Driggs, ID to Rawlins, WY

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Friday, July 11, 2008

Driggs, WY to Rawlins, WY

Today we start our trek home. Before leaving Teton Valley, we stop at the Wildlife Art Museum. While I am parking, Donna spots an eagle and a hawk in the distance. The hawk, lighter and quicker than the eagle, climbs above the eagle and dives into it repeatedly. The eagle fights off the hawk until the pair is far out of sight. She is very disappointed not to be able to capture the scene on film.

The wildlife artwork is really amazing. There are winning examples of a bear decorating contest from regional high schools. One is furred with sharpened wooden pencils and the paws and pads are the eraser ends.

The route takes us through Grand Tetons National Park to Moran, WY. then along Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway. This is a twisting mountain road that climbs into the snow cap and crosses the Continental Divide three times. The road is under construction and we are caught in traffic several times waiting to pass work areas that limit traffic to one lane at a time.

Leaving the mountain we settle in on a plain that is more than 7,500 feet above sea level and seems to go on forever. A the outset the plain is green and populated with herds of cattle, elk and, deer as we start out onto it. As we enter the Wind River Indian Reservation, the soil is raw and unhealthy looking. Little grows here for miles and miles. The wind is constant and the Wind River moves swiftly through the countryside as if in a rush to be out of this barren wasteland.

South of the Reservation we stop for lunch at Lander, WY (population 6,500). This is an unexpected population center after the miles and miles of desolation. After Lander it is miles before we spot any sign of human existence again. By dark we have been on this plain for more than four hours; Rawlins is a welcome sight and we are tired and ready for a good night's sleep.

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Photos

Wildlife Art Museum
This work is titled: "Elk on the Wapiti Ridge". Later today we will cross the Wapiti Ridge and see elk on the ridge.

Wildlife Art Museum
The bear's fur is sharpened wooden pencils. The paws and pads are the eraser ends of wooden pencils.

Eagle
Wildlife Art Museum Statue

Wind River Indian Reservation
North end of the reservation

Indian Dance and Music
Donna leaned out to get this shot and the wind sounded like Indian music and dance.

Comments

[Cathy]

"Wapiti" is the name of the street we moved to in Fort Wayne... Wapiti Dr. You and Larry drove his truck up! We were in the Canadian Rockies and I saw it printed on a display in a museum... the word means "elk" in French... or so I understood. I had never seen it before and until now, since! Awesome trip