Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Almost a Ten. Almost.

Caught. Fined. Released.
When compared with yesterday, today was almost perfect.

Heading west and alone on a dry sunlit road, the miles flew past as we gently changed altitudes, curving undisturbed through pristine landforms, occasionally gasping at a vista so wide it seemed to reveal the curvature of the earth.

We drove softly into a day spread with sheets of blue and white so clean you’d think God was making his bed for a stayover in Wyoming.

The Silver Fox Steakhouse website says their highly-recommended restaurant in Casper opens at 11 for lunch. Today two prompt seniors had to shake the front doors a bit to get them open on time, but were glad they did. Kathleen chose a wonderful homemade chicken pot pie and Stan the tenderloin salad; they shared the hot fudge sundae that lured them in the first place. It looked just like the picture on the web site.

Don't know if it was the stunning view or the whipping wind...
but reliable Birdie failed to perform here.
Speed limits can vary widely in this sparsely populated state, ranging from 65 to 80 per. Driving 80 is fun and can be habit forming, especially when you have the road to yourself. There’s a gorgeous stretch of two-lane highway south of Casper that eventually rises to the Continental Divide. Just east of Muddy Gap  a section of spreads out as flat and wide and straight as the Salt Flats. For some reason, it is clearly posted at a mere 65 miles per hour.

With snowcapped mountains to gaze at it was easy to let the big old Lincoln out of the barn a bit. Didn't notice the actual speed. Trooper Mike of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, tooling along in the opposite direction, did. He adroitly performed a textbook reversal of direction — a skillful move reluctantly appreciated through the rear view mirror by the Minnesota miscreant.

Yes, it was almost a perfect day.

Pleasantries and information were exchanged. Stan will be sending $67 to the State of Wyoming. Which is about how much he has saved on gas so far.

January 26. An almost perfect day. “Did you remember that your mother died exactly a year ago today,” Kathleen reminded?

“No I didn’t,” Stan responded ruefully, still thinking about the ticket. “Darn. I should have used that.”

We came for lunch and stayed for the Sundae.