Beautiful days in Buffalo with a side trip to Sheridan Wyoming...

We've visited Buffalo a number of times, but always just for a day or two.  This time we took our time and stayed for five leisurely days at our favorite campground, Deer Park RV.  It's beautiful here, with lots of trees, grass and a swimming pool if one wants.  There is a KOA right down the road at a much higher rate that isn't nearly as nice (we stayed there our first year out) and I'm always surprised at why people choose it, when this one is so much better.

The weather has been absolutely delightful!  It's been so wonderful to be able to just sit outside and read and relax or to work (yes, I still have HOA work to do!). Even sitting on the couch looking out the door, the view has been incredible!  

Our first night was a visit to the historical Occidental Hotel (circa 1908). Wyoming is "beef" country so I was ready for a good steak, and they didn't disappoint!  Looking up, there were taxidermied animals all over the walls - mostly elk and deer, but a sure whole lot of them! 

The next day we took our time and started with the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum.  Jim Gatchell was pharmacist in the early 1900s and became a trusted friend to the region's Native Americans.  They brought him many gifts over the years, which are now in the museum.  You are not allowed to take pictures of any of that collection, but you could of the rest. They had wonderful dioramas of the cattle ranch war, the history of Tom Horn and other scouts.  A beautiful Northern Cheyenne Tipi called "The Water Bird" stands out front as you enter, along with a US Marshall's Wagon.  It was all quite interesting...

Afterward, we just wandered the streets and enjoyed the shops and murals.  Buffalo is the home of Craig Johnson, the author of "Longmire", if you are a fan.  His wife has a store here, full of all his books, posters, shirts, caps, you name it!  They have "Longmire Days" in July that is suppose to be quite something, the actors come and a ton of fans, a parade and all the fuss!  He writes about two books a year now.  ;-)  The other cool thing that people probably don't know about Buffalo, is that it used to be, was sheep country!  Early in the 1900s the Basque moved here and brought their heritage of raising of sheep with them! 

The following day we decided to take the drive over to Sheridan and check it out.  We started early so we could have breakfast there.  We ended up at the Cowboy Cafe.  I decided to try their Bison sausage & cheese omelet - good choice!  Yum!  Great coffee too, wish we would have asked them the brand... Jack liked their cups so much, he bought his!  

Afterwards, we just walked the streets, going in and out of all the shops, up one side and down the others.  Talked with the nicest people.  My favorite was the Crazy Woman Trading Co.  The owners were a hoot and the shop was decorated with so much fun.  I not only bought a shirt ('cause I am a Crazy Woman) but also had to have her other "label" Picky Bitch".  She shared that B.I.T.C.H. actually is a compliment and told me what each letter stood for...and dang if I've forgotten!  I have to contact her and get it again....;-)  

We ended our day there at a great hand-made ice cream stand called Cowboy Creamery "Western Style" and came on back to the rig.  It's been such a delight to just take our time and visit here.  Tomorrow we are off to Jack's favorite Wyoming stop - Cody!

...on the road in Wyoming...

Marie

Wandering around Wyoming...

We've finally found some nice sunny days without the cold wind blowing us around here in Wyoming...enough to enjoy exploring this big, beautiful state!  So...we've been driving around...and around!  We've had some  l o n g  day trips, from Thermopolis to Buffalo, and then  l o n g  day trips all through the Bighorn Canyon areas site seeing, enjoying beautiful canyons and waterfalls. The animals were out as well...we were able to spot several young moose, even a  couple of marmots, only one wild horse, lots of mule deer, and of course the ever present range cattle. No bear though...much to Jack's disappointment...

Our longest drive was out to see Shell Falls, but, wow, it was well worth it!  Intense, heavy flowing falls, gushing down 120 feet over a basement rock of granite.  All along are outcrops of the Cambrian Flathead sandstone.  The views surrounding it are just as beautiful too.  Off into the distance is the "Copman's Tomb", a massive limestone promontory to the north, as well as small view of Brindle Falls.

