On a summer road trip across Wyoming, we visited Ayers Natural Bridge. The natural bridge is considered to be one of the first tourist attractions in the state as it attracted pioneers traveling west on the Oregon Trail, and it is one of only a handful in the United States that has water flowing beneath it. After an enjoyable stop exploring the bridge and throwing rocks into the water, we then spent a night in Douglas.
The next morning, we toured the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Museum. This museum included several railroad cars, a restored 1886 depot, and Burlington steam engine #5633. Douglas is known as 'Jackalope City' and the large jackalope sculpture at the depot was a popular photo spot with the kids. Before leaving town, we visited the burial site memorial to the first Triple Crown winning horse, named Sir Barton.
In Gurnsey we hiked around Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site. Everyone enjoyed this peaceful site, and it was the most impressive site we have seen at any of the pioneer trail locations with ruts over 5 feet deep in some locations from the thousands of wagon wheels traversing the soft sandstone rock as the pioneers traveling the California Trail, Oregon Trail, and Mormon Trail all headed west across Wyoming. Just a short distance east we stopped to view Register Cliff State Historic Site, which is one of the best preserved 'trail registers' where pioneers inscribed their names into the cliffs and it was also the location of a Pony Express station.
We spent a day in the Casper area where we visited Independence Rock State Historic Site, hiked the trail at Bessemer Bend National Historic Site, and had an enjoyable dinner at Sanford's Grub & Pub.
We spent two full days exploring parts of Yellowstone National Park. On the first day we saw the 84-foot Gibbon Falls, drove the Virginia Cascades drive to see the water cascades, and watched some elk near a very steamy Beryl Spring. In the Canyon Village area, we hiked to the brink of both the Upper Falls and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, saw the canyon and falls from the various overlook points along North Rim Drive, and toured the Canyon Visitor Center. In the afternoon we hiked the loop trail around the Artist's Paintpots area to see the various colors and thermal features, and Elizabeth especially enjoyed watching the splattering mudpots. We also walked the boardwalk and explored Terrace Spring. To end the day, we drove the short Riverside Drive along the Madison River where we were extremely fortunate to see a black bear bathing in the river then enjoying a snack of berries on the hillside.
On our second day, we hiked the boardwalk around Midway Geyser Basin to see Excelsior Geyser, the Grand Prismatic Spring, Opal Pool, Turquoise Pool, and more. Next, we watched the eruption of Old Faithful before hiking part of the Upper Geyser Basin to see Pump Geyser, Ear Spring, Heart Spring, Beehive Geyser, Anemone Geyser, and many other thermal features. After a picnic lunch at Old Faithful Lodge (and watching one final eruption of Old Faithful), we drove Firehole Lake Drive to see more thermal features and watch the eruption of Great Fountain Geyser. In the afternoon we hiked part of the Fairy Falls Trail to the overlook of Grand Prismatic Spring. We all enjoyed the view of this extremely colorful hot spring, which is also the largest in the park. We finished our day with a nice drive along the scenic Firehole Canyon Road and viewing the 40-foot Firehole Falls.
We drove to Cheyenne for a weekend. On the way, we stopped to visit Fort Fred Steele State Historic Site on the banks of the North Platte River. We all enjoyed exploring the site, which was a frontier army fort, a location on the transcontinental railroad, and a stop on the original Lincoln Highway. In Cheyenne, we enjoyed a nice dinner with family at Sanford's Grub and Pub. This short trip was the first visit to another state for Miles.
While spending a night in Cheyenne, we visited the Wyoming State Capitol and enjoyed dinner at Sandford’s Grub and Pub. Heading west across the state, we stopped to visit family in Laramie, then stopped in Green River to observe the Union Pacific Railroad yard operations from the overhead pedestrian bridge.
We spent a day at the Warfield Fossil Quarry near Kemmerer digging for fossil fish with Benjamin's father. The quarry primarily has fossil fish from the Eocene Age (about 40-60 million years ago). We found many fossils of fish such as Knightia, Mioplosus, Diplomystus, and more. After fossil hunting, we visited nearby Fossil Butte National Monument, then enjoyed a nice meal at Legal Tender in Evanston. Later in the month, we visited Bort Bridger State Historic Site and Museum.
