• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe
  • Donate

WyoFile

Indepth News about Wyoming People, Places & Policy. Wyoming news.

  • Latest News
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Legislature
    • Native America
    • Natural Resources
    • People
    • Photo Friday
    • Places
    • Policy
  • Voices
    • Drake’s Take
    • Madden’s Measure
    • Guest Column
    • Studio Wyoming Review
  • Supporters
    • Membership
    • Underwriting
    • Foundations
  • COVID-19
  • Latest News
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Legislature
    • Native America
    • Natural Resources
    • People
    • Photo Friday
    • Places
    • Policy
  • Voices
    • Drake’s Take
    • Madden’s Measure
    • Guest Column
    • Studio Wyoming Review
  • Supporters
    • Membership
    • Underwriting
    • Foundations
  • COVID-19

Tales of I-80: The day I-80 Ruined Christmas

March 1, 2011 by Staff 2 Comments

Tweet
Share
Pin
Email
0 Shares
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

By Robyn N. Paulekas, WyoFile reader

In the days before Christmas, my husband and I packed up our car and began the drive from our house in Laramie to my in-laws in Powell. The roads were reasonably good, but we knew they would change as we approach the well-known and much-feared section of I-80 near Elk Mountain.

It was a typical windy winter day with snow, ice and semis making the otherwise manageable roads into the classic driving challenge that many Wyoming residents and many visitors are all too familiar with.  As we slowly weaved in an out of the semis pulled off on either side, we noticed an SUV with Colorado plates in front of us cruising along steadily with that surprising amount of confidence that you often only find on snow-tire-equipped SUVs.  The black rocket-box mounted on top of their car, however, did not have the same confidence. With every gust of wind, it wobbled and swayed, looking as if the plastic construction was not up to the Wyoming challenge.

Suddenly, one horrific gust pushed all the cars and several semis around, but they quickly regained traction. The black plastic box flung open, tearing the top off and revealing an entire family’s well-wrapped Christmas presents.  The presents sat there, neatly decorated with bows and tags attached, looking like a lovely bounty perched atop the vehicle for approximately 2 seconds. But a second gust of wind picked up every single present and flung them across the highway, most ending up plastered to a 12-foot high elk fence that lined the north side of the highway. In their short distance from road to fence, many lost their wrappings.

I envisioned that for the next few days, every child who rode by would wonder wide-eyed if Santa had tried to fly around Elk Mountain, and was that their Tickle Me Elmo strewn across the fence? The vehicle drove on, oblivious to the loss as they continued their white-knuckled journey to safer ground.

Readers, send your own I-80 tales to [email protected]

Click for more Tales of I-80



Popular Articles:


A security first?


Budget cuts threaten academy, jobs in already reeling Guernsey


2020 photography chronicles unprecedented year


Filed Under: Places

About Staff

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Greg says

    March 15, 2011 at 6:50 am

    That section of road introduces forces to driving that many people have never seen. Even when the sun is shining I-80 is basically an ice sheet getting bombarded by a hurricane. Not surprising that rocket boxes can’t handle it. Many safe travels to you, my friend!

      Reply
    • Rone Tempestrone tempest says

      March 10, 2011 at 10:02 am

      Robin, what a beautifully written perfect anecdote. I can easily picture the gift festooned elk fence. I hope this will encourage others to share their stories about our amazing central artery…and our most dangerous passage.

        Reply

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Want to join the discussion? Fantastic, here are the ground rules:
      - Identify yourself with full name and city. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish and expects commenters to do the same.
      - No personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats. Keep it clean, civil and on topic.

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Primary Sidebar

      • Email
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • Twitter

      Tweets by @WyoFile

      Search WyoFile

      Become an Underwriter
      Sign Up for Free Weekly Newsletters

      Recent Comments

      • John Warnock on A modest proposal for solving Wyoming’s budget woes
      • Andrea Morgan on 400 seconds of tolling for 400,000 dead
      • bruce vojtecky on Adverse solar bill advances after heated subsidies debate
      • Lynn Carlson on A modest proposal for solving Wyoming’s budget woes
      • Robert Nickens on The unsupportable cost of Wyoming’s tax giveaways

      Footer

      Recent Posts By Date

      January 2021
      M T W T F S S
       123
      45678910
      11121314151617
      18192021222324
      25262728293031
      « Dec    

      From The Archives

      • About Us
      • People
      • Careers
      • Freelancing
      • Underwriting
      • How to Republish
      • Subscribe
      • Contact Us

      Copyright © 2021 by WyoFile