While on our SPYR road trip we stopped for gas in the middle of Wyoming and that’s where I bought these ribs.
Well I guess the story is not that simple, so let me back up a bit.
What’s In Wyoming?
If you’ve never driven through Wyoming, let me tell you, there’s not much to see!
When we stopped at the Wyoming Welcome Center we learned that the majority of the countries energy is produced in Wyoming. Based on our observation while driving through, I assume the only people who stay, live there solely because of their job.
There are no large cities with tall buildings, no suburbs or rolling hills in Wyoming…just long stretches of two-lane highway across lots of flat land containing cole mines, wind farms and automated machines drilling for oil.
America’s First National Monument
We entered the state so we could go to Devil’s Tower National Park.
You may recognize this big-ole-rock from the movie Close Encounters of The Third Kind.
Jeff & I have never seen the movie but the park itself is really amazing! So much so that we decided to spend an entire day there.
We started with a hike around this astounding geologic feature that protrudes out of the rolling prairie surrounding the Black Hills, to observe how every facet of the tower is different from every angle.
We spotted rock climbers, climbing without any equipment.
On the way out of the park we stopped to watch all the prairie dogs, who walked all the way up to us…looking up, waiting for us to give them something.
We didn’t really want to leave so we spent some time working right across from the park until the sunset, (thankfully wifi was not a problem) and then spent the night in the nearby town of Hulett, Wyoming. The town is smaller than anywhere you have probably ever experienced. It has a total area of 0.87 square miles, including all of its land. :)
With a good night’s rest, we spent an entire day driving from Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming to Denver, Colorado. That’s about a 6 hour drive if you were curious which means we had to stop for gas a few times.
Picking Up Ribs in The Middle Of Nowhere, Wyoming
We had to watch for signs on the side of the road for gas stations because there weren’t many and the signs were small.
On our second stop for gas we pulled into the combination gas station/grocery store and when I walked in to pay I spent some time walking around to see what was there.
When I got to the meat counter, I found an inexpensive package of pork spare ribs that was calling my name. So, I bought the ribs, brought them out to the car and added them to our cooler, and headed back on the road again!
When we got to our Denver Airbnb, I transferred the ribs to the fridge and a few days later I prepared half of the package using the simple recipe listed below. I let them cook while we were doing laundry and preparing to leave the Denver area and continue our trip.
Throw Him A Bone
While the ribs were cooking, the downstairs neighbor’s puppy came roaming upstairs. He could smell when I opened the oven door to check on the ribs and made sure to stick around until they were done.
After I tried an end rib, to see if they were done, I threw him the bone. With that single treat, I made a new friend for life…and it was pretty difficult to go anywhere and not have him follow us. :)
