Tetons and Yellowstone Day 4
Tetons and Yellowstone
Day 4 - September 9, 2005 - Cody, WY to Monument, CO
We slept well in Cody and woke up to another sunny day in Wyoming. We walked to the Buffalo Bill Village Center Café for a little continental breakfast and by 8:30 we were on US 120 traveling southeast to Thermopolis. The road was very good, well maintained with very little traffic. We passed through arid grazing land dotted with a few drilling rigs. Along the Graybull River valley there were lush green pastures and hay fields. What difference water makes!
After we drove through Thermopolis, we descended through the Wind River Canyon which was a welcome change with steep and shear cliffs above the Bighorn River. Signs explaining the exposed rock formations in the canyon walls help tourist to know the approximate age of these geological strata. Out of the canyon and we were into the small town of Shoshone. There was not much going on in this sleepy little town, but they did have what looked like a very well kept school, the center of the community. Here we turned and headed east to Casper.
At 12:30 we reached the small town of Douglas where we stopped for gas, to clean to bugs off the windshield, and to get a sandwich at Subway. By 12:50 we were back on I-25 on our way south to Cheyenne. This is the land of golden grass, rolling hills, small ranches, and lots of pick-up trucks. The interstate was wide open with very little traffic but there was construction from Cheyenne to the Colorado state line. Just as we were leaving Wyoming we saw a commercial rest stop selling fireworks, gas, and food. Outside the establishment were several buffaloes, cattle, and two camels!
Once we entered Colorado at 3 PM, under cloudy skies, it was still 85 degrees. It was good to see our Rocky Mountains again. As we drove south, we began to encounter a significant increase in traffic and once we got to Fort Collins it was bumper to bumper on both lanes. Friday afternoon! When we reached Exit 228 we decided to take E-470 east and south to bypass the traffic congestion of Denver. Even though it cost us $8.50 to use this toll road, it was well worth it. At the first toll gate a young man with a brand new Dodge 3500 with a 5.7L HEMI V8 Engine decided he wanted to beat the little old S2000 with a 2.4L 16-Valve DOHC VTEC out of the line. It was no contest, I was in the right gear and once the engine passed 5,500 RPM and entered the VTEC, he was blown away. Gennie was a bit concerned when the speedometer hit 112 and I had to drop it to the legal speed limit. The truck stayed behind me for the next 30 miles, never wanting to show his face!
We drove south to meet up with I-25 at Park Meadows and then entered the high traffic volume going to Castle Rock, Monument, and Colorado Springs. We stopped at the Castle Pines Safeway to get a few things and arrived home at 5:45. We had driven 569.5 long miles today for a total of 1515.8 for this four day trip to the Tetons and Yellowstone.
| Miles Traveled | Gallons | Avg. Price | MPG |
| 69.7 | 7.68 | $3.099 Prem | 35.12 |
| 279.2 | 9.49 | $3.119 Prem | 29.42 |
| Miles Traveled | Gallons | Avg. Price | MPG |
| 515.8 | 49.58 | $3.116 Prem | 30.57 |
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