Something's Wrong with Wyoming

Today was supposed to be my exciting day of driving. After two days of flat flat flat farmland, I was excited to make my way through the scenic Rocky Mountains. The last time I drove through the Rockies (via Idaho), I was blown away, and after the beauty of Denver I was ready to be stunned.

Taking I-25 north was great, with the Rockies to my West the whole way. Then I got to I-80 and the cool rock formations started.





I paused briefly at the "Gateway to the Rockies," which also happens to be the highest point on I-80 and home to the Largest Bronze Bust in the World. The view was beautiful, the bust was large, and I was ready for the hills to turn into mountains.





I kept driving. And driving. And there were no mountains. So I drove some more, and still no mountains. I saw some mountains in the distance and, as you can see, it looks like the road will run right into them. But no. No mountains.



I knew there was something amiss about Wyoming when I saw a sign with a pretty glaring typo: "Exxit." Really? That might be the most common word on highway signs, so it takes pretty amazing oversight to not only print up a sign with that error but to actually plant it in the ground and leave it there. Then--according to the signs--I crossed the Continental Divide twice. A quick internet search tells me that this is acceptable and that for the 52 miles in between the signs the water just sits in a basin, but it was still weird.

I am still confused by the lack of mountains. I know I've crossed the Rockies north of Wyoming (in Montana and Idaho), and yesterday I was definitely in the Rockies south of Wyoming, not to mention that every map of the Rockies I can find seems to include the entire western half of Wyoming. So where were the mountains? All I can say is that I hope that for the sake of their oxen, the Oregon Trail-ers were able to find I-80 and skip climbing any massive peaks. On the other hand, a trip through the actual mountains would have at least been entertaining.