CODY, WYOMING.

TUESDAY, 14th JUNE.

A fabulous day.  We drove into Cody again this morning with our first call at a laundry to drop off our week's washing...how lazy!
Next stop, the magnificent Cody Mural which was painted by Western realism artist Edward T. Grigware and illustrates the early history of the Mormons in vivid paintings that cover a 36 foot wide rotunda.  In addition to the mural, there is a small museum which allows you to experience the day to day struggles of the Mormon pioneers who came in 1900 to build a 30 mile irrigation canal and to help establish and settle the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming...very impressive.
After lunch in the park by the church building which houses the Mural and Museum, we made our way to Old Trail Town, the collection of buildings and artifacts located next to the Rodeo Grounds and where Buffalo Bill Cody and his associates surveyed for the first town site of "Cody City" in 1895.  Most of the log structures were moved to Cody from less than 150 miles away and the setting gives visitors a sense of actually being there when Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, or Jeremiah Johnston roamed Wyoming Territory.  So much history!  There was time to stroll along Sheridan Street, the main street in Cody and wander in and out of shops before collecting our clean laundry and driving back to Lovell for an early night.

LOVELL, WYOMING.

MONDAY, 13th JUNE.

It was an earlier departure this morning from those we'd made in the last few days,  but we came to a halt shortly after leaving Riverton when we came across serious road works being carried out. There was about a twenty minute delay with half the road closed, then our by now long queue was led by a 'pilot' vehicle for about 10 kms through the Wind River Canyon.  Because of the road works, we weren't able to stop at any of the viewpoints along the road so unfortunately, all our photos were taken from the car.
Our first stop was in Thermopolis, home of the world's largest mineral hot springs which cascade down terraces along the Big Horn River, except that when we were there they were merely trickling!  For the best view of the Rainbow Terraces, and the Big Horn River, the Swinging Bridge provides a unique vantage point.  With rain threatening, we pressed on to Worland, called in to Maggie's Cafe for coffee and decided that as it was now midday and we hadn't eaten breakfast, we should have some lunch in case we faded away!  No danger of that, lunch was large enough to feed a family and we couldn't eat it all. 
On then to Lovell, where we are staying tonight and tomorrow night.  The rain cleared, the sun came out and in the late afternoon we drove to Cody, named in honour of William (Buffalo Bill) Cody, to watch a rodeo which we enjoyed immensely, admiring the considerable skill of the riders and their horses...yeehaa!!

RIVERTON, WYOMING.

SUNDAY, 12th JUNE.

Today was just a travel day....or so we thought!  The first part of our journey was not too dissimilar from driving across the Nullarbor, not too many trees about but with low, scrubby bushes and not a lot of traffic, but when we reached Green River, we found several plaques depicting the wagon train journeys made in the 19th century by thousands of emigrants searching for a new and better life in the west.  We ate our lunch by the river, near the spot where they crossed and imagined the joy and relief the emigrants must have felt on reaching, then crossing the river.   As we drove along, we kept 'seeing' the people with the wagons carrying all their worldly possessions and the livestock which would hopefully help give them a good start once they reached their destination.  There are many markers along the road, signifying the places where the various trails passed by....the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Mormon Trail and the Pony Express are some of them.  We stopped for an icecream at Farson Crossroad (the most enormous single serves we've seen!) and a little further on crossed the Continental Divide again, then we paid a visit to the small former gold mining town of South Pass City, preserved and restored as an historic site, stopped to take a photo of Red Canyon and once again completed the day's travel in the rain.  Although there was an emergency announcement on TV shortly after our arrival warning of the dangers of an impending storm, nothing has eventuated....in fact, the sun has come out and seemingly dried up all the rain! 
So, not just a day of travel but a day of discoveries as well....we're never too old to learn!

TO WYOMING

SATURDAY, 11th JUNE.

It was well worth the return journey to the Dinosaur Park this morning.  Although we had a late-ish start (one might think we're on holidays), there wasn't a huge crowd when we arrived so we had no problem in getting seats on the shuttle bus for the short drive to the Quarry Exhibit Hall where the dinosaur fossils are on display. About a hundred years ago a large quantity of fossilied dinosaur bones was uncovered in the mountains, many were sent to universities and laboratories for study purposes, and a special purpose hall was built to house, protect and display the remainder to the general public.  We were amazed by the number of bones that were embedded in the rocks and impressed by the overall presentation.

After leaving the Dinosaurs, we headed north and a little west to Evanston in Wyoming, enjoying some very pretty scenery along the way, stopping to view the stunning Flaming Gorge Reservoir and paying a visit to the Fort  Bridger Historic Site.  Established by Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez in 1843 as an emigrant supply stop and trading post along the Oregon Trail, the site was obtained by the Mormons in the 1850s and then became a military outpost in 1858.  In 1933, the property was dedicated as a Wyoming Historical Landmark and Museum.  We spent an interesting hour or so wandering through the buildings which had been preserved and restored and checking out the small museum.  By this time the drizzle had increased  in volume and we completed our day's journey in rather heavy rain.  Jody's Diner was right next door to our motel so we decided to treat ourselves to an evening meal, it'd been a long day.

DINOSAUR

FRIDAY, 10th JUNE.

We encountered vastly different scenery from that we'd seen lately, when we left Craig this morning.  For a while we passed by lush, green farmland but after a while there were no more farms, no more green, rolling hills....not too much of anything really.
There was another change in the scenery when we reached the canyon country gateway of the Dinosaur National Monument, of which we'd heard so much from so many,  and drove along Harpers Corner Road which showcases maze-like canyons from several view points, some featuring short trails to stunning views. 
We had our picnic lunch in the park before returning to the US40 at the Colorado Visitor Centre for the drive to the Utah Welcome Centre at Jensen.  Because it was late in the afternoon by this time and we went first to a couple of river sites, we missed seeing the dinosaur fossils In the Quarry Exhibit Hall so decided to return tomorrow morning after a good night's sleep at our accommodation in Vernal, in Utah.

CRAIG (Day 2)

THURSDAY, 9th JUNE. 

We succeeded very well in executing our lazy day today, not moving from the motel until late morning.  Our outings for the day were to two museums, the first in the middle of the town, exhibiting loads of memorabilia from the early days of the town as well as featuring paraphernalia worn/used by the cowboys of yesteryear and the second, a little way out of town, which began as one man's private collection of all things that he found interesting and is now a huge   collection of old farm machinery, cars, furniture, crockery, jewellery, toys, militaria...all sorts! 
The day was topped off by a visit to Walmart for a few groceries, not a terribly exciting day but a very enjoyable one.

CRAIG

WEDNESDAY, 8th JUNE.

Another gorgeous morning with brilliant sunshine and blue skies to begin our return trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  We didn't take as many photos today, because we took a squillion yesterday but there are a few.  The Alluvial Fan, caused about 30 years ago when the Crystal Dam burst, killing a few campers and shifting trees and boulders to form what looks like a fan, the Horseshoe Park Valley, another section of the Continental Divide, (we decided against a picnic lunch as the picnic tables were iced in), the Grand Lake, Albert Falls at Grand Lake and that was the end of our R.M.N.P. experience and what an experience!  We had quite a long drive then to Craig, in the north west of Colorado and through quite different countryside, leaving the mountains behind for pretty farming country, although we still are about 6,000 feet above sea level.  We've decided to have a lazy day tomorrow so will stay another night.