Quiet Day of Fishing

John spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon fishing in Prune Creek with a little luck catching the small fry trout.  According to John the water is too shallow to grow big fish.

While John was fishing Pam hiked in the area where they had been logging and collected firewood, startled mule deer and admired the huge machinery used to cut down a forest and pile up the logs.

All in all it was a quiet day.

Bighorn Mountain Landmarks

The Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark has been on Medicine Mountain for over 10,000 years and is a sacred place for not only the Shoshone, Crow and other local tribes but today is a sacred spot for over 85 different tribes from all over the US.  The wheel is a circle with a circumference of 245 feet and has 28 spokes made of rock running from a small inner circle to the outer edge. Outside the main circle are three smaller circles where sacrifices and amulets are placed. The park service requires the Native Americans to show proof of their heritage and tribe before allowing them to perform their sacred ceremonies.

We drove on back country gravel roads to get to Medicine Mountain and enjoyed the scenery, the cows, and mule deer.  Many, many people pull their 5th wheels and trailers up here and camp in the back country, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  It’s something we sometimes think of doing ourselves.

After lunch we stopped at Porcupine Falls.  The trail down to the bottom of this 60 foot waterfall is very steep but you don’t realize how steep until you try to walk back up it.  There were 153 wood steps and 88 steps carved from rock and a whole long way of just dirt paths.  But the half mile walk down was well worth the effort as the falls and the surrounding canyons were magnificent.

On our way back to the RV we had to stop suddenly for a male and female Moose to cross the road in front of us.  The picture is not the best but you get an idea of how tall these creatures stand.  We were very lucky to see them.

We also got rained on and some hail fell as well.  More rain came while we napped and then it cleared up.  The bad part is that the rain brought cold weather.  It’s been chilly all day - 52 -63 degrees. Where are my gloves?!

Black Mountain Lookout

John spent most of the morning trout fishing in Prune Creek with some luck but nothing to brag about.  I sat by the creek with my watercolors and pretended to be a Pleinair artist. The ‘real’ artists make it look so easy but I find this a bit challenging with getting a three demensional look.  I achieved it with the creek but my trees are horrible!!

We decided to take a drive and a short hike later in the afternoon. The lady at the visitor center, who sold us a $22 map, said the hike up to the Black Mountain Lookout was only about a mile long but the views were spectacular because we could see the Tetons to the west and two states to the east.

First we had to find the right road - that took two tries.  Then we had to find the trail. The road we needed to take to the trailhead was blocked by a pickup truck.  The driver appeared from the right, across the creek and sauntered back to the truck, turned it around and left.  We crossed the creek, looking right where the man came from and saw a trail, looking left were two 5th-wheels parked along the creek, blocking our view up the hill, so we assumed the trail was to the right.  We walked for about 15 minutes up hill and then back down and came to a road.  On reflection, we realized that the road must have run by the 5th-wheels so we walked back to the car and drove up the left side up to the real trailhead. 

That drive was truly made for our Jeep.  It was very rutted and rocky and gave us an opportunity to do a little off-road travel.  Then came the 1-mile hike to the top.  It was steep walk up 800 foot of elevation.  The one mile was actually 1.5 miles and the last leg felt like rock climbing as it was very steep, shale in places and so narrow I was hugging the boulders on the inside edge.  But we made it to the 9,500 ft. summit and the views were as expected.  The CCC constructed several watch towers in the Bighorn Mountains and this is one of three still standing and still in use during the wildfire season.  They even had to put in rocks and cut a way through rocks to make it to the very tip top of  Black Mountain.  We didn’t stay long and the trek down was much easier. 

The last part of the hike started up this shale walkway up through the rocks to the lookout building at the arrow.

Bighorn Mountains and National Forest

It’s only a 105 mile drive to where we are camped now but it took us 3 hours to get here.  From Cody we drove across flat scrub land to Greybull and then started climbing up into the Bighorn Mountains and National Forest.

We stopped briefly in Shell to view the Shell Waterfall, although not a very tall fall it was impressive how much water runs through its canyon.  Speaking of canyons, we had a beautiful drive through steep canyons on the way to Granite Pass at 9033 feet. The way was very narrow and quite curvy but thankfully there was not a lot of traffic so John could drive slower and also take in the views.  We stopped to look at the canyon walls several times but there is just no way to convey the massiveness of the canyon with photographs.

