American Adventure

Wyoming (Bighorn Mountains)

Thank you to Cindy Baker of Sheridan, WY

Starting on August 14, 2002, 10:36:42 AM

Heading west into the Bighorn mountains, on my way towards Yellowstone National Park, I remembered that I missed these wondrous sights on my pass through this area years ago. I do recall the very steep cliffs but it was at night and I couldn't really witness the splendor of it all.

Some smooth hills and mountains with some jagged, rough terrain all nestled within. This mountain range is quite a spectacle with some incredible panoramic views.

As I drove up higher and higher, I felt like it would never stop. One winding curve after another, I began to start seeing the broken down vehicles start accumulating along the turn-offs as they broke water hoses or overheated. Higher up into the mountains the jagged edges of the rocks began to take a different shape.

Some almost reminded me of the hills surrounding the Great Wall in China. Except these walls along the mountain were made by nature.

Some areas, like this "Fallen City" as it was called, show the remnants of violent geographic transformations.

Some areas seemed to have fallen off the mountain while others seem to protrude right up from the ground.

Of course all leaving lakes and streams to make for a very surreal environment.

Stopping to take pictures of flowers always makes me feel strange as people drive by. Although I couldn't help it, some of the vegetation was quite extraordinary. And somebody up there must have ran around and spray painted all the daisies purple.

Even further the mountain road kept climbing to a peak altitude of 9430 feet before it dropped back down the other side. It was on the top of this pass where I met my new friends, Al and Catherine. A great couple of people from Dallas, Texas that were touring the area after a quick visit through the Sturgis bike rally. We all decided to ride together through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.
The "photographer" snapped this shot as they pulled up along side.
"Photographer?" Hey, don't look at me, I was driving.

The ride down to the valley below was pretty fun with the winding curves all down through the jagged cliffs and drop-offs. Once at the bottom we found dry and "flat". Yep, I found "flat" again. The temperature, of course, had risen quite a bit from the top of the mountain.

Out of the Bighorn mountains its across the valley to Cody, WY and then Yellowstone