My husband and I just returned from driving across country on route I-80. There are few hotel rooms available to the general public from Evanston (just over the border from Utah) till Rawlins, the middle of the state. It seems that, starting about two to three months ago, gas companies have been reserving those rooms for their drillers. According to the townspeople, this situation may last for the next decade unless additional hotels are built. Several are going up now, but will not be completed until at least the summer. We managed to find a room in Wamsutter, WY at 1:30 in the morning. It was either sleep in our car in a rest stop, or in a room that the drillers wouldn't go near. It could have been worse. We didn't have to share the room with any creepy critters. And there was a small space heater to plug in to ward off the cold. It didn't have a thermostat. So, we had to shut it off when the extreme heat woke us up and put it back on when the frostbite set in. The place was shabby but fairly clean and there was hot water.

Other than the above, the trip was wonderful. We are off to Maryland tomorrow and I'll post the highlights upon returning. Just wanted to give a heads up in case others were taking this route.

Carrie, Bardonia, NY today and gone tomorrow