John had researched the campgrounds in Bighorn so we knew where to look for a site.  The first campground was all reserved for Labor Day weekend but the second one, Prune Creek, had 3 walk-in sites so we grabbed one right on the creek.  It is a pretty creek and area with numerous opportunities to hike and off-road in the Jeep.  The really bad part is there is zero cell service.  That is why you are seeing this post so late.  Oh, well.  

Buffalo BIll Center of the West and Dam

The biggest draw in Cody, besides the nightly rodeo and its proximity to Yellowstone National Park, is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West museum.  We spent over 3 hours in this building and still didn’t see it all.

One two story wing was the natural history of the land that Bill Cody called home.  There were some amazing dioramas of animals in their natural habitat, the geology of the area and the lives of the American Indians who lived here before the white man pushed them out.  

One wing was the life and times of Buffalo Bill Cody, his relationships with the Indians, his Wild West Show staring Annie Oakley, his family and his connections to and the establishment of the town of Cody.  

There were two Wild West art galleries but we only made it through one of these and then the world’s largest collection of guns.  Display after display, drawer after drawer, room after room of nothing but guns.  What a collection!

Since we had the time we decided to drive the short distance to the Historic Buffalo Bill Dam. Col. Cody wanted to help the ranchers and farmers use the water from the Shoshone River to irrigate their lands but they needed a storage reservoir.  Long story short, after starting the project in 1903 the dam was completed in 1910.  At that time it was the highest dam in the world at 325 feet.  It was also one of the first high concrete arch dams.  The base of the dam is 70 wide but the top is 200 feet wide.  Another 25 feet was added to the top of the dam in 1993. Along with irrational the dam provides hydroelectric power and provides some flood control for downstream communities as well as drinking water.

Hanging Out in Cody

John and I desperately needed haircuts, we picked up our mail and some prescriptions, did a few chores around the RV and then shopped some before eating a huge hamburger for lunch.  We had a quiet afternoon and watched a movie.  Not a very exciting day.

Buffalo Bill Cody

We left Thermopolis and had a leisurely drive up to Cody with a short stop in historic Meeteetse. This western town still has wooden boardwalks in front of buildings dating to the turn of the century.  Butch Cassidy once lived in the area (where hasn’t he lived?) and they are proud of the fact that Amelia Earhart visited the town and planned to build a home here until her fateful flight. Also the black-footed ferret, once thought to be extinct was found here and its population is now growing.  But it is Sunday and we learned all this from bill boards since all the museums and stores were closed.

We parked at the Ponderosa Campground and walked into town for a quick tour of the main street then headed to Bubba’s for BBQ.

Thermopolis

The town of Thermopolis is not as interesting as the thermal/mineral hot springs and the surrounding area.  We did find a nice place to have pancakes and then we shopped the farmer’s market across the street.  We walked the downtown area and learned that the streets are wide enough to handle a 16 mule team wagon train turning around for its return trip.

About 21 miles north of town we toured the Legend Rock State Archaeological Site where petroglyphs from up to 10,000 years ago are etched into the rock walls.  Some picture animals such as the thunderbird, buffalo, and elk.   Others are thought to be men with horned headdresses or peace pipe.  Most are thought to be from visionary experiences or reaching into the spirit world of the stone.  Nearby we drove through the Hamilton Dome Oil Field. 

After lunch we drove to Kirby, and town of 97, where the Wyoming Whiskey Distillery is located.  It is out in the middle of nowhere but this is where the owners’ ranch is located.  We got a private tour and then a tasting of 4 of the 7 types of bourbon they produce. As much as I wanted to like their product, I still don’t like bourbon. They started in 2009, sold its first bottle in 2012 and today they have over 9,000 barrels and distribute to 38 states and Mexico.

Now it’s time to try the hot springs.  The Hot Springs State Park covers 10 square miles inside Indian territory.  The Indians agreed to the state park with the stipulation that they offer free use of  the hot springs.  There are other places we could have tried like hotels and an RV park as well as two pay-to-swim parks inside the state park but we chose the free soak at 104 degrees.  It’s a hot tub, what can I say?  Also in the park are the actual springs, mineral terraces, a swinging bridge over the Bighorn River, playground and picnic areas.

Time to Change Campsites

We pulled out of the Gros Ventre Campground around 11 am after having spent 9 days in one spot.  That’s almost a record for us.  It was a short drive to Dubois where we are spending two nights in a full-hookup site.  Finally, a nice long hot shower!

Today we planned the next two weeks of this trip and then went to the Dubois Visitors Center and Museum.  They have recreated a log cabin village where the Tie Hacks would have lived as they made their living cutting down trees and turning them into railroad ties to be floated down the river during the spring rush.

