Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Peace and Quiet For the Bang! Boom! Holiday Weekend

Freedom and its celebration mean different things for different people. While we love fireworks, we're not fans of crowds of strangers and late nights.  So like last year we exercise our freedom by staying home, and leaving the revelry to those who enjoy it.

Although fireworks are legal here, there are only a few pops and bangs from across the river around 10:30 PM on Saturday and then all is quiet. Perfect.

Thermopolis, WY, is a wonderful little spot to spend a holiday weekend. No crowds anywhere but the hot springs park, and since we can just drive through, we do so on a several occasions. 

The locals are very friendly, there's plenty to see and do - even more if you want to get outdoors in the hot temps. There are three RV parks in town and we like Eagle RV Park the best (only a couple sites have the sewer hose near the picnic table so just ask to be put somewhere else). Best of all, the area is quiet and beautiful.

After Bill fishes for a couple hours, and Tessa and I walk around the park, we return to Wind River Canyon on Sunday morning. The drive here in the motorhome was amazing, but all the pull-outs are on the southbound side and I very much want to spend some time taking it all in.


One feels very small below these impressive walls 
Small trickles of water are visible high on the cliffs, but there is evidence of massive water flow in several places along the highway
The Wind River now shares its canyon with a railroad and Hwy 20
Boulders the size of houses dot the shore and create islands in the river
These mutant flower stalks stand over five feet tall - pretty, but kind of creepy
Occasional spots of iron add color 
A large pinnacle towers over a curve in the highway
All are over 15' high, but I still ducked my head when we drove through in the motorthome :-)
Each of the outcroppings is a tunnel
The river narrows by the tunnels, adding excitement to a rafting trip
Getting wet on this hot July day sounds pretty fun!
We've not seen these signs in previous canyons, and they really make the drive even more interesting. Starting at about 950 million years old at the southern entrance, and ending at about 125 million years old at the northern-most sign, it is fascinating to see the difference in the geology.


Can't even wrap my head around that number
Look great for their age!
So grateful for the freedom to enjoy such beauty at our own pace
Hoping to see some buffalo this time, we head back to Hot Springs State Park. There are fewer people at the pools, but more cars on the prairie. Still, we have unfettered views in all directions. And there they are!


In the distance we can see half a dozen of the herd
Driving around the hill we're able to get closer - plenty close enough.
Such an amazing animal, about the size of an F-150. I do NOT need to get out of the Jeep to take a photo!
On our way home I stop in the large day-use area of the park and find a spot away from everyone else. Tessa hasn't had anywhere for zoomies in way too long.


Woohoo!!
I don't know how she can see where she's going.
Pretty purple-tongued girl
Monday is our last day here so we take a random drive into the hills, then north to the small town of Worland.

A small red rock canyon just out of town
where you need to remember to close the dang gate!
Tiny spots of moss at your feet
and large views when you look up

Several properties have this as their view - wow!
From the other side of the river, we look back at where we were.
We never get tired
of the red rock here in the southwest.
Heading north on Hwy 20, there are large farms and acres of agriculture. A small storm is moving our way and as we enter the small town of Worland we get a few drops of rain. We stop at a gas station that is closed although the pumps are working. Soon we see that the whole downtown is closed. Literally. Every business, every restaurant. The street and sidewalks are bare. I expect Stephen King to start narrating.....

Two fast food places remain open and are reaping the rewards with several cars in each drive-through. We opt for quick sandwiches at Arby's.

We miss the bulk of the storm and the opportunity to rinse all the dirt-road-dust off the Jeep. Thermopolis is quiet, but there are still signs of life here. I'm somewhat relieved. We might want to avoid crowds, but that "last people on earth" feeling isn't what we're going for :-)

Monday night we can hear the big show from the state park, but can't see anything in the sky. We're fortunate that Tessa has no reaction to fireworks or thunder. Soon the quiet returns and we're off to bed.

Tuesday we're off for a week in Cody, WY, where hopefully we'll get the Jeep fixed, see all sorts of wonderful places, and find cooler temps.







