Day Four of Western Adventures

We all slept in a bit this AM, enjoyed breakfast at the Lodge, and then were on our way up to Wyoming and a stop at Devil’s Tower first. The best photo ops were upon the approach and we stopped for a few of those, then actually skipped driving on up to the Monument itself.                        

 

Our plan was to drive across Wyoming on the scenic route from Devil’s Tower to Sheridan, then taking 14-A up through the Big Horn National Forest and back down to Cody with a stop for the evening.  After being in the Badlands for one day and Custer State Park for another, some of us thought it couldn’t get any better.  Lydia and Jerry had been this way some may years ago, but Bob and Joyce had not been to this scenic part of Wyoming. We were blown away with the immenseness of it all.                                   It was a fairly clear day, with just a few smoke curls coming from way distant peaks.  There were  hair pin turns where it seemed we could see for ever.The rock formations displayed a never ending supply of new ways to put a rock together.  Just amazing what nature can do. These majestic formations are 430-500 million years old.           

 

We thought we wanted to drive up to see the Medicine Wheel, an old Indian spiritual ground and calendar, but nixed that when it required a horrendous drive and then a 3 mile walk. 

    

Many Wyoming ranchers are irrigating and we were treated to a herd of prong horn antelope playing in the vivid green alfalfa fields.  As we neared Powell, we saw fields of bright, dark green crops that we couldn’t identify.  Soon the answer came to us as we passed a Sugar Beet processing plant.  They were harvesting some fields and the beets were piled high in what really looked like huge rock piles.  We saw the harvesting equipment, but none in action.  

 

As the day came to an end, we were more than excited to enter Cody with a quick drive through, then a drive past the Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir and on to the Bill Cody Ranch ranch  

 

where we were greeted by the resident wild turkey, Rosetta.  We have our own cabin with two bedrooms and two baths. We enjoyed drinks and snacks on the deck, then dinner in the lodge at the ranch.  It was so nice not to have to get in the car and leave to look for a place to eat.  With internet access in the lodge, we all brought our toys to access the internet and check e-mail and write this blog.  By days end, we were all lulled to sleep by the bubbling creek right outside our doors.