We then drove out to Whiskey Mountian Wildlife Refuge in the Shoshone National Forest.  If we were to come here in November we would see fields full of big horned sheep, elk, moose and deer.  Right now the fields are empty but the climb into the foothills was pretty and we did find a short hike up to some lovely waterfalls coming out of the mountain Lake Louise.  The mountains on the east side of Dubois are called The Badlands and remind me somewhat of Capitol Reef National Park.  

Friends Join Us Camping

Our friends, Ray and Judy, from Colorado pulled into the campground this morning.  We were excited to see them and to show them a small part of the National Park before taking them to Dornan’s for supper.  We always enjoy this place as they have a fully stocked wine store where we can pick our favorite wine then take it up on their upper deck and enjoy it with a good pizza and a wonderful view of the Grand Tetons and Snake River.  It was such a delightful evening with good friends.

When we took them back to their RV, we stopped along the river to watch a cow moose and her calf grazing on the willow bushes (along with about 12 other people). See, I knew there were moose on the river !!  To cap off the evening we stopped at their RV for ice cream and Key Lime pie!

The Phelps Lake Bears

We got to hiking early today (if you call 9 am early).  I chose to hike around Phelps Lake since we have hiked parts of this trail in the past as we were going up Death Canyon and had seen a bear on the trail but this time we stayed on the trail that goes all the way around the lake.  It was about a 7 mile hike.

Phelps Lake was so pretty, like a mirror reflecting the mountains.  As we walked we enjoyed the peaceful quiet of the forest, spotted a couple of fawn, exclaimed over the numerous wild flowers and fields of flowers and watched the youthful hikers jump off ‘jumping rock’ into the freezing waters.  Just past the rock we stopped to eat our PBJ sandwiches when two girls stopped to tell us they had seen a bear with her two cubs not too far back.  I insisted we repack the lunch so as not to attract the bear to our smelly meal.  We started walking again, watching for the bear and thinking we wouldn’t see her when she pops up onto the path with the cubs following and runs ahead of us.  A family with 3 kids joined us.  We made lots of noise so the bear would keep running until she disappeared around a corner and we thought that she had headed up hill.  But, no, she was down on the lake shore searching for berries while the cubs played in the water.  We watched her for a bit and then continued our hike, ate lunch and told the ranger what we had seen.  We had acted appropriately so this bear will still fear humans and live to see another day.

Oh yes, we celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary with hamburgers and baked beans for dinner!

Where are the Moose?

We took Saturday off from hiking and instead walked all around Jackson, shopping, going to the Farmer’s Market, and eating pizza. 

Since today is Sunday, I left John at the RV to do whatever it is he does when I’m gone and I walked up to the amphatheater for church services except that no one showed up except another gentleman.  We had a nice conversation, shared a prayer and called it church.

Later in the afternoon I got restless, so John and I hiked along the Gros Ventre River on a moose hunt.  It was a bit of a challenge at times trying to find a path or going around little streams but it was enjoyable weather for a casual hike.  I just knew we would spot at least one moose since John had seen one while fishing a day or so ago. But, alas, no moose were to be seen, just a mule deer and her calf  browsing by the campground road.

Paintbrush Canyon

John’s going to stop letting me pick our hikes!  Today I chose to go across Jenny Lake, up to Hidden Falls and then up the Cascade Canyon.  Well, it was so crowded there was no place to park.  Plan B - we drove up to String Lake/Leigh Lake where it was not so crowded and hiked along String Lake then cut across the portage between String and Leigh Lakes and then headed up Paintbrush Canyon.  The first leg was up the side of the mountain and then along its base until we turned to go up the canyon. It was a really pretty hike as we entered the canyon we could see through the trees the peaks of Mount Moran on one side and Mount St. John on the other.

We stopped for lunch on the side of the trail after having hiked about 2 miles.  Hikers coming down the trail warned us of a mother bear and two cubs who had been sighted by other hikers in the area.  We did a lot more loud talking after that!  We continued on for about a half mile and then turned back.  We chose a shorter way back, we thought, but the path led to a parking lot that was not ours.  It was another half mile until we found our car.  We logged 8 miles on our Fitbits!  John swears I’m trying to kill him! (ha,ha)

Hiking and Fishing

John was anxious to try to get a trout so while he fished I hiked along the river, watched him for a short time then headed up stream along a path towards a little village called Kelly, just two miles up the road.  I had a nice walk enjoying the sun and the light breeze but I didn’t see anything special.  John on the other hand saw another moose!  He said this one must have been a juvenile as he was much smaller than the one we saw yesterday. And he caught a small trout.

