Ruth's Life is Good: Saturday 8-31-24 Wyoming, Hobo Hot Springs, Errands & Carbon County Fairgrounds

Today we said good-bye to Colorado and hello to Wyoming. We woke up at 6:00 to get an early start. We got dressed and had a quick breakfast. We were on the road by 6:45.

We drove 270 miles. The drive through Colorado to Wyoming was very pretty. We saw a lot of prairie, hills, mountains and a couple of reservoirs ( Cow Creek and Stagecoach). We saw a few fishermen on the reservoirs and small marinas. They were very nice and went for a few miles. We saw cattle, a lot of Pronghorns and horses. When we got into Wyoming we drove under a couple of wildlife crossing bridges. We love these, they protect the wildlife and at the same time it protects you from hitting them and damaging your vehicle. I'm proud of myself, I kept awake during the drive.

Rolling hills of Wyoming

Wildlife Crossing

Beautiful rock formations

Before leaving Colorado we made a couple of stops. First was in Kremmling to fill the fresh water tank. It was a great convenient place. It cost a quarter for 2.5 minutes which will normally fill at 25 gallon tank. The Minnie has to be filled slowly so it cost us $.75 to fill it and a couple of gallon containers. This is very cheap, other places wanted $10.00. The water station was on the side of a building with a dirt parking lot, very easy to get to. The water station was very clean. Next stop was in Walden to dump the tanks. Years ago we used the dump station so Larry knew where it was. It's free but they accept donations. We gave them $5.00. We could have waited and gotten water at Walden but you never know what will be working. We have been to many places where the water no longer works. Now the Minnie is ready for another week or more. Thank you Kremming and Walden.

Water station in Kremmling

Walden dump station

When we got to Saratoga, Wyoming we stopped at Hobo Hot Springs. It's a city run hot springs and free to use, you can donate if you want to. It's open 24 hours 7 Days a week and has community restrooms where you have a wall between the stalls but no doors, there are also showers. They have a swimming pool at the main facility, which costs. There are three hot springs pools: one the spring temperature is 104, one at 108 and the lobster pot at 120. The temperature changes from day to day. One day the upper pool will be 108 and other days it will be 104. You have to be very careful going down the steps into the pools, because of the moss they are very slippery. If you get too hot in the springs you can cool off in the river that is right behind the hot springs. The showers are right there.

We arrived at the Hobo Hot Springs about 11:00. The main parking lot is paved and very nice, the RV parking lot is dirt and rough with big dips. We found a spot and parked the Minnie. There was a sign to where the springs were located. You entered the springs through a gate. There were about 10 people in the 104 degree pool. Larry asked, which pool was 104 and which one was 120 degrees (Lobster Pot). Most of the people there were regulars and they said the temperatures change from day to day from pool to pool. The lower pool today was the 108 degree one. We used the 104 degree pool. Nobody used the 120 degree pool. While we were there an 81 year old gentleman kept us company. We soaked about 20 minutes. Then I went back to the Minnie and got our bag for our shower stuff. The showers were very nice and clean considering all the traffic that goes through them. We had an outstanding time and would go back if we're in the area.

Saratoga Pool

People enjoying the river

The 104 degree pool

The 108 degree pool

The entrance and bathhouse

After our showers we moved The Minnie a couple of blocks to a paved parking lot and had lunch. Then we continued our adventure to our final destination, which was about 55 miles. Some of the drive was interstate.

Our destination was Rawlins, Wyoming at the Carbon County Fairgrounds. It's a super facility with a lot of power sites for both RVs and tents. The tent sites are free and the RV sites are $20 per night. The RV sites are along the fence and in the parking lot by the barns. The tent sites are in the grassy area in between the 4H barns. Bathrooms at county fairgrounds tend to be poor but these were one of the best. The ladies room had 10 showers, five toilets and five sinks. It was very clean and stocked with paper towels and toilet paper. They were old but very well maintained. Each barn had a sign on it, that said what animals are on exhibit in it (Small Animals, goats, sheep, etc.). There are covered grandstands with a nice size arena. It's a big facility.

We arrived about 3:00 and it was hot so we were grateful for the power. We plugged in and turned on the air. We were the only ones at the fairgrounds. After setting up we relaxed with a book. Larry continued getting information for where we're going. The fairgrounds doesn't have AT&T cell service but we have Verizon. Larry had to turn one of our phones into a hot spot so the computer could have internet access.

When it was time for dinner. I made bacon wraps. After dinner I walked around a bit to get my steps and take pictures. As I walked I saw three horses in the arena, their masters dropped them off and came back for them later. He had a very nice walk. I ended up doing 13,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.