20 comments:

  1. Wyoming is just so darn pretty with all those wide open spaces and big views! I think those tall flowers look like popcorn as the flowers start coming out. Those signs about the geologic layers must be a WY thing as we saw them driving through the Bighorn mountains too.

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    1. Will keep a look out for the blooms! We are loving Wyoming although we only have a few more days before moving on to Montana.

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  2. Loved Wind River Range the one time we got to go there, look forward to the day we can go back. Nice to see Tessa got to get a good run in, I often time wonder about that about the dogs who live full time on the road. They had similar geological signs along one of the roads near Flaming Gorge, can't even begin to fathom those kind of numbers, heck I can't even fathom all the data they can put on something the size of a pinhead.

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    1. When we were at the beach all last summer she got to run nearly every day. It's been harder to find safe places for her, but we keep our eyes open for grass and sand places. I agree the information available to us now is mind blowing. Can't even imagine what Ezra will have access too :-)

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  3. You had the right idea to get away from the people in a great spot. Looks like a beautiful area.

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    1. I don't always know what an area will be like but we sure lucked out with this great little stop. We highly recommend it!

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  4. Can’t believe you drove Wind Canyon in that big motorhome. Boy you are a gutsy lady. It’s a seriously beautiful place. Your pictures of it are wonderful. One does feel very small in the midst of nature’s wonders. How can such a little creature do so much damage I often wonder. I think those signs especially in bare escarpments would really add to any drive. Amazing how we can know how old things are. Really love Tessa’s zoomies. Clear she does too. I do wonder how she can see but boy is she cute. Don’t know how anyone could get tired of the red rocks. But I do have to admit that after a while I begin to miss my trees – BIG trees. LOL at your “last people on Earth feeling”……I might actually like that. Perhaps it would reverse Global Warming. HA!

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    1. Now that I've figured out the Allison transmission, the motorhome and I have a good time on most roads :-) One of my favorite things about this life is that about the time I miss trees, we're back among them - same for water and desert :-) I suppose if I knew "why" everybody else was gone I'd be okay with it!

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  5. Love the green lawn for Tessa! Those are few and far between in Wyoming, Jodee. We had our Katie and Dakota on a patch of lawn in Young America, WY back in the 90's and they thought they were in paradise! :)

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    1. We have a small (really small) patch of grass at our park here in Cody, but Tessa makes it seem like paradise indeed!

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  6. Last time I was there was about 20 years ago with friends and 7 small kids between us. We had pop-ups with no A/C. We stayed at the SP, had a railroad right next to us, the thermal pools smelled so bad and felt even worse. It was in the 100s. We hated it. Looks like I'll have to give it another go. Your experiences and pictures have changed my mind!

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    1. Oh that hot springs smells so bad when you just drive by - I figured the pools couldn't smell like that if people were swimming in them! Having AC makes a huge difference so you really do need to come back :-)

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  7. Looks like you found a wonderful place to spend the holiday. We had way too many people way too close an way too noisy over this last weekend. I'm glad it's now behind us and they've gone back to work.

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    1. We do feel pretty lucky that we found a quiet spot. Strangely the family reunion left on Sunday morning so it was even quieter the last two days.

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  8. Such gorgeous country! And you got great photos of the buffalo, too. The Stephen King town sounds eerie—we also avoid crowds (in general) but I wouldn't like that feeling of being the "last people on earth." You are so funny. :-))

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    1. :-))))) We continue to be amazed by Wyoming - and the massive size of buffalo!

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  9. We did this area on a motorcycle and it is so gorgeous! Your photos are so beautiful. Every turn brings more beauty. Glad to see Tessa got some zoomie time:)

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    1. There were a lot of motorcycles in Thermopolis and enjoying the canyon too. Having unobstructed views through there must have been awesome!

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  10. Such gorgeous country. Between your travels and Pam and John I have a desire to go north as it's been decades. Love the road signs telling the age of the rocks.

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    1. Although not much cooler so far, it is certainly beautiful country this time of year.

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