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Today dawned partly sunny and beautiful. There was a definite chill in the air making us glad for our jackets and sweatshirts. Even though we would be in the van during the drive through the mountains I knew we'd be stopping for pictures often enough to warrant warm clothing. And stop we did!
I got in the driver's seat first so Steve would be able to look around. It's also more comfortable for me to drive. While my injured body is doing so much better (I can feel the prayers, guys and gals. Thanks.) it's still hard for me to get in the van on the right (passenger) side. I can't draw my right leg up into the van and have to help it. It's much easier to get in on the left. Anyway, we headed out for the drive through the mountains. We had heard it had snowed the day and night before so we stopped to get gas and ask about one of the passages through the mountains. It's a more scenic route that would take us close to Lovell, WY where we wanted to visit the Medicine Wheel. The Medicine Wheel is the Native American equivalent to
Stonehenge. No one really knows how it got there or for what it was used. It was one of the things that CJ had on his list that he wanted to see. We knew it would also be closed to visitors the month of June but we could at least stop at a viewing point to be able to see it.
Unfortunately, the snow had closed that passage and we had to take a different route. But don't feel sorry for us that we couldn't take the “scenic route”.
How the heck do they choose which route is scenic? Ohmygosh, I have never seen anything quite like the views we had today! I know I keep using the same adjectives to describe our activities and experiences, but holy moley, there aren't words that could possibly describe the Big Horn Mountains. And the pictures certainly don't do them justice, either. It took a couple of hours to get over them, during which time the temperature dropped from about 58 to 26 degrees. We got snowed on! Not much but enough to say it happened. It was so amazing! As we started to climb there was just a hint of snow on
the ground but after just a little while everything was covered by a foot or more. We ended up taking tons of pictures because the scenery was so beautiful. We would stop to take a picture and then we would go around a bend and the scenery was even more breathtakingly beautiful! It just kept getting better and better! At one such stop, CJ made THE observation of the trip. After hurling a snowy missile over the side of the mountain, he looked around at us with a look of wonder and said, “Whoa! I just threw the first snowball of the summer!”
We (used loosely because you know the vehicle tends to drift in the direction I'm looking...not a good thing when you're in the mountains and the drop off is several hundred feet) were on the lookout for wildlife as we drove. Everything was still bedded down after the snow but we did see some mule deer. Just past the summit Steve and the boys got to see a moose! Oh man, I was so jealous! I have a list of the wildlife I'm really hoping to see and a moose is on it! I would have turned
around but there was a truck in front of us that was pretty loud and as the boys watched the moose it jumped up and ambled off. Dang! Well, there's still hope of seeing one either in Yellowstone or the Tetons.
We kept on driving back down the mountain marveling at how the climate was changing as we did so. The snow was beginning to recede as the temperature climbed back up. Once we got to the foothills it was time for a bathroom break. We hoped to combine the break with a waterfall that I had on my list but had crossed off when we made plans to go the other route for Medicine Wheel. See, another silver lining. No Medicine Wheel but, instead, Shell Falls, which was really beautiful. But then we haven't seen falls yet that weren't! The interpretive station's bathrooms were closed for the winter (when the heck does spring reach this area, anyway?) but the folks on duty said to stop at Dirty Annie's. I'm thinking, “Who's Annie and just how is she dirty?”, but it turned out to be a cute little restaurant/gift shop. When we stopped there the sun was shining and the
temperature had soared up to almost 60 degrees. We thought about eating there but I had packed a picnic lunch which the boys really wanted to eat on the road so we could get to Cody faster.
Cody is a pretty busy place we discovered. There seemed to be a lot going on all around us. Some of the things we had talked about doing was going to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Trail Town (a reconstruction of an old west town) and the Cody Nite Rodeo. We did the first two but were too tired to go to the rodeo. Plus it was pretty chilly and the rodeo was outdoors. Instead the boys decided to hang out in the oversized hot tub. We were staying at the Cody Cowboy Village, a complex of new cabins set up either as one regular-sized room or a larger unit with a separate bedroom. We opted for the latter and so the boys were able to swim late and then stay up later still watching TV while Steve and I were still able to get our beauty sleep. Now you may be wondering how the boys were able to stay in the hot
tub so late. Well, as soon as we arrived and they walked around scoping out the place, guess who they made friendly with...Rick, the co-owner. He liked them (and later complimented Steve and I on them) and he allowed them to stay in the hot tub past 10:00 as long as they were quiet. If he heard them, however, the hot tub was closed! He was really nice to them. Well, to all of us I guess. Right after the boys met him and had been talking to him for 10 minutes or so, I walked up to check out the new person they were chatting up. We all chatted together for a few minutes and he gave us free passes to the Buffalo Bill Museum (about a $40.00 value). Steve and I talked to him again later in the lobby. He lives in Cody running the business from May to October and then goes to Palm Beach, Florida for the rest of the year. Boy do I feel sorry for him! (MRC folks...he looked A LOT like Rex W.) He reminds me of someone else, too. When we were checking in he told the boys it had rained the
day before for 9 hours straight. Later I overheard him telling other travelers that it had rained for 12 hours straight. Apparently his stories get better and better with each telling! Anyway we had a pretty restful evening. I think we'll need it as tomorrow we head for Yellowstone!
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Donna
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no shoes!!!!
I can't believe that you are wearing flip flops Jacob. Are you trying to be like Calob? I love the pictures Jackie!! YOU are doing an awesome job with the blog. Thanks for doing it!