Driving from Yellowstone to Lovell, Wyoming
This was a transition day for Traveler Thirteen and I. We had some real estate to cover.
The change in landscape along the Shoshone River heading toward Cody. |
We drove out the East Entrance of Yellowstone following Routes 14/6/20. This is a beautiful drive. You skirt the edges of Yellowstone Lake and eventually driving along the north fork of the Shoshone River. There's lots of camping and fly fishing along the route. But it is the landscape that is amazing. Suddenly you are surrounded by dark brown buttes and hoodoos that rise high around you. You go from a place with tons of water boiling out of the ground to the desert as you drop in elevation.
We stopped at the Buffalo Bill Dam, named after Buffalo Bill Cody who founded the nearby town of Cody, Wyoming and led irrigation efforts in the area, which led to the building of the dam.
The reservoir created by damming the Shoshone River. |
We then stopped in Cody, Wyoming. We went to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which is really several museums in one. We dedicated ourselves to the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Western Art Museum, and the Natural History Museum. This museum is well worth visiting, though to see it all you might want to break up your visit with a meal or come back the next day. There's a lot to see and learn.
Downtown Cody |
We ate lunch at La Comida. It was nice sitting outside and watching the goings on in Cody. We both had something called pechuga but mine was over rice and Thirteen had it as a salad. The restaurant as a whole was just okay. And I'm still waiting for the waiter to bring me the fork I asked for...ahem.
We also wandered shops drooling over boots and checked out what other photographers had for sale in town.
We then drove northeast to Lovell, Wyoming. What the heck is in Lovell, Wyoming you ask? We were going to be camping at Horseshoe Bend Campground, in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area for one and the other was that the next day we were going up into the Pryor Mountain Range to visit the wild horses of Cloud, Wild Stallion of the Rockies fame. If you know what I'm talking about then yes you can go ahead and squee if you want.
As we drove into Horseshoe Bend we saw a mule deer with twin fauns. They all bounced by us in the classic Pepe Le Pew (Looney Tunes) curled leg hop. It was adorable.
View from Horseshoe Bend Campground |
Horseshoe Bend Campground is really nice, though be prepared for feeling a bit like you are in a boat on the high seas as the wind buffets your camper around.
Day's end |
Next Post: The wild horses of the Pryor Mountain Range.
my God, what vast skies!...Buffalo Bill Dam water is incredible!....nice captures....makes me miss my travels in the West.
ReplyDeleteYes, this area of the world really does sky well!
ReplyDelete