansive valleys. At Snowville we finally turned off of the interstate after two and a half days and were on the straightest two lane I have every seen. We drove this for 50 or 60 miles and came to Malta, ID where we stopped for our final fuel up. We were in the last phase of the cross country drive. 30 miles from City of Rocks we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or could we. This entire time I had been expecting to be able to see City of Rocks from tens of miles away. As we passed through 30 miles of crop land I kept begging to see a glimpse of the rock towers, but there was nothing. Finally, not until we had reached the Almo city limit were we able to catch a glimpse of Castle Rock. Even then we could not see City of Rocks until we had turned out of Almo and up over a final hill. It was simply amazing. A rock climbing paradise stretching for miles. Frankly we did not care to find a campsite. It was 5:00 p.m. and we had plenty of time to get in at least one route. We drove straight to the northern end to the Breadloaves, parked the car and hurriedly racked the gear. In the Bloody Fingers Corridor we found ourselves at the bottom of a moderate trad route named Breezeway. It provided just the escape we needed from the truck and standing at the top we drank in the beautiful view topped with a nearly full moon.

Beth Ann topping out on Breezeway.
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

Beth Ann...flexing?
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

It was awesome and we could not wait to climb the heck out of it for the next 10 days. The camping situation was worse than the view. Reserving a site online seems to be the only way to do business around this place. We were able to find a site that was not reserved until the 15th so we took it for the night. Exhausted we cooked pasta for dinner, slammed a protein shake, and crawled into the tent. The nearly full moon kept us company as we slumbered content that the long drive was over and the real journey was just beginning.

The moon hangs over City of Rocks.
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.