We split the 8.5 hour drive from Grand Teton to Monument, CO into two days by stopping one night in Rawlins, WY. As we were checking into the Western Hills Campground (basically just a convenient big parking lot for RVs), we saw a flyer for “Half-Way Days” and decided to check it out. Randy asked about the name and learned that it’s called “Half-Way” because Rawlins is pretty much the half-way point, give or take ~5 miles, of the 3,100 mile Continental Divide Trail, which spans the entire height of the U.S. from Canada to Mexico.
Along with America 250th celebration, they were also celebrating Wyoming’s 136th birthday — and it was truly a small town celebration (Rawlins’ 2026 census recorded a population of about 7600 people). Along with a few food trucks, a corn hole tournament, a couple of bands, they had a local dance team that was, um, well, “bless their hearts!” We hung around to watch the “Legacy for a Nation: Journeys to Carbon County” film they had created for the occasion, which was kind of cool (once they worked through the technical issues and got it running). Besides the traditional video footage with interviews and scenery of the area, they used AI to animate historic black and white photographs. I thought that was a creative use of AI!
Good job, Rawlins, for providing us with a nice little rest on our long drive and a distraction on a Friday night!
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