Roads Through Wyoming: I-80

Sponsored by Sam Lightner

• Location: Wyoming
• Travel Type: Driving
• Trip Time: 5 hours
• Language:

Author and historian, Sam Lightner Jr., guides you across the state of Wyoming. He takes you 401 miles on Interstate 80 through Pine Bluffs, Cheyenne, Laramie, Rawlins, Rocks Springs and Evanston across one of the most historically interesting regions of the United States.

To many, the drive across southern Wyoming seems daunting, if not downright scary. Summers in the high desert hit triple digits on many days, and winter storms can drop two feet of snow with temperatures well below zero.

And if you ask anyone who has made this drive, there is always the indomitable wind. Landlocked Wyoming has more hurricane-force wind days per year than the entire state of Florida.

But this formidable drive is also the home of many American legends. This tour’s route across southern Wyoming is, in part, the course nearly half a million Americans took across the country by wagon in the mid 19th century.

It follows the Overland Stage Line, the Pony Express mail service, and passes the Hell-on-Wheels towns of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Along this highway, Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch gang blew up rail cars; Jim Bridger and other mountain men gathered for their annual Rendezvous; and Brigham Young's Mormons began a civil war with the United States to thwart religious persecution.

Before all of that, for millennia upon millennia the Shoshone, Cheyenne, Ute, and Arapaho American Indian tribes followed herds of millions of bison across the high plains.

Tour Sponsors
On this tour, your guide from the Old West into the New West is Sam Lightner. Sam grew up in Wyoming and lived most of his adult life there. The state’s rich history became part of his life from a very early age. He has had the honor and privilege to write numerous books on the subject. Sam hopes the tales you will learn on this tour will entertain you as much as they have him through the years.

Find More Tours Near You
If you are interested in more audio tours in Wyoming, check out Roads through Wyoming: US-287 and Explore the Wind River Reservation.

In addition, you can find other tours in Wyoming or wherever your travels may take you at TravelStorys.com. Every place has a story.