Day 7 - Wyoming, Oh My

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"How do these people exist so disconnected from, well, everything?!?"

We crossed Wyoming today. Well, most of Wyoming. And my oh my is that a lot of nothing! No towns, no stores, no gas stations, no houses, and definitely no cell phone coverage! As Todd said, I was not cut out for country living.

The countryside, of course, is breathtaking. At one point we drove through Big Horn Mountains and a gorge that was startling in its grandiose austerity. Jagged cliffs rising to imposing heights on either side of us. But the lack of development/civilization along our route (mostly Highway 16 for anyone who's interested) was reminiscent of my trips to Africa.

At one point we passed through mountaintops with traces of snow on the ground. In July. Surreal. We also made a quick stop at Devil's Tower - park #2! It, too, is an impressive sight. Having recently watched Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind with the kids it was fun to see it in person. We all agreed they could never have climbed up there without some serious gear, though!

We're spending the night here in Cody, WY, heading to Yellowstone tomorrow. We enjoyed dinner at Irma's Hotel, which was a saloon and boarding house during Buffalo Bill Cody's days, circa 1902. They even have a photo of the building from back then. Now, its dining room is adorned with about 20 heads of various animals - elk, deer, buffalo. Makes for an odd feeling as you sit to enjoy your prime rib or burger while being watched from above by glassy eyes.

After several very long days, we stayed in tonight and started "42" the movie about Jackie Robinson. The kids seemed quite content to have a movie night, though Tommy and Sean fell asleep before we even got to make popcorn.

Hoping to take our first hike in Yellowstone tomorrow, so should have some fantastic pics to share from that. Hope everyone back East is enjoying their summer!

Goodnight for now,
Marcia

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Comments

[Dad]

Mileage
Marcia and Todd, One or two bits of information that it might be fun to include in your blog is the mileage covered each day and the planned itinerary for the next day or so. Love, Dad

[The Other Baldwin Family]

Re Me Do Do So
Strange location.??..is Billy building large mounds out of sand...or does Sean keep drawing pictures of the same thing? Is Maggie seeing hovering lights in the sky....or is Tommy constantly talking? If so....don't go near that place again....or ask Richard Dreyfus for his autograph. No matter what...keep on having those adventures.

[Shirley]

Enjoy the wide open spaces. It will be more crowded at Yellowstone.
You guys are having way too much fun! Beautiful pictures!

[Deborah]

Bighorn Mountains
I have a special affection for the Bighorn Mountains, as I got to go fishing and hiking there every year when we visited our grandparents in Basin! My mom has lived in Cody before. I agree that Wyoming has a whole lot of nothing! (I guess they save it up for all of the amazing mountain scenery and awesome national parks. ;) It's good you weren't driving through in the winter, when it can get very dangerous.