Wyoming, the Big Windy

 

by Pa Rock

Road Warrior

I did Wyoming today, from Cody to Cheyenne with.a backwoods routing through Thermopolis and Soshoni.  The wind raged all day, and the few times I got out of the car I had to grab my Vera fishing hat with both hands to keep it from blowing away.

By taking my favorite road, Highway 20, south from Cody to Thermopolis I experienced some of the most beautiful scenery of the entire trip, and it was totally unexpected.  I have been to Wyoming several times, but never through that part of the state.  Thermopolis is an especially neat community of about 2,500 hearty souls.  It is known for its mineral hot springs and good fishing.  The town is about 4,300 feet above sea level.  Driving into Thermppolis from the north culminated with a nice stretch of asphalt highway going down a straight, long hill and into the town.  There is a sign posted at the top of the hill advising people:   "Please Don't Skateboard on the Highway," and the nicely paved highway looks as though it would be absolutely perfect for that activity.

Life in a small town!

Leaving Thermopolis and heading south to the much smaller community of Shoshoni, about fifty miles away, also involves driving downhill for thirty or forty miles through the Wind River Canyon and Indian Reservation - and the canyon with it's roaring river channeling at the base of the bolder-strewn and pine-covered hills is absolutely magnificent!  It was the most scenic drive of my trip out west, and that includes Yellowstone - and there was very little traffic.  If you travel to Wyoming, Wind River Canyon is a MUST see!   Trust me on that!

With the exception of crowded and over-priced Cody, all of Wyoming that I encountered today was clean and neat, and it was a very pleasant 400-mile drive - even along the Interstate.  There were several large, western-themed, metal sculptures in some pastures and fields close to the highways.  Very picturesque.

This evening I am in Sidney, Nebraska, in a much nicer motel room than the one I stayed at in Cody last night, and at less than half the price.  There is a large trucker gas station on the other side of the parking lot, and the desk clerk told me that it sells freshly fried chicken.  I love gas station chicken!   It is one of my all-time favorites.

A friend has informed me that there is a lot of flooding in this area.  I've not seen any indication of that yet, and barring an onslaught of high water, I should be back in Roeland Park, Kansas, sometime late tomorrow afternoon.  I'm anxious to get home, and if I encounter high water, I may just throw my stuff in the current and swim for it!  Thanks for the weather updates, Xobekim!

Now for some of that good gas station chicken!

More tomorrow.