The colors of the Bighorn Canyon were amazing, it just took my breath away!  Devil Canyon Overlook where the canyon crosscuts the gray limestone of the of the Devil Canyon Anticline, a 1,000 foot high segment of the fault blocks that make up the Pryor Mountains is spectacular.  It helped that big gray & black clouds creeped up on us and just as we were leaving it started to rain, as that just intensified the colors of the rocks below!  Things a photographer just loves...;-)

The drive all along was scenic too.  It seemed like every mile had something different to show us...

This is such a beautiful country, that's why we love what we do!  That's what keeps us ...on the road

Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Our last few days in Wyoming...

Leaving Cheyenne, we headed to Rock Springs Wyoming for a few days.  We had heard that this areas was pretty and a great place to explore for a couple of days before heading out of the state.

We made a quick stop in Laramie first, just to see what there was to see.  Our timing wasn't great tho, as a motorcycle group was coming in from doing a fundraising run and ending their trip there, so they closed off several of the main streets for them!  Shops were closed, and restaurants were either full or closed.  ;-(

Oh well, we walked around and took some fun photos of their great murals, peeked into their shop windows and snapped a couple shots of all the motorcycles and chatted with a few of the people from the run, then just headed back out again!

The drive wasn't a total loss, as we had two fun stops along the way.  The road to/from is on I-80, but back in 1881, it was known as the Transcontinental Route, also known as the Lincoln Highway.  There are two memorials dedicated to the building of this highway.  One you can't miss, it's right off the highway, and stands 48.5 feet tall!  It's also on the highest point of the transcontinental route at 8,640'.  It's a bust of Abraham Lincoln on top of a granite pedestal!  It certainly catches your eye!

The second monument you have to drive a bit to go see, but, wow, it's worth it!  It's the Ames Monument, a 60' granite pyramid honoring Oliver and Oakes Ames, the two promoters of the transcontinental railroad.  Built in 1881-82, the monument marks the site of Sherman, a train inspection point before it became a ghost town with the relocation of the Union Pacific tracks.

While in Rock Springs, we took a wonderful drive through the Flaming Gorge Scenic Byway.  What a beautiful drive that was, it certainly lived up to it's name!  This gorge goes through Wyoming & Utah with the dam being in Utah, sending the water through both states and even to Colorado.  John Wesley Powell named the area and after seeing the colors of the gorge, you can see why.  The Green River, which runs through the gorge, is so clear and beautiful, even this late in the summer.

We only saw one boat taking advantage of the lake, but I'm sure on the weekends and during the height of summer, it's kept busy.  It's supposed to be quite the fishing mecca, and one of the ranger stations showed off the record fish for one in Utah.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves....

It was a great way to end our stay in this beautiful state.  We had visited the "upper portion" of the state before, but never the "lower" part of the state, so this gave us a whole new perspective to enjoy!

Now we will skip through the edge of Utah and head into Nevada for awhile...

...on the road, Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Cheyenne!

We've toured a great part of Wyoming, but not the lower portion of the state, so decided that we would "finish off the state" and start in Cheyenne for a few days (while waiting on our mail) then head across the state towards Utah.  That way we will see Laramie, Rock Springs, the Flaming Gorge, Evanston and then out we go towards Salt Lake City!  That's the plan...but who knows, we often "turn left" as our friends well know!  ;-)

But first, we are exploring Cheyenne!  Being the capitol of Wyoming, that was the first thing I wanted to go see...well, shucks, it's under a multi-year renovation and all closed up!  ;-(   Looks like it's going to be really nice when it's all done next year....oh well...at least the outside dome was uncovered...

So, if you can't spend time exploring the inside of the capitol, you go visit the inside of the Historic Governors' Mansion!  This is the first residence provided for 19 governors and their families from 1905-1976.

The mansion was intended to be a home of the people and was never enclosed by a fence or had on site security.  The mansion underwent an extensive restoration in 2004 and is decorated with furniture and collections from the previous residents.

As we entered, someone was playing the piano in the Drawing Room.  Fun!  You are given a map, and allowed to wander on your own, which is so nice, and different than so many other historic homes.  Afterward I had a delightful chat with the ranger on duty, not only about the home, but about the area in general and places to see along our route.  Such nice people here!

