Wyoming

Ted. After our second night in the Black Hills of South Dakota, it was time to continue our journey west. Hitting the road bright and early, we were again struck by the beautiful contrast of the dark green pines on the hilltops and the wonderful bright yellow valleys painted by the sweet clover super bloom. The effect was somewhat reminiscent of the Rockies in the fall when the aspen groves turn that glorious gold.

Our first stop was just across the state line into Wyoming; Devil’s Tower National Monument.

Yes – the focal point of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, is not like anything else. Standing 1,267 feet high, this beaut of a butte does command the countryside.  After a quick photo though, it was time to mosey.

We then entered the energy region of Wyoming, passing through Gillette and Buffalo. We saw coalmines and lots and lots of oil and natural gas wells. This is also pronghorn country and they were everywhere – sort of like squirrels in Georgia.

Just west of Buffalo, we entered the Bighorn National Forest and stopped for lunch in a picnic area. We had the area all to ourselves and it was a pleasant contrast to the throngs visiting the Black Hills.

North Clear Creek picnic ground

The Bighorn Mountains provide the backdrop for the “Joe Pickett” series of novels by C.J. Box that I enjoy. It was fun to see the locations I had read about such as Tensleep Creek and Crazy Woman Mountain. The views driving up and over Powder River Pass are magnificent and we passed a contented moose grazing alongside a stream.

Judy at the Pass and yep - that's snow behind her

Cowpersons hard at work

Following route 16, we ended up in the town of Worland, where we stopped for the night. Located on the Bighorn River, it provides the local ranchers with all the basics; grain elevator, feed store and a couple of saloons. We chose Stogie Joe’s for our dinner and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of food and craft beers.

Why does this make me think of friend Gary?

The friendliness of the locals was not surprising. We immediately struck up a conversation with the bartender and a barfly (originally from Statesboro, Georgia) who were sharing a plate of raw oysters. They wouldn’t sell us any, but the guys gave us one on the house and it was excellent. It turns out that a local truck driver had just made a run to Seattle and had returned home that morning with a cooler full of oysters. I closed my eyes and my mouth was filled with the freshness of Puget Sound.

The next morning took us to a place that had been recommended by two friends, Linda and Brett as well as a couple we had met in the Canary Islands.

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody is a remarkable collection of collections featuring memorabilia from Buffalo Bill Cody (for whom the town is named). They have assembled an amazing amount of Western art and Native American artifacts. We could have spent two days there but had to leave after two short hours.

From Cody, we rode the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway into the Absaroka Mountains and over Dead Indian Pass (thereby hangs a tale).

Sculpture on Dead Indian Pass

We turned left on the Beartooth Highway, as recommended by friend Linda, and stopped for lunch in Cooke City.  We had crammed a day full of beautiful scenery and a museum into just the morning. A bit much, but we had plans for the afternoon.

We had decided at the last minute to breeze through Yellowstone, hoping the traffic would be tolerable. This was in part a tribute to our friend Robert in Poland who dreams of visiting this National Park one day. He will probably spend two weeks there but we only had four hours. Fortunately, we entered via the Northeast entrance and thus saw the quietest part of this popular park. We saw most of the wildlife on that stretch as well, two bears and lots of buffalo. Before leaving the park via the North entrance, we detoured down to see Yellowstone Falls and the Norris Geyser Basin. 

Yellowstone Falls

Norris Geyser Basin

Up to that point, the crowds had been manageable. Our last stop at Mammoth Hot Springs however, proved to be a bridge too far so we skipped the packed parking lots and zoomed out of the park, passing several small elk herds and finally entering Montana. Whew!