by Kris Murray

Every year the International Snowmobile Media Council gets together to explore and expose a great snowmobiling area to over a half million of North America's core snowmobile enthusiasts. This year we got a chance explore Centennial, Wyoming. "Where is Centennial?" you may ask. "Where exactly is Wyoming?" some may wonder. Wyoming is the XXth(42nd-48th???) state of the nation and located below Montana and above Utah and Colorado, to the east of Wyoming is Nebraska and South Dakota and Idaho is to the west. Yellowstone National Park is tucked away in the extreme northwest corner of the state and Centennial is located on the southern border of Wyoming, southeast of Rock Springs, southwest of Laramie and west of Cheyenne, the state capitol. Centennial is tucked right beneath the great Snowy Mountain Range.

Our ride to the Old Corral Lodge (www.oldcorral.com) brought us along Interstate 80 from the west, after leaving from Tacoma, Washington, along the west coast. After traveling though northeastern Oregon and southern Idaho, we had the chance to cross the continental divide and see some wonderful country, but not much snow. In fact, the snow lessened the further east of the Continental Divide we traveled. When we finally reached Laramie (some 1180 miles from home) we only had 27 miles left (along Highway 130) and still not much snow. There was, however, winds gusting well over 45 miles per hour. Those last 27 miles brought us up a few thousand feet to 8076 feet by the time we reached Centennial, Wyoming, population 100 (a little word play going on here as the unofficial population count is about 56, but a town named Centennial is made really unique if it also has 100 people). We actually had bad instructions (that was my fault) and went an extra seven miles past the lodge to the sister resort, The Snowy Mountain Lodge (www.snowymountainlodge.com), where there was a good packing of snow on the ground, maybe as much as one foot. Both the Snowy Mt. Lodge and the Old Corral Lodge are owned by the Headricks Corporation (www.headricks.com) who were our gracious hosts for this tour.

The rooms at the Old Corral were cozy and equipped with a mini fridge and tv/vcr combo. The Old Corral Hotel and Steakhouse is a complete one-stop shop for snowmobilers and travelers alike. The lodge has a restaurant, billiards room, big screen TV movie room and gift shop, with ATM. Laundry and vending machines are also available. We found the restaurant's selection of steaks wonderful, especially after a rough day of playing hard in the Snowy Mountains!

We chose to ride the trails the first day, as the weather was supposed to be cold and we were riding at a base of 8000 ft. only to go higher as the day goes on. Afterall, the Snowy Range has over 225 miles of groomed trails. The morning started out slow, as we didn't really hit the trail until almost 10am. But as soon as the skis touched the trail, the fun had begun. We probably only rode about fifty miles, but we rode through no less than a half dozen meadows that were in excess of a half mile in length! It should be mentioned that we were blessed with afresh blanket of snow, up to twelve inches in places. Imagine yourself bopping between mile long meadows with untracked powder over six inches deep; this is what we did for six hours. After we had thoroughly tracked up a particular play area or hill climb we would mosey on down the trail to the next meadow! It must be really nice having this snowmobile play land in your back yard!

A little after lunchtime we pulled into the Medicine Bow Lodge to sit down for some sandwiches and chili. Although not publicized as such, the chili at the Medicine Bow Lodge is definitely world class, a really large bowl is recommended. After lunch settled a bit, we geared up and hit the trail again. This time we were out to play as hard as we could, following another route back to the Snowy Mt. Lodge, where our day began. It is really hard to get too much of a good thing, and in this case the good thing was powdery trails and wide open meadows! Amidst all of the good fun we did get a moment or two at about 10,000 ft. overlooking the rest of the Snowy Range and the lands below. After a few hours and one 'in over our head' incident we decided to call it a day and return back to camp. After all, we still had two more days of riding to enjoy.

