Our last two weeks were spent traversing rugged and breathtaking mountain ranges on our way back to our home base in the San Francisco Bay Area.
After cutting through the adjacent corners of South Dakota and Montana, we arrived at our next destination, WONDERFUL WYOMING! As is our norm (always try to take the scenic route), we followed backroads along the Little Missouri River through places like Camp Crook and Sky Ranch in NW South Dakota, and Capitol and Albion in SE Montana.
Our wandering backroads journey was rewarded by the spectacular view of Devils Tower on our way down to I-90 and points west.
We spent the night in Gillette, WY so Sal could catch up on some online work. I then had time to do more provisioning before heading into the Bighorn National Forest for the next week. We treated ourselves to some delicious barbeque at Pokey's that night.
From the east, there are two main entrances into the Forest from I-90. In the north you take Hwy 14 at Ranchester to traverse the Northern Bighorn NF; from the south, you take Hwy 16 at Buffalo to visit the Southern Bighorn NF. Both are renowned for their incredible scenic drives, along with great hiking and wildlife viewing.
There are no paved roads connecting north and south given that the center of the Forest is designated as the Cloud Peak Wilderness, long recognized as having some of the most majestic alpine scenery in America!
We began our visit in the north, in part to visit the setting of a novel written by an author I had the pleasure of meeting on this trip, while in Philadelphia . We passed through the little town of Dayton, on the Tongue River, to begin the drive up the switchbacks, climbing from 3,900 feet to 8,600 feet, to camp near Burnt Mountain.
We set the alarm for 6:00 am so we could get on the road at sunrise for some wildlife viewing. As we pulled over to begin making our morning coffee, before selecting our viewing spot, we had this spectacular backdrop. It was a good sign...
We had great sightings of moose, elk, and deer during their early morning grazing.
Following our wildlife viewing, we continued west to visit the Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark which Dr. Joe told us about during our visit in North Dakota. The design of his rock sculpture and astronomical observatory was inspired by the Big Horn Medicine Wheel and reflects the magnificence of the Earth’s journey around the Sun and the grand cycle of the seasons. Visiting this ancient site really brought the serendipitous meeting with Dr. Joe Stickler, Department of Science at VCSU "full circle", if you'll pardon my pun!
We spent another night in the north before making our way south to the wonderful town of Buffalo, WY, the gateway into the Southern Bighorn.
After having breakfast in town, we headed into the National Forest on Highway 16 and then up onto the Lost Cabin forest road and made camp along the North Fork of Crazy Woman Creek. Dispersed camping is the significant aspect of camping in the nation forests, which we do often. We were quite disturbed, however, to discover that it is common practice for inconsiderate, disrespectful people to haul in their campers at the beginning of Spring and leave it there, mostly unattended, for the entire season (there is a 14 day limit in a single location). In May this year, the Forest Supervisor instituted new regulations to combat this practice; to be seen if it has the desired effect.
We did not have any problem finding different locations for our sites but we saw plenty of examples of insolent offenders doing this in lots of prime locations. Freedom... :-(
Our next stop was James T. Saban High Park Lookout near Meadowlark Lake. It was a fabulous hike: short, steep (elevation 9500'), and scenic. We saw no one on the trail until we descended after about an hour. They happened to be three rangers that were heading up to do some maintenance. (We left a calling card in the bottom floor of the cabin but have not heard from them yet...)
We spent the evening at the top of a beautiful ridge, again in complete seclusion. It happened to be on the back side of a ski area near the west entrance to the forest. (slideshow below)
It was time to leave Bighorn National Forest and begin our trek south. Our first stop was for coffee and some WiFi at the excellent Storyteller Café in Thermopolis. From there, we continued through the Wind River Reservation with a plan to spend the night near the Colorado border.
Our destination was Medicine Bow National Forest. Our goal was to find a place to camp at elevation, with a northerly view, with the hope of glimpsing the Aurora Borealis. We arrived at sunset so our mission was to navigate the dirt road to get as close as possible to the top of Medicine Bow Peak (12,018'), before dark.
It was a beautiful drive, so we stopped a few times, but we needed to determine how far we might be able to go, without 4-wheel drive, while we still had sunlight. We eventually had to stop, due to uncertainty of the road conditions, so we parked in a spot with a reasonable northern sky view at 10,250' elevation.
We made dinner and settled in to sky-watch mode, starting at midnight. Unfortunately, the show did not occur to the extent originally predicted, so it was not visible at our latitude. It was a longshot, but a good excuse to explore the backroads of Medicine Bow.
We awoke to a glorious morning! Once again, we choose the scenic route on our way to visit friends in Colorado (slide show below). We stopped for coffee and muffins in the charming, little town of Encampment, WY. They've created a wonderful GEM of a history museum, telling the unique story of their mining legacy. Be sure to stop at the Red Wagon, an eclectic market place, coffee shop, little free library, restaurant, and more. I picked up a Louis L'Amour book of short stories entitled "The Long Way Home", which just seemed too apropos not to grab for the ride! (slideshow below)
Our primary destination in Colorado was visiting with dear friends who recently put down roots in the Rockies. We had a wonderful stay, full of stories and laughter, hiking and sightseeing, and ice cream! (slideshow below)
Thank you, Ros & Craig!! Next stop... Park City, UT so Sal get some remote work done on our way to Sun Valley, ID.
On our way to Sun Valley, to once again visit with dear friends, we made a fabulous discovery and stayed the night at Massacre Rocks State Park, on the Snake River. We also did a quick drive-through tour of Craters of the Moon National Monument the following day. (slideshow below)
We then got to spend a couple of days soaking in warm Ketchum / Sun Valley hospitality including more hiking, good food, homemade kombucha, reconnecting with old travel mates and, unfailingly, lots of laughs. (slideshow below) Thanks, as always, Sue & Sam!
And one more stop before we get back to our home port. We decided to spend the night stealth camping on the panoramic Mount Rose, NV.
From there, it is all downhill to South Beach Harbor in San Francisco!
Back to sea-level!
What an amazing way to spend our "summer vacation"!!! It was 50 days on the road for Bill and we are both ready to do it again!
Comments