While traveling across Wyoming we stopped in Rawlins to view Union Pacific Steam Engine #533 and play in Tully Park. We also stopped to explore the Point of Rocks Stagecoach Station State Historic Site on the Overland Trail.
At the beginning of the month, we drove the Snowy Range Scenic Byway over the mountains and through Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest from Saratoga to Laramie. We hiked the Lake Marie Falls Trail and part of the Lake Marie Shoreline Trail. We also stopped at the Libby Flats Observation Area to take in the sweeping views. After a nice dinner with family in Laramie, we spent a night in Cheyenne. The next morning, we visited the 30-foot tall Our Lady of Peace Shrine in Pine Bluffs.
Over the Father’s Day weekend, we drove to the southwest corner boundary marker, which marks the state line where Wyoming borders Utah to the south and west. We then drove to Fossil Butte National Monument where we hiked the Historic Quarry Trail and Elizabeth enjoyed walking up all the steps to see the quarry site. We also visited Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge but didn’t see any birds or other wildlife.
The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental road for automobiles in the United States. It was opened in 1913 and traveled over 3,000 miles between New York City and San Francisco. We drove the route of the original Lincoln Highway west across Wyoming, stopping to see the President Abraham Lincoln rest area near Laramie along Interstate 80 which has a large bust of President Lincoln, a small museum about the Lincoln Highway, and is the highest elevation rest area along the route of the interstate.
We visited a few other spots near Laramie, including the Ames Monument State Historic Site, which is a 60ft tall granite pyramid built at the highest point along the Trans-Continental Railroad. The pyramid has sculptures of the Ames brothers on each side, which were sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Near the Pyramid is the town of Buford, which (along with many other towns across the country) claims the title of smallest town in the country, with a population of 1. One final stop near Laramie was at the Tree in the Rock Historical Site. This site preserves a tree that appears to be growing out of granite. The tree has been an attraction since the first railroad came through the area, followed by the Lincoln Highway, and now continues as an attraction at a rest area between the lanes of Interstate 80.
We also took a scenic drive through part of Medicine Bow National Forest, then finally headed west across the state, following the route of the Lincoln Highway.
We drove to Laramie where we visited the historic railroad town, walked across the pedestrian bridge over the Union Pacific Rail Yard (we were fortunate to experience a train going underneath us), and stopped at the Depot Park to view the historic steam engine, snow train, and other railroad memorabilia.
We attended the 23rd Annual Roundhouse Festival in Evanston where we saw many model railroad layouts and vendors, rode the turntable, and watched the restoration work on the Union Pacific 4420 steam engine. After the festival, we also drove through Bear River State Park to see the bison.
Over Memorial Day weekend we drove north through Star Valley and Bridger-Teton National Forest to Grand Teton National Park. After arriving at the park, we hiked the 3-mile Taggart Lake Trail along Taggart Creek to the banks of Taggart Lake. Along this hike we saw a fox, several butterflies, and a moose in the distance.
After the hike, we took the scenic drive north through the park to Colter Bay where we stayed in a cabin for the weekend. That evening we had a nice sit-down meal at Colter’s Ranch House, then played on the shore of Jackson Lake before calling it a night.
The next day we headed out for a morning hike around Jenny Lake. We hiked about 3.5 miles around the western side of the lake to the mouth of Cascade Canyon where we saw the impressive Hidden Falls, which had a lot of water flowing from the spring snowmelt. We then hiked along Cascade Creek to the boat dock where we rode a shuttle boat back to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center. Along this hike we saw a hummingbird, marmots, and got awfully close to a moose that was resting in a snowbank along the trail. Elizabeth enjoyed the boat ride across the lake.
After hiking in the morning, we drove out the east side of the park into Bridger-Teton National Forest where we had a nice picnic lunch at Turpin Meadows along the Buffalo Fork River. After lunch, we returned to the cabin for a nap and Tiffany hiked the 3-mile Heron Pond / Swan Lake Loop Trail where she saw pelicans, ducks, and a bald eagle.
The next morning, we hiked the 2.5-mile Lakeshore Trail along the shore of Jackson Lake before heading south to the Historic Mormon Row to get some final pictures of the Tetons before heading home. On our drive home we stopped briefly at Names Hill State Historic Site near La Barge.
