We all slept so well last night...warm and dry! Continental breakfast was not the greatest. We spent some time at the dinosaur museum this morning. What an interesting exhibit and well worth the entrance fee. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in paleontology, or ancient history.
Drove north to Ten Sleep and the canyon drive north of there. Another gem and highly recommended. It takes you over the Big Horn mountains to Buffalo. A lot of streams, picnic areas, and campgrounds along the way. We stopped at Meadowlark Lake picnic area to dry out our tent and mattress. Maggie was thrilled to be just a dog again and run free. With all the bear warnings in the higher elevations, she always had to be at the end of a leash. Well, if there's water, Maggie's in it. She went swimming and found a dead fish to roll in. Tried to wash her off and rub some sage into her fur, but she still smelled like dead fish. Great...fun driving with stinky dog.
There's a smell in the air out west that carries the scent of sagebrush. I wish I could bottle it. Glad we decided to take this trip now as the windflowers are in full bloom. The purple flowers that sweep over the meadows and along the roadside look like lupine. Yellow sunflowers, Indian paintbrush, and many I wish I could identify.
We decided to spend the night in Gillette and continue on to Custer State Park tomorrow. Gillette has a coal mine and there are a lot of oil wells around this area, some working, some not. It's rolling grassland again with warmer temps. Feels good.
We found a car wash with a self serve dog wash attached and shampooed Maggie. She wasn't to thrilled with that whole idea...
Monday, July 8, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Thermopolis
Thermopolis is a very interesting town at the north end of the Wind River Canyon. It means "hot city" due to the natural hot springs there. It has the greatest hot springs park boasting the worlds largest mineral hot springs, a bison park that is home to a small herd of free roaming bison, and the Wyoming Dinosaur Center and dig sites.
After falling asleep to thunderstorms last night, and waking up to 40 degrees this morning, we decided to break camp. No kidding, I stumbled out of the wet tent, got in the car, and blasted the heat just to warm up.
Drove to Jackson Hole and took the loop drive through Teton park, past Jenny Lake. This area is popular with bikers, and bicyclists. For anyone who has traveled here, you know how awesome the vistas are. I don't think I could ever tire of that view of Mt. Moran or Mt. Teton with Jenny Lake in the foreground.
After we left that area, we headed east on highway 26 again, passing through the Wind River Reservation to Riverton. Lot of history in this area, telling the story of railroad "tie hackers" who fabricated ties from the area timber for the railroad, sending them miles down the Wind River to Riverton, helping establish the coast to coast railroad. Heading north from Riverton, we pass through the high cliffs of the Wind River Canyon to Thermopolis. This whole area is high desert and wide open sagebrush plains, very different from the higher altitude alpine meadows we left this morning. Believe it or not, we spotted a small black bear near the Kinnear area. Seemed totally out of place.
The Days Inn we're staying at in Thermopolis has the most extensive display of animal mounts I've ever seen. The man who owns this place was apparently born into a wealthy family and he has spent his life on hunts all over the world. Hundreds of photos fill the walls, showing his trips to every continent. Interesting place for those who aren't offended by that sort of thing.
Tomorrow we plan on checking out the dinosaur museum. Then it's on to the Ten Sleep canyon and Buffalo. We're making our way back to the Black Hills and Custer State Park area as we missed that on the way out.
After falling asleep to thunderstorms last night, and waking up to 40 degrees this morning, we decided to break camp. No kidding, I stumbled out of the wet tent, got in the car, and blasted the heat just to warm up.
Drove to Jackson Hole and took the loop drive through Teton park, past Jenny Lake. This area is popular with bikers, and bicyclists. For anyone who has traveled here, you know how awesome the vistas are. I don't think I could ever tire of that view of Mt. Moran or Mt. Teton with Jenny Lake in the foreground.
After we left that area, we headed east on highway 26 again, passing through the Wind River Reservation to Riverton. Lot of history in this area, telling the story of railroad "tie hackers" who fabricated ties from the area timber for the railroad, sending them miles down the Wind River to Riverton, helping establish the coast to coast railroad. Heading north from Riverton, we pass through the high cliffs of the Wind River Canyon to Thermopolis. This whole area is high desert and wide open sagebrush plains, very different from the higher altitude alpine meadows we left this morning. Believe it or not, we spotted a small black bear near the Kinnear area. Seemed totally out of place.
