Day 1: Denver, CO to Silver Gate, MT

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After weeks of sporadic planning carried out months in advance, Margaret and I awoke on Saturday, August 18th to endure the ten-hour drive to Cooke City-Silve Gate, Montana—a census-designated place of a hundred plus that lies just over the Wyoming border and miles beyond the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It was our first visit to the first national park (established in 1872) and we weren't holding back: we were to spend an entire week in the park, drive its three-hundred plus miles of roads, hike all we could handle, and spend six nights in the backcountry at four different sites—bears and all!

I contracted an upper respiratory virus the week prior and the combination of its lingerings, worry (is this going to ruin my vacation?), excitement, and double- and triple-checking everything in my head, resulted in poor sleep. The morning alarm was an early one and from then on a nasty, pounding, sleep-deprived headache loomed over my day. Thankfully, Margaret was able to take on more of the driving.

The two or three hours of Colorado driving was nothing new as I've been near the reaches of the Wyoming border from past trips to Fort Collins. I don't recall much of the Wyoming drive—short of a dry, pale, wide-open, and treeless nothingness (much like eastern Colorado)—until we edged by Boysen State Park and wound through the Wind River Canyon (which I snapped a few photos of on the return trip). The views here resurrected an interest that had lain dormant since entering Wyoming. I can say this about the drive: cruise control is a blessing.

North of the canyon is Thermopolis—a town of a few thousand that boasts the world's largest mineral hot spring. And it has a restaurant where you place your order by phone. At your table. (We had to wait a few minutes for other tables to finish their orders before our call went through.)

After lunch we ventured back into the emptiness of Wyoming and eventually reached Cody—the "Rodeo Capital of the World"—where we took a westward turn, entered the Shoshone National Forest, and traveled the Chief Joesph Scenic Highway . Along this route we actually stopped without a need for excretion, hydration, or nourishment; we were free of the High Plains and the rolling hills and winding switchbacks made for some beautiful, late afternoon vistas.

With the views improving and the trip shortening, time took flight and we soon found ourselves easing through the tiny gatherings of Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana (whose zoning regulations require buildings to be log or log-sided). We settled at Ceil's Cabin outside the The Log Cabin Cafe—our bed and breakfast that was built in 1937—where we unloaded, read, rested, and reviewed the plan for our big day. I picked up the Cooke City newsletter as well: it's one page, double-sided, and it covers announcements, area events, meetings in town, businesses, for rent, help wanted, lost, and for sale.

View all photos on Flickr

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Wyoming Tidbits


• It's the 10th largest state (in square miles)
• It's the least populous state (after Vermont)
• It's the second least densely populated state (before Alaska)
• It was the first state to grant suffrage to women
• It pioneered welcoming women into politics
• Its state dinosaur is the Triceratops
• Its state sport is rodeo


Planning Resources


• Yellowstone Treasures, Janet Chapple
• Watching Yellowstone & Grand Teton Wildlife, Todd Wilkinson
• A Falcon Guide: Hiking Yellowstone National Park, Bill Schneider
• A Falcon Guide: Best Easy Day Hikes - Yellowstone National Park, Bill Schneider
• A Falcon Guide: Bear Aware, Bill Schneider
• National Geographic Trails Illustrated Maps #201, 302, 303, 304, & 305
• Yellowstone National Park Trip Planner 2012, National Park Service
• Backcountry Trip Planner, National Park Service
• Beyond Road's End: Regulations for Backcountry Travel in Yellowstone National Park, National Park Service

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