About Laramie, WY

   Laramie (and West Laramie) are accessed from exits 310 through 316. For a drive-through, we recommend taking exit 313 and follow the US-30 signs to the center of town. Watch for the right turn at Grand Avenue - the US-30 sign there is easy to miss.
If you have time to stop a while, there are several interesting walking tours. Phone (toll-free) 1-800-445-5303 for an information packet. Even if you can't stop, it is interesting to read through all the stuff they have assembled for tourists.
   US-30 rejoins I-80 at exit 316 but you're not really finished with Laramie, yet. There are two monuments, both at scenic overlooks, that are worth visiting.

Lincoln Monument - The first is the Lincoln Monument at exit 323. America's first transcontinental highway, opened to traffic in 1922, was officially named Lincoln Highway. This became US-30 across most of the country to the WY-UT border (US highways were numbered from east to west and north to south - just the opposite of the Interstate system). The old 'named' highways have long since been forgotten but, somehow, the repeated efforts to preserve the knowledge of the Lincoln highway persists. What we have included here is a very brief overview. To read more about this fascinating story, view: Lincoln Highway. The stone Lincoln Monument was placed at Sherman Peak by US-30 (Lincoln Highway) to mark the highest point of the transcontinental highway. Now placed in the rest area at exit 323 so travelers may appreciate it and the history of the highway (now I-80) which has been so important to the economic growth of the U.S.A.

Henry Joy Monument - The Henry Joy monument was originally sited just west of Rawlins but moved to the Summit Rest Area at exit 323. For information about the contribution of Henry Joy, see the article at 'Lincoln Highway'.

Ames Monument - A pyramid-shaped stone mass at exit 329 was built be the Union Pacific Railroad to honor Oliver and Oakes Ames, influential in the early construction efforts of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad.

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