The Days Inn we're staying at in Thermopolis has the most extensive display of animal mounts I've ever seen. The man who owns this place was apparently born into a wealthy family and he has spent his life on hunts all over the world. Hundreds of photos fill the walls, showing his trips to every continent. Interesting place for those who aren't offended by that sort of thing.
Tomorrow we plan on checking out the dinosaur museum. Then it's on to the Ten Sleep canyon and Buffalo. We're making our way back to the Black Hills and Custer State Park area as we missed that on the way out.
Thunderstorms and cold
July 6 Saturday
Left Dubois and headed for Falls CG on Brooks Creek halfway between Moran Jct and Dubois. Found a shaded site that was easy access. If there's one thing we've learned on this trip, it's find a site that's not a walk-in and has water available. This CG had both. The day started out cool but sunny which we needed as we had packed away a wet tent the day before. We're in the Shoshone National Forest, Wind River range. There's an awesome Brooks Creek Falls overlook that rushes down a deep crevice in the mountain just a short walk from our site.
Just after noon, we decided to check out Brooks Lake for fishing. We both assumed it was a remote alpine lake but were surprised to find a crowded campground and a rather large dude ranch at the edge of the lake. Disappointed, we headed back down the 5 mile dirt road to try something else. As luck would have it, a large front moved in over the mountains, bringing a thunderstorm and cold air. It's been raining on and off all day. Cold and damp, we headed toward town for a warm meal. There's not much else you can do to escape the cold and damp. It's now just about 8:00 pm and I'm sitting in the car typing this because its warm. Our firewood is wet. Are we having fun?
Even though we planned on staying here for 2 nights, if it rains tomorrow like they're predicting, we'll pack up, make the Jackson Hole loop tour, and head east. We're looking at Thermopolis. There are archeological digs there that sound interesting. I think it might get us back to high desert lower altitudes that will bring warmer temps. It's going to be cold sleeping tonight!
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Dubois
Dubois is a very laid back western town along the Wind River. The cowboy cafe that we ate at last night was very lively and came recommended by the host at our motel. We stopped in a trading post with an attached gallery that just happened to still be open. The artist collects elk sheds and carves animals like bears, wolves, and horses in the antlers. Incredible work.
I would be posting pictures but I'm having a problem uploading from my iPad. I have to admit that being in the wilderness is beautiful and relaxing but I do miss running water, hot showers, a dry bed, and modern technology. Jack even admitted he's getting tired of tent camping.
We'll be out of reach again for a few days but I'll post when I can.
I would be posting pictures but I'm having a problem uploading from my iPad. I have to admit that being in the wilderness is beautiful and relaxing but I do miss running water, hot showers, a dry bed, and modern technology. Jack even admitted he's getting tired of tent camping.
We'll be out of reach again for a few days but I'll post when I can.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Back on the grid
July 2
Walked the Streets in Cody, stopping at the local fly shop to find out the area hot fishing spots, and Wayne's boot shop to actually buy a pair of boots! Headed out of town and up through Shoshone Canyon towards Yellowstone park. We have a campsite reserved for 3 nights. The north fork of the Shoshone River cuts through this high desert canyon. Beautiful scenic drive.
We were extremely (to put it mildly) disappointed in the campsite we were supposed to pitch our tent at. No shade, lumpy, and massive humanity in what resembled a grass field. As it was coming into a holiday weekend we sat and considered our options. We took a chance and decided to opt out of our reservation and head back down the canyon to one of the National Forest campgrounds we saw on the way up to the park. Ended up at Clearwater CG right on the river. This is grizzly bear country and it's posted everywhere. You've got to wear bear spray on your person at all times and never hike out alone. Jack got bearanoid and freaked out when the wind caught the brown tent tarp and blew it behind him, catching him off guard. He thought it was a bear! Attack of the big, brown tarp! Then we noticed brown fur rubbings on the trees around our site which made it even more creepy. Come to find out, bison winter over in this campground and they rub the trees. That was a relief to find out.
July 3
Hot today. 91 degrees and barely any wind. Fished in the morning. Jack landed a rainbow. Susan landed nothing.
July 4
Back out on the river in the morning. There is a resident bald eagle across the river from our campsite that seemed like a pretty good indication of a choice fishing spot. Maggie has grown impatient with always having to be on a leash but we can't take a chance that she'd run off after a bear. We take her fishing which we knew would be a challenge.
July 5
Thunderstorm rolled through last night and it was still raining this morning. Having to break camp in the rain when everything is wet and muddy is the pits. I want a hot shower and a dry bed! And rice every night for dinner with canned vegetables is getting old. Time to move on.
