Wyoming Adventures

At the end of July, I flew my niece and nephew out for a visit.  Really, it was to share with them the things about Wyoming that I love so much - specifically, the plethora of outdoor activities.  I started with a basic itinerary over about 8 days, but it was soon packed with adventures - including a bingo game to identify Wyoming wildlife during driving times.  We had a blast, so I thought I'd post some of the big take-aways here:

Total miles driven: 1,321
2 States

• Montana
• Wyoming

4 National Forests

• Big Horn National Forest
• Teton National Forest
• Shoshone National Forest
• Custer National Forest (MT)

1 BLM area
2 Native American Indian Reservations

• Crow Indian Reservation (MT)
• Wind River Reservation (Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho)

2 National Parks

• Grand Teton National Park
• Yellowstone National Park

Things we did:

• Horseback riding at a friend’s ranch
• Rode a Tram to 10,400 feet Rendezvous Peak in the Tetons
• 2 boat rides
• Hiked about 13 miles
• Tubing at the creek next to the cabin where I live
• Swimming
• Whitewater rafting
• Visited 2 museums
• Explored downtown Cody, WY and Red Lodge, MT
• Went to the Cody Nite Rodeo - and Kyle joined in the Calf Chase
• Visited 2 playgrounds

Wildlife we saw:

• Hawks*
• Eagles
• Osprey*
• Sandhill Cranes*
• Chipmunks
• Grizzly Bear
• Brown Bear
• Skunk*
• Pheasant*
• Horses
• Pronghorn (antelope)
• Cows*
• Mule deer*
• White tail deer*

* animals we saw at the cabin where I live

Our adventures started and ended at the Billings, MT airport, but we were able to plan a big loop through the region:

Finally, in no particular order, here are some highlights of our trip:

It's a Dog's Life...

Cloud Porn

Gorgeous, angry clouds after today's sunset (so around 9:15 pm)!

Crazy pre-storm clouds

I love late spring storms in Wyoming. They're fierce, you can see them coming, they cool things down, and they only last 20 minutes. But boy do they pack everything in! Wind, thunder, lightning, hail, funnel clouds....then almost as soon as it starts, rainbows.

Wild Horse and Twin Foals on BLM lands

 

Ten Sleep Creek

 

Wildflowers in Ten Sleep Canyon

 

Big Horn Ram

 

Buffalo shedding his winter fur

 

Sunset reflected on clouds at Renner Wildlife Management Area

 

Mammatus clouds

 

Near Red Lodge, MT....redux

I drive by this same spot today and snapped a pic with my phone to illustrate the difference the moody skies provided.

White knuckle drive

This may not look like a white knuckle drive....but it was. This was the road from Red Lodge back Eastward toward Billings yesterday. What made it white knuckle- for me, anyway- was the 7% downhill grade, the coming hairpin turn, and the fact that the road was as slick as snot!!  Made it back down without incident. Thank goodness there was no other traffic!!

Near Red Lodge, Montana

I'm exploring this southern part of Montana for a couple of days, and this is the first time I've been to Red Lodge. It's a beautiful town that reminds me somewhat of Telluride.  In this cell phone photo, both the sun and an emerging snow fall are battling over this scene. The road leading into the mountains here is someone's private road. Can you imagine that being your driveway??

Just your average weekend...