After lunch we drove the back road over to Teton Village and walked around there for a bit before going into Jackson where we picked up our meat order and then shopped downtown.  We had reservations at Gather Restaurant where we had a delightful small plate dinner of Brussels sprouts, naan with dips, pork puffs, French fries, salmon and lobster on rice and ice cream dessert.

Fishing & Chores

We divided up today’s duties - John went fishing and I did the laundry.  Something’s not right here!!

No fish were caught (retribution?) so John had to go back into Jackson with me to go grocery shopping. Just down the road from the campground entrance we spotted some people pulled over with cameras out.  Sure enough they were watching a bull moose with a huge rack grazing along the far side of the river.  What a magnificent creature! Of course we didn’t have the good camera so you’ll have to see a photo from the iPhone.

We are always on the lookout for a good steak so we checked out Sweet Cheeks Meat Market and got a nice looking ribeye and ordered some lamb chops and pork chops.  The butcher recommended we stop by the farmer’s market where I got some fresh raspberries, carrots and onions.  By the time we got home from all this shopping it was time to fix supper, build a fire and relax.

Hiking to Taggart and Bradley Lakes

I just couldn’t wait to go on a hike in these mountains so we packed up and headed to the Taggart Lake trailhead along with about 200 others already parked there.  For some reason (evidently faulty reasoning) we thought the crowds would be thinning out this time of year but boy are we wrong!

The trail took us through forests, along a lovely cascading stream and up to Taggart Lake where we had a beautiful view of  Grand Teton Peak and the surrounding mountains.  Parts of the hike took us through an area that had been ravaged by forest fires in 1985.  It was interesting to see the new growth trees and bushes.  These two lake were formed by glaciers millions of years ago when they retreated and left a large moraines of rock that damned up the lakes.  We thought this would be a 4 mile hike but it turned into more of a 6 mile slog.  I guess we are a bit out of shape.

We stopped at Dornans to find the best flies for John to fish with, shopped a sale (I found a bargain skort), and had a nice cold brew at the bar. It feels so good to be back in the Tetons!

Return to the Tetons

We have returned to the Tetons, our last visit having occurred several years ago, but we are happy to be back.  This is one of our most favorite places in the US.  We had no trouble landing a walk-in sight at the Gros Ventre Campground (pronounced ‘Grow Vant’) located on the Gros Ventre River and about 5 miles from the entrance to the Grand Teton National Park.

Our first order of business was to pick up our mail in Jackson, then John wanted to check out the Bin 22 Wine Bar and Restaurant before heading back to the RV. We enjoy the peace and quiet of this area with a background hum from the rushing river.

CCC Ponds

The CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) was established during the Great Depression to give young men a means to earn a living and to receive an education.  We have seen evidence of them almost everywhere we have traveled in the US.  In Pinedale the men in the CCC were from Tennessee and most had never experienced the mountains and the wide open spaces found in WY. They not only created fishing ponds but helped the farmers and ranchers with fencing, barns and other needs. They built buildings for the park and assisted folks in town with buildings and roads.

The ponds are all that remains to be seen in the park.  Each pond has a different use such as the fish pond, duck pond, beaver pond and the frog pond.  We rode our bikes from the campground to the ponds and from there we could have gone on into town on the trail.  It was a hot, breezy day but threatened rain so we chose to just walk the paths around the ponds and go back to the RV.  

We also spent time deflating the kayak and getting it stored and ready to travel and we strung new elastic cords on our Lafuma lounge chairs.

Green River

John felt that he had had quite enough hiking and kayaking so we packed a picnic lunch and headed out in the Jeep to explore the Green River area between Pinedale and Jackson. There is a Forest Service campground on the Green River we thought we might like but it was too open and treeless for us so we crossed the river and drove along it towards the mountains.  We had hoped to go up to Union Pass but the road to the pass was closed.  Since there are several National Forest campgrounds along the River we stopped at one for lunch and then headed back to Pinedale.

John’s idea of shopping is to walk Main St, while I insist that we stop to shop in a few stores.  We picked up the part to fix the awning, ate some ice cream, and then headed back to the RV to fixed the awning then relaxed.  The evenings are quite cool and a fire would feel nice except that it rained!

The Sacred Rim

I dragged John on a “short” hike today.  We wanted to do just a 3-4 mile hike and John found one out of  Elkhart Park and it was only 4 mile round trip. The directions said the turn off to the Sacred Rim trail was unmarked but a well traveled trail that we wouldn’t miss.  Well we missed it!  We walked almost a mile before we realized that we had to have passed it so we turned around.