We threw everything in the car and headed out to Yellowstone to drive through the park. Yellowstone is the largest and first national park in the world. It set a precedent for other countries to set aside their natural treasures for future generations. One sad side note: the massive fires they have had over the years have left hundreds of acres of dead, burned timber. It's devastating and the regrowth is slow in coming. I don't remember a lot of this park when my family came here when I was a kid so it was like a new adventure for me. The volcanic activity is amazing. Didn't see any bears but hundreds of bison roaming open range, elk on the side of the road, and deer. Even had traffic stop when a herd of bison crossed the road.
When you exit Yellowstone on the south, you almost immediately enter into Grand Tetons National Park. Talk about extreme eye candy. We drove down along Jackson Lake but didn't make it down to Jackson today. We were on a mission. Hot showers and a bed. Taking a side trip to Dubois about 50 miles east. And Internet and phone signals! We'll drive back to Grand Teton tomorrow. There's a campground along the way, Falls CG near Brooks Lake that looked promising. Fishing right on Brooks Creek. We'll probably set up camp there for a few days and tour the area around Jackson Hole. Can't wait.
Just came back from having dinner at the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois. Great place. I don't know who's snoring louder...Maggie or Jack. Must be all the fresh mountain air? Gotta love it.
Walked the Streets in Cody, stopping at the local fly shop to find out the area hot fishing spots, and Wayne's boot shop to actually buy a pair of boots! Headed out of town and up through Shoshone Canyon towards Yellowstone park. We have a campsite reserved for 3 nights. The north fork of the Shoshone River cuts through this high desert canyon. Beautiful scenic drive.
We were extremely (to put it mildly) disappointed in the campsite we were supposed to pitch our tent at. No shade, lumpy, and massive humanity in what resembled a grass field. As it was coming into a holiday weekend we sat and considered our options. We took a chance and decided to opt out of our reservation and head back down the canyon to one of the National Forest campgrounds we saw on the way up to the park. Ended up at Clearwater CG right on the river. This is grizzly bear country and it's posted everywhere. You've got to wear bear spray on your person at all times and never hike out alone. Jack got bearanoid and freaked out when the wind caught the brown tent tarp and blew it behind him, catching him off guard. He thought it was a bear! Attack of the big, brown tarp! Then we noticed brown fur rubbings on the trees around our site which made it even more creepy. Come to find out, bison winter over in this campground and they rub the trees. That was a relief to find out.
July 3
Hot today. 91 degrees and barely any wind. Fished in the morning. Jack landed a rainbow. Susan landed nothing.
July 4
Back out on the river in the morning. There is a resident bald eagle across the river from our campsite that seemed like a pretty good indication of a choice fishing spot. Maggie has grown impatient with always having to be on a leash but we can't take a chance that she'd run off after a bear. We take her fishing which we knew would be a challenge.
July 5
Thunderstorm rolled through last night and it was still raining this morning. Having to break camp in the rain when everything is wet and muddy is the pits. I want a hot shower and a dry bed! And rice every night for dinner with canned vegetables is getting old. Time to move on.
We threw everything in the car and headed out to Yellowstone to drive through the park. Yellowstone is the largest and first national park in the world. It set a precedent for other countries to set aside their natural treasures for future generations. One sad side note: the massive fires they have had over the years have left hundreds of acres of dead, burned timber. It's devastating and the regrowth is slow in coming. I don't remember a lot of this park when my family came here when I was a kid so it was like a new adventure for me. The volcanic activity is amazing. Didn't see any bears but hundreds of bison roaming open range, elk on the side of the road, and deer. Even had traffic stop when a herd of bison crossed the road.
When you exit Yellowstone on the south, you almost immediately enter into Grand Tetons National Park. Talk about extreme eye candy. We drove down along Jackson Lake but didn't make it down to Jackson today. We were on a mission. Hot showers and a bed. Taking a side trip to Dubois about 50 miles east. And Internet and phone signals! We'll drive back to Grand Teton tomorrow. There's a campground along the way, Falls CG near Brooks Lake that looked promising. Fishing right on Brooks Creek. We'll probably set up camp there for a few days and tour the area around Jackson Hole. Can't wait.
