EAST OUT OF YELLOWSTONE - WHAT GOES UP MUST GO DOWN

July 15, 2013

Time to move on to see what is east of Montana.  This is the first day that we are traveling to new territory for both of us.  We have visited Yellowstone before but never farther east than Fishing Bridge.  Today we are explorers.

EAST YELLOWSTONE - Our route from West Yellowstone will take us back through Madison, Norris, Canyon, and Fishing Bridge (Upper part of the Grand Loop).  Challenge for the day is Sylvan Pass, 8537 ft.   As Ray says:  "Its easy to pull the trailer up the pass but its coming down is the challenge."  Evidently brakes and transmissions get hot and we have a heavy trailer (14,000 lbs).

We left early in the morning and had a pleasant ride on the upper part of the Grand Tour road.  Look what we found along the Yellowstone River.

 Couldn't help ourselves, had to take a couple of more pics even though we know there will be plenty of bison in our future.

The little kids eyes in the tour car were huge.  They were surrounded by bison.  Does it get any better?

Passed Yellowstone Lake.  Didn't realize how large the lake was.  The wind was not blowing this morning and it was beautiful.

There are remains of the burn from 25 years ago throughout the park.  The fire went to the lake in this area.  Its interesting to see what a forest looks like without reforestation efforts that we typically see after a fire.

SYLVAN PASS -  The ride up was great.  Beautiful views and easy conversation.  Then the first sign that we might be going downhill...and it was quiet in the cab.   Ray's plan was to take it nice and easy and pull out often.  Plan worked beautifully.  Traffic was light so he went down the pass about 33 mph.  

We would have other 5th wheels and trailers pass us and then we would go a little farther and there they would be cooling down their brakes/transmissions.  I wondered if they thought Ray knew something they didn't...









Made it to East Entrance and there was a 5th wheel just like ours entering the park.

BEING A TOURIST IN DOUGLAS WY

July 23 & 24 2013

We have a couple of extra days in Douglas and decide to take care of one chore and check out all the attractions in this small town on Hwy 20 Wyoming.

First - to the beauty salon for Louie and Sydney.   Louie is too low to the ground for the types of areas we have been visiting.  He is either a dust storm or full of twigs and other unusual things.  He needs a trim.

Sydney is hot and needs a buzz cut.  Fortunately,  we found Wag'n Tails Salon and Chris fit them in.  Its the first time we have had a groomer with cowboy boots.

While they are busy, we going out and about.



AYERS NATURAL BRIDGE PARK

This park is located about 7 miles out of town.  It is one of only 3 natural bridges in the world with a trout steam flowing beneath and surrounded by an amphitheater of red rock.

Funny thing happened on the way to the park.  A herd of cows greeted us as we went over a small hill in the road.  At first we were surprised that they were not bison.  Then we looked for the cowboys herding them...none to be found.  The cows selfdirected themselves off the road...










Except for this one that really wondered what the hell we were doing on his turf.












I love finding parks like this one.  Well cared for, peaceful and as the sign says, "A Wonder of Nature."

Yep, we climbed to the top of the bridge.  I was so disappointed I couldn't throw a rock.  It was easy going up but the way down was a little dicey.










There was free camping spots for campers under 30 feet.  This would be the view from your campsite.  No one was there.


One thing interesting about this park is it is clearly posted "NO PETS" on several signs prior to entering the park.  The last signs warns a $100 fine if you bring a pet.  I did not learn why - Sydney would of loved this place.





FORT FETTERMAN 

Fort Fetterman is an old army outpost built in the 1800's during the Indian uprisings.  There is suppose to be a museum and gift shop but they are closed this year.

You can reserve a camping site, but I don't recommend it.

and there is a cemetery but it had few grave sites.

Driving back to Douglas (did I mention we got lost going to the fort?), we saw a few pronghorn grazing in a field.  They were not worried about us and taking pics.

DOUGLAS RAILROAD INTERPRETIVE MUSEUM

On Wednesday, we returned to the railroad museum.  While Ray toured the rail cars,  I went into the Chamber of Commerce housed at the museum and chatted with two delightful ladies.  I now have a hunting license for Jackalope and a really cool pin - Thank You!

WYOMING PIONEER MEMORIAL MUSEUM

Last on our list of must see was the Pioneer Memorial Museum.  This museum is free (the railroad is too) and is located at the State Fair Grounds.  There are several rooms to tour and it takes an hour or so to see everything.

MORE CAMPGROUNDS IN DOUGLAS

We found a large campground at the State Fair Grounds.  There were several sites but no information about camping.

Another perfect spot for staying overnight free is the city park directly across from the State Fairgrounds.

South Dakota tomorrow!

DOUGLAS WYOMING HOME OF THE JACKALOPE

July 21 - 25, 2013

 This is our first stay at a KOA Campground.  I jump out of the truck to register us and gather all the information about the park and our site.  Next thing I knew, Jodi walked in and she had been talking to Ray about sites.  Ray and Jodi took off in a cart to scope out a perfect spot for our stay.  This service set the whole tone for our stay.  Thanks Jodi!

 Our site is perfect.  It is near the office/mini golf course/pool/etc.  We have shade and power.  Happy to have AC.   First day here we did catch up on paperwork and other important matters inside our very cool 5th wheel.

 This is a really cute town.  Their claim to fame is the hometown of the Jackelope and the Wyoming State Fair.  The town was founded by a railroad company and it has a railroad museum in the center of town.

Look on the side of the train.  There is a screen for movie night - each Monday in July.  This Monday the movie was Shane.

 

Douglas also had a POW camp during WWII.  It housed Italian soldiers and then German soldiers.  The soldiers worked on ranches in the area while in prison here.   The US was trying to demonstrate best practice for POW camps in hopes other countries would improve facilities for US POWs.

BOYSEN STATE PARK WY - hmmm

July 19 & 20, 2013 - 94 degrees

After our great experience at Buffalo Bill State Park, we decided to stay at more of Wyoming State Parks.  Next on our route was Boysen State Park.  However, we didn't calculate at couple of things:  1) It's too hot to be camping without power (AC) and 2) it's too close to Thermopolis to keep our momentum going.   We traveled 30 miles down a beautiful gorge and through three tunnels to Boysen State Park and reservoir.  Ray looked at me and said, "Did we realize how short our trip would be today?"  My response, "Of Course...."

A traveler at Eagle Campground said the camping spots on the north end are shadier than closer to the reservoir so we pulled into the Lower Park.   The was good information.  Along the reservoir the sites had full sun.











The site was along the Wind River and had trees for shade.  All looked good.  And then came the flies.  Never had so many flies.  We drove to Riverton and purchased everything we could think of to reduce the number of flies.

The other factor we didn't take into consideration was the afternoon sun.  The trees made no difference and we cooked in the 94 degree heat.  Now we understand why we got such a great spot.











Second day there, we headed back to the beautiful Thermopolis and the state park and sat in the shade plotting our route and making reservations at RV parks with electricity (aka Air Conditioning)

I guess we are getting soft in our old age.  Upside of retreating to Thermopolis: We soaked one more time in the mineral pool at the State Park and got a free shower.





HEADING EAST AGAIN TO DOUGLAS WYOMING

 On Sunday, we loaded up the 5th wheel and headed east on Hwy 20/26.  Highway 20 looks a little different in Wyoming compared to Hwy 20 in Oregon.  When we were last on Hwy 20, we had snow...not today.







Saw lots of oil rigs and cows.

Here's Casper - we thought we would drive through town but there was a by-pass.  That is when we have to believe the Garmin that we are still heading in the right direction to Douglas.  It worked.