Afterward we decided to take the Trolley Tour and get a 90 minute guided tour of the whole town.  It starts at their historic Cheyenne Depot which used to be the Union Pacific Depot back in 1887 which is built in a "Richardsonian Romanesque" style.  It's really quite something to see...quite beautiful inside and out.

This was our first "sighting" of the Boots...these are all over the city.  They are 8' tall and each painted by a different artist & theme....like other cities have horses, or cows, etc.  Here's a couple...

We saw some wonderful "painted ladies" from the 1800s, the home of Nellie Tayloe Ross (c1920s) First female governor of Wyoming, the US Marshall's window from 1902 where Tom Horn was arrested and then hung for murder (last person ever hung in WY), and a "Big Boy" train locomotive which is pretty rare!

We ended our day with a stop at their brand new Grand Conservatory in their Botanic Gardens.  It had just been open two weeks, so it still has a lot of work left to do, but it's going to be a nice addition to the park.  Next door is a children's area called The Paul Smith Children's Village that was really special.  If I would have had something like this near me when my children were small, we would have been there every day!  All sorts of small-sized furniture, cute tee-pees, secret gardens with a puppet theater, water features to play in, and on and on!  And flowers everywhere!  Wonderful place for adults and kids!  I didn't want to leave!  ;-)

A long day..and it ended nicely with a beautiful sunset...thank you Cheyenne!

...kicking back in Cheyenne,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Last days of Yellowstone...

Weather here has been a mixture of sun, rain and even a little hail!  June, to me, seems like the beginning of summer, but here in this part of Wyoming, it’s still springtime.  The great thing about that is things are still happening...like wildflowers blooming, calves and cubs are up and following their mamas, baby birds are getting their feathers and are starting their flying lessons, and there are less tourist to see all this!  But...the weather is unpredictable too.  So, you flow with it, grabbing a jacket with a hood even though it might be sunny when you start out, or, spending a day “off” and writing while you watch the hail come thumping down all around. 

The campground at Yellowstone is quite different from the one at Grand Tetons.  Actually, Jack and I agree that the two parks are quite different from each other, both in looks as well as how they are run.  As for looks, apart from the obvious geology, Yellowstone suffered a huge fire back in 1988 and the scars are still noticeable today.  It’s sad to drive so many miles and see millions of trees laying dead all around you; looking so much like a child’s messy room with his Tinker Toys thrown about in big bunches.  It can’t help but take away some of the beauty.  The RV campground at Yellowstone is pretty much a large parking lot with RVs parked back to back with a pine tree between each of you.  Old Tarmac slabs with just enough room to park your toad beside your rig.  The Tarmac roads to each of the areas are full of pot holes and bumps, from the harsh winters I would suppose.  As I shared previously about the Grand Tetons campground, it was laid out more natural with lots of trees and a stronger feeling of camping in a forest.  Better kept roads, but since the “slabs” were “natural” they weren’t very level though either.  Yellowstone being so large, it has many more Lodges and therefore more Gift Shops, places to eat, etc.  It seems a little more “family oriented” here, more towards children’s activities, interests, items, etc than at the Grand Tetons, we did see less children there as well.  Here it’s been fun to see so many small children seeing the animals and geysers, excited, learning, having fun and making new friends to play with.

We finished up our last days with a few sights at Inspiration Point, getting a little more of the views from that gorgeous “painted” canyon and waterfalls.  Checking out the “Glacial Boulder”, a huge granite boulder that got scooped up from the Beartooth Mountains by a glacier and deposited here some 80,000 years ago that still sits among some trees by the side of the road.  I caught a glint of white on the side of the rocky North Rim and aimed my telephoto lens on it and saw that it was a mountain goat, so took a couple of shots of it as well. Earlier in the day, a fellow photographer had his large telephoto set up on a tripod, waiting.  I took a look in that direction and spotted what he had, a large Osprey nest with mom keeping her little ones warm beneath her.  My 300 lens could only get a fair shot of her, but I took it anyway.  A little something is better than nothing!

We ended out stay with a special dinner treat at the luxurious Lake Yellowstone Hotel (c1895). “A buttercup behemoth that sets romantics aflutter; that harks back to a bygone era.” is how it is described in the tour book...and that’s pretty true.  A historic way to end our stay...

...one the road again in Wyoming,   Marie


If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/