Our second day of riding again started out slow, but this day it was because a *ahem* Ski-Doo from Oregon wouldn't start. In fact , it took exactly eight snowmobilers to get that Ski-Doo going. No one was sure if it was due to the machine or operators. Today, we had the exact same lunch destination but we didn't ride more than fifty feet of the same trail and not much more than a short mile on the groomed trail anyhow. This time we headed out across country through "The Gap." The gap is literally a gap between two big mountains of the Snowy Range. We sauntered through more monstrously large meadows that a mere mortal could remember. It is quite a fun ride, be sure to inquire locally about how to get through The Gap. The best part is right on the other side of the gap. Some folks call it "the Yo-Yo," but we call it down right fun! The Yo-yo is maybe a half mile with a sheer canyon on either side of you with enough snow so that one could use it as a very long half pipe and go up one side, down and right up the opposite site, then repeat for the remainder of the chute. Fun with a capitol "F."

Again we had lunch at the Medicine Bow Lodge, this time it was half pound (or larger) buffalo cheeseburgers. Literally enough of a burger to fill even the most voracious appetite. After lunch we headed back out to explore more untracked powder filled meadows. Even though the previous night had brought no new snowfall to the area, because the wind is so active in these parts, it was just as if new snow had fallen, everywhere. How truly nice that is. Better yet, the temperature was warming up and the sun was out and bright. We actually did use the trails a little bit after lunch, this time tracking up meadows on the south end of the trail system. Every time we would hop on the groomed trail, we would, within a few hundred yards, dodge between a few trees and end up in yet another trackless, snow-filled meadow! And the amount of great cross-country trails is mind-boggling. And with the combination of wind and sun, the snow was so well set up that you could go anywhere and just about everywhere you went would put you into another meadow! That is no joke. Eventually we made it back to the Snowy Mt. Lodge, with one small detour to an odd sign that read "CAUTION - LIGHTNING. Afternoon storms are common. Hiking trail after 3:00pm NOT RECOMMENDED." How is that for a warning. And if you do venture out that way one afternoon, under no circumstances should you carry a metal pole…

The weather on day three was even better than the two preceding days. The sun was out and it felt like spring. A few sledders were even overheard saying that they wished it would be a few degrees colder. Albany was today's lunch destination. Albany is a very small town about twenty miles from the Snowy Mt. Lodge, to the south. Even more so than the preceding days, we struck out on a cross-country venture that would not have us on many groomed trails. Today, we only stopped to play in a few of the larger meadows (larger being a mile long or more and at least two hundred yards across). But each play area we did investigate had snow freshly groomed by the 40mph gusts that are common on the Snowy Mt. Range. How one place can have so many meadows and wide open play areas is a mystery.

Lunch today was at the Albany Lodge. The Albany Lodge (www.albanylodge.com) is newly renovated and includes a snowmobile rental and guide service, large and small cabins, a new nine unit hotel and a full-service bar so that a person could have a cold 'adult beverage' after the keys were hung up for the day. After a nice lunch, we strapped our gera on and headed straight back to the Snowy Mt. Lodge so that we could have enough time to have a look at the Wyoming Snow Sculpting Competition in Laramie, where three dozen snow sculptors from around the state come to show off their skills and hopefully win themselves a ticket to the National Snow Sculpting Competition in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

If you haven't been to the great Snowy Mountains of Wyoming, you owe it to yourself to book trip today. Every good snowmobiler should experience the vast open areas that are so common in this region and enjoy some of the best riding in the Western United States. That is the honest truth. The Snowy Mt. Range has enough trails to keep a family happy for a few days and enough play areas and hill climbs to occupy even the most die-hard sled-heads out there. To better plan your Wyoming Snowmobile vacation, here are some names and numbers of snow-friendly businesses: Laramie Tourism, www.laramie-tourism.org, 1-800-445-5303; Old Corral Lodge, www.oldcorral.com, 307-745-5918; Snowy Mt. Lodge, www.snowymountainlodge.com, 307-742-7669; Medicine Bow Lodge, {insert contact info here}; The Friendly Bar (because the Old Corral is a cigarette and liquor free establishment), {insert contact info here}.
Until next time, keep the throttle pinned and please don't drink and ride.