Wyoming Wanderings

This picture was taken in Central Wyoming. Today it's very quiet here. There are ranches, jackrabbits, antelope, and rattlesnakes; not much else. The highway I'm on is a secondary route. But a century and a half ago it was actually much busier here. The Oregon Trail ran through this valley, and carried thousands of emigrants from the east to the west in the mid 19th century. In 1860-1862 the Pony Express galloped through here...there was a station in the valley where riders changed horses. Native Americans, trappers, and traders also used this path. No Burger Kings back then (or now) hereabouts, but the Sweetwater River runs through the valley and that made this a good travel route.

I would guess that most Californians don't know what this is. It's a snow fence! These are de rigeur along Wyoming highways, where the wind howls incessantly...especially strong in winter and spring...and blows snow over the landscape like shifting sand. This fence is along Interstate 80, which is in one of the worst wind corridors in Wyoming. When the freeway was built 35-45 years ago, there were no snow fences and the road was routinely closed by ground blizzards in winter and spring. Back then, it was known as the "Snow Chi Minh Trail". The local folks soon installed miles of these fences, which catch snow just to the lee of the structures, and prevent much of it from blowing onto the road. Highway closures decreased substantially after the installation of the fences.