Just came back from having dinner at the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois. Great place. I don't know who's snoring louder...Maggie or Jack. Must be all the fresh mountain air? Gotta love it.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Tuesday morning brings sunny skies and mountain views
We have wifi at Cody Motor Lodge but after today I don't know when I'll be able to post again. We're headed up to Yellowstone Park today so we will probably be off the grid. Hope to get some good fishing in.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Cody at last
Monday evening and we finally reached Cody, Wyoming. We checked into the Cody Motor Lodge and the first thing we both did was enjoy a hot shower after three days on the road.
Recap:
We left Kohler on Saturday at about 8:30 and drove through rain all the way through Wisconsin and most of Minnesota. We literally "blew" through Miinesota. It was extremely windy and now I understand why they have so many wind generators all along highway 90. By the time we stopped in Blue Earth for lunch, it stopped raining. Passed into South Dakota and it was sun and warm temps. We spent the night in a great little campground at the Big Sioux Recreation area in Brandon, just east of Sioux Falls. It's on the Sioux River. It favors RV campers but has a few tent spots.
Daylight comes early for tent campers. Up at 6, hit the road, stopping for breakfast before heading back out onto highway 90. We would be on 90 all the way for La Crosse to Cody. South Dakota is non stop grassland until you hit the Missouri River. Then the terrain changes and becomes more hilly. We took the Badlands loop, seeing pronghorn, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and white tail deer along the way. The Badlands is a lot like the Painted Desert...extreme rock formations. Drove to Sturgis and south to Deadwood. Great western town. We didn't stop but hope to hit this town on the way back. We wanted to get to our campsite before dark. We drove down the Little Spearfish canyon and ended up staying at the Timon campground. Beautiful, quiet campground right next to the Little Spearfish creek. Trout abound! Cold night!
Up at the crack this morning and drove to Devils Tower on the way out of South Dakota and into Wyoming. What an awesome formation. Most Native American stories have a bear clawing the formation of this mountain. Very spiritual.
Big mountains rise up on our way to Buffalo but we head north to Sheridan to take the pass over the Big Horn range. Lots of switchbacks until we reach those beautiful alpine meadows that were awash with flowers everywhere! Stopped for a picnic at Sibley Lake. It's kind of a letdown coming down off the mountains and driving for seemed like forever through desolate nothingness to Cody. There aren't a lot of options driving through the mountains. You take what roads you can get.
Dinner at Wyomings Rib and Chop House tonight. Great ribs! Walked the main drag to check out the local fly fishing shop but it was closed. We'll check it out tomorrow along with the boot shop. Want to find out the good streams to fish before we head to Yellowstone and Teton Parks.
Recap:
We left Kohler on Saturday at about 8:30 and drove through rain all the way through Wisconsin and most of Minnesota. We literally "blew" through Miinesota. It was extremely windy and now I understand why they have so many wind generators all along highway 90. By the time we stopped in Blue Earth for lunch, it stopped raining. Passed into South Dakota and it was sun and warm temps. We spent the night in a great little campground at the Big Sioux Recreation area in Brandon, just east of Sioux Falls. It's on the Sioux River. It favors RV campers but has a few tent spots.
Daylight comes early for tent campers. Up at 6, hit the road, stopping for breakfast before heading back out onto highway 90. We would be on 90 all the way for La Crosse to Cody. South Dakota is non stop grassland until you hit the Missouri River. Then the terrain changes and becomes more hilly. We took the Badlands loop, seeing pronghorn, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and white tail deer along the way. The Badlands is a lot like the Painted Desert...extreme rock formations. Drove to Sturgis and south to Deadwood. Great western town. We didn't stop but hope to hit this town on the way back. We wanted to get to our campsite before dark. We drove down the Little Spearfish canyon and ended up staying at the Timon campground. Beautiful, quiet campground right next to the Little Spearfish creek. Trout abound! Cold night!
Up at the crack this morning and drove to Devils Tower on the way out of South Dakota and into Wyoming. What an awesome formation. Most Native American stories have a bear clawing the formation of this mountain. Very spiritual.
Big mountains rise up on our way to Buffalo but we head north to Sheridan to take the pass over the Big Horn range. Lots of switchbacks until we reach those beautiful alpine meadows that were awash with flowers everywhere! Stopped for a picnic at Sibley Lake. It's kind of a letdown coming down off the mountains and driving for seemed like forever through desolate nothingness to Cody. There aren't a lot of options driving through the mountains. You take what roads you can get.
Dinner at Wyomings Rib and Chop House tonight. Great ribs! Walked the main drag to check out the local fly fishing shop but it was closed. We'll check it out tomorrow along with the boot shop. Want to find out the good streams to fish before we head to Yellowstone and Teton Parks.
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