It was a lovely forest trail where I enjoyed the fields of wildflowers and the gurgling stream.  When we reached the Sacred Rim we were tired of climbing,  hungry for lunch and grouchy.  But the spectacular view changed all that!  Also a cute chipmunk kept begging for crumbs.  The hike back down seemed much shorter.  This short hike turned into a 7 mile jaunt.

Half Moon Lake

We floated the Kayak again this morning so John could fish. We cruised maybe a mile or so along the shore line.  It is so beautiful and peaceful here.  The lake was like glass again but then a slight breeze pushed us along.  We stopped at a sandy beach to stretch our legs and I contemplated swimming but that snow melt water is just too cold for my delicate body! Still no fish.

We had a leasurly afternoon, took a long walk around the campground and then drove over to Half Moon Lake for drinks and dinner. The Half Moon Lodge is about 6 miles off of the main road, down a rough gravel lane.  It was a pretty drive and worth the time as the lodge is really nice.  It has a wood beam ceiling, a huge stone fireplace and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lake.  A wraparound deck was a nice place to sit and have drinks but it was getting a little cool for me so we went inside.  Overall we had a very pleasant evening.

Kayaking on Fremont Lake

Fremont Lake looked like glass, no ripples, no wind and lots of sunshine.  It was time to get the inflatable kayak out of storage and see if we could remember how to blow it up.  The project went smoothly and there were no holes in the kayak so we took it to the boat launch and set it afloat. With a few splashes and false starts we got in the boat and paddled out into the lake.  I kept us going in a straight line while John tried to entice a fish to take his lure. No luck with the fish.  It was a short outing due to heat and hunger but we tried again in the late afternoon.

Earlier today we discovered that our electric awning wasn’t working properly.  For no reason we could see it would just roll up! We’d put it back out and 5 minutes later it would roll up again!  After several phone calls and being put on hold for over 45 minutes John got some answers, ordered some parts, and had them shipped to the local mailbox store where we can pick them up later this week. 

Heart of Bridger National Wilderness

We drove a whopping 18 miles to Pinedale and up to Fremont Lake.  Our site is within walking distance of the boat launch and a small beach where we hope to launch our kayak.

This afternoon we drove up to the Skyline Overlook for a beautiful view of the Wind River Mountain Range and the Bridger National Wilderness. Some of the mountains are over 13,000 feet elevation. The road parallels the Fremont Lake although from a much higher elevation.  We passed Half Moon Lake and several hiking trailheads which we will have to explore while we are here. 

Boulder

We left Atlantic City and moved on towards the Tetons, people and vehicles feeling dirty and grungy.  We stopped at a commercial park in Boulder, WY so we could wash the RV and Jeep as well as our clothes and bodies.  It started out as a hot, sunny day, great for washing cars , until thunderstorms started moving across the plains and into the mountains. Just as we finished shining up the windows and wheels, winds gusting at 62 mph blew in followed by rain!  All that work and nothing to show for it!!

Oh well, once the storm passed we had a pleasant evening looking at the mountains bathed in the setting sun light while we ate a light dinner in the shade of the RV.

Wide Open Spaces

Although our BLM campground is in a grove of pine and aspen, this area of WY is mainly open country.  We walked up to the top of the hill overlooking the campground and spotted Atlantic City 2 miles away, and had great views of the mountains to the west and the plains to our east and south. We startled a pronghorn antelope, which are plentiful in WY.  An interesting fact about pronghorns - they are the second fastest land animal (cheetah being first) but they cannot jump!

Back to Atlantic City.  It’s a living ghost town established during the gold rush of the 1860’s along with South Pass City and Hamilton City.  It claims a population of ‘about 57’.  The other two towns are dead. An historic walking tour of the city takes you to about 30 sites including the Episcopal church, the Atlantic Hotel, Huff Candy store, and the Giessler Store and Post Office aka Atlantic City Mercantile.

As we continued to explore the area, we traveled along the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail and stopped at a site called  Rock Creek Mission.  On Oct 23,1856, during a freezing snow storm, The Willie Handcart Co. led a larg group of Mormon families over Rock Creek Ridge to a point where supply wagons were waiting. They were pulling 2-wheeled handcarts for 3 miles up a 600 ft ridge and had already traveled 11 miles in freezing weather.  By the time rescuers came, 15 men women and children had died and many suffered frostbite.  Today Mormon groups camp here so they can re-create that fateful trek, pulling over 200 handcarts for 14 miles and up the ridge in one day.