Two High Points on a Short Road Trip

Very teensy town and very large statue along Interstate 80

This past weekend four of us did a short road trip -- Boulder-Cheyenne-Laramie-Snowy Range-Boulder. Of Interstate 80's 2,909 miles between the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and New York-New Jersey's George Washington Bridge, the 47 modest miles from Cheyenne to Laramie contain two places that are worth stopping at. They are lliteral and figurative high points along a stretch of freeway that passes through a lot of wide-open country.

Buford, Wyoming - Pop. 1

How could we not stop in Buford, Wyoming -- population 1 and its own zip code. It is purportedly the smallest town in America and also the highest town between along I-80's entire route.  Just south of the Exit 335 off the Interstate. road, we found  a gateway to a ranch and Buford-- the signs below, one house, the Buford Trading Post and a bunch of gas pumps.

The sole resident wasn't manning the store, but his photograph graced the counter. Regretfully I neglected to ask his name, but I took a picture of his picture.

Buford was not always so tiny. Its population was purportedly about 2,000 as the transcontinental railroad was being built westward across Wyoming.

Lincoln Monument

The Lincoln Memorial is, of course, in Washington, DC, but the Lincoln Monnument is just of Exit 239. It is visible from the Interstate that closely follows the historic Lincoln Highway (US 30), the first auto road to cross the country.To honor this achievement as well as the president who most fervently believe in a union of all the states, Robert Russin, a University of Wyoming art professor and a Lincoln admirer, sculpted a monumental, 13 1/2-foot Lincoln head resting on a 35-foot stone base.

It originally stood at Sherman Summit, at 8,878 feet above sea level and the highest point on old Lincoln Highway, but when when I-80 was opened in 1969, the head was moved about 1 mile to this highpoint on the Interstate. It too is visible from the highway, but its worth a stop.

Pull into the Summit Rest Area and go into the visitor center, not just to use the restroom and have adrink of water, but also to watch a short interpretive film and look into the small museum room with exhibits about Wyoming and its natural and human history.

If you too are road-tripping through Wyoming in I-80, eachof these attractions is worth a stop.