The entire weekend we had beautiful weather, comfortable temperatures, and the fewest number of people that we have ever seen in the national park. We had no trouble parking at any of the trailheads or doing any of the activities we wanted, which for being a holiday weekend was a very pleasant surprise.
Tiffany's mother visited over the Labor Day weekend and we drove to the Wind River region of Wyoming. Along the way, we stopped at several sites along the historic trails (Pony Express National Historic Trail, Oregon National Historic Trail, California National Historic Trail, and Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail). We also toured South Pass City State Historic Site, which is on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.
Near Lander, we visited Sinks Canyon State Park, where the Popo Agie River disappears into a small cave and goes underground before rising back up about a half-mile away. After spending a night in Lander, we visited the gravesite of Sacajawea before driving to Dubois where we saw the Giant Jackalope, had a nice lunch at the Cowboy Cafe, and drove to the top of an overlook to see the badlands.
There was thick smoke in the area around Shoshone National Forest and Bridger-Teton National Forest, due to nearby wildfires, but we did stop at the Tie Hack Memorial, saw 'The Pinnacles', and even found some colorful wildflowers at Togwotee Pass. Finally, we drove through Grand Teton National Park and visited the National Elk Refuge near Jackson.
We drove to Evanston for a day and spent the morning at Bear River State Park walking along the river and viewing the wildlife. Later in the day, we visited the Evanston Roundhouse and Railyard to take some photos of the restored railroad buildings.
During an early-season snowstorm at the beginning of the month, Benjamin and his dad visited Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park for some wildlife watching, scenic driving, and hiking.
We drove through Star Valley to Jackson, then visited Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. In Cody, we attended the Cody Stampede Rodeo and toured the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. We also did some hiking and wildlife watching at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, did some scenic driving through Bighorn National Forest, and hiked the loop around the base of Devils Tower National Monument.
We spent a day exploring the western side of Yellowstone National Park where we visited Firehole Falls, Gibbon Falls, and Norris Geyser Basin. We also toured the Museum of the National Park Ranger and drove the scenic Beartooth Highway northeast out of the park. In the Casper area, we toured the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center and stopped to view Independence Rock State Historic Site.
We drove to Grand Teton National Park for a weekend where we hiked the loop trail around Phelps Lake at the Laurence Rockefeller Preserve. After hiking, we drove through the park and stopped at Mormon Row to view some of the historic buildings. The next day we drove to the Bechler area of Yellowstone National Park where we visited Cave Falls in the far southwest corner of the park.
In eastern Wyoming, we toured Fort Laramie National Historic Site, which is also a site on the California National Historic Trail, Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, Oregon National Historic Trail, and Pony Express National Historic Trail. We also spent a night in Cheyenne where we saw the Wyoming State Capitol, attended mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary, and had a nice meal at Sanford's Grub and Pub.
On a summer road trip, we drove the Grand Loop Road through Yellowstone National Park where we saw the Mammoth Hot Springs, Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, Mud Volcano, Dragons Mouth Spring, Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Kepler Cascades, Fountain Paint Pots, Fountain Geyser, and Old Faithful Geyser. Along the drive we also spotted Black Bear, Elk, and Bison. We enjoyed the Twilight on the Firehole tour in a historic 1930's White Motor Company Touring Bus and spent the night in a cabin at Old Faithful.
The next day we drove south out of Yellowstone on the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway to Grand Teton National Park where we visited the Colter Bay area, drove to the summit of Signal Mountain, hiked along Jenny Lake, and drove the scenic Moose-Wilson Road where we were fortunate to see a moose even in the summer heat.
We also visited Jackson Hole Mountain Resort where we rode the Aerial Tram to the top of Rendezvous Peak and did a few short hikes along the peak and into the Tetons. We spent the night in Jackson at the Alpine House Lodge.
The next day we drove south through the Bridger-Teton National Forest to Kemmerer (home of the original JC Penney store) and visited Fossil Butte National Monument where we hiked the Chicken Creek nature trail. As we hiked, a curious pair of Sandhill Cranes followed us along the trail.
Over Labor Day weekend we drove to Devil's Tower National Monument where we did some hiking.
Benjamin drove to Laramie and visited the Snowy Range Ski Area. He also did some rock climbing at Vedauwoo and visited the Old Corral Hotel & Steakhouse in the ghost town of Centennial.
Benjamin traveled to Wyoming for a family reunion and visited Devil's Tower National Monument.