Quest for the Waters Day 1
Quest for the Waters
Day 01 - September 28, 2011 - Wednesday - Palmer Divide, CO; Drive to Thermopolis,WY
Summer is over and we decided to take a Road Trip to The Central Wyoming rolling hills.
We left Palmer Divide on a beautiful fall day and headed north on I-25 just after 9:00 am. Thinking that traffic and morning rush hour would be light by that time, we were surprised to find the Denver Freeway a parking lot!
After negotiating the cars, trucks, and buses for 90 minutes we had open road north of Fort Collins and into Wyoming. We stopped at the Welcome Center north of Cheyenne and then had a brief lunch in Douglas, WY.
The roads were generally clear and the sun was bright as we rolled over the hills and observed very dry terrain. We were in Wyoming in July and it was a lush green, compared to the dry brown we found today.
At a remote and deserted site called Hell’s Half Acre we stopped to overlook a canyon of intricate rock formations eroded by eons of wind, water, and Wyoming weather patterns.
The high plains of Wyoming can seem to be pretty boring but it is truly a place of remote beauty. Just as we thought the flat land would go on forever, we entered the Wind River Indian Reservation and traveled through the steep slopes of this gorgeous canyon.
The State had done a remarkable job of signing here, marking each different rock formation with the type of rock, the geological time periods and the number of millions of years old giving us great information about the canyon walls.
We reached Thermopolis about 4:30 and found the Hot Springs State Park and our Best Western Plaza Hotel within the park. We took a drive around the park to get our bearings and found the State Bath House.
There is a walkway around the hot springs and we hiked and stretched our legs. We met two couples from France and talked to them a bit. One lady spoke a tiny bit of English and one spoke Spanish. Amazingly we were able to communicate our love of France and great experiences there and they told us how much they loved America!
Although we were too late to take a dip in the waters today, the receptionist gave us information and a map of the area. We drove out into the rolling hills to the Buffalo Pastures and found a small herd of American Bison grazing in the tall grasses..
Back at the hotel we checked in and found our room. Unfortunately, the room was a dead spot and there was no WiFi connection. The desk clerk found us another room and we were back in the GarciaTrips mode!
At 7:30 we left to find the highly recommended Mexican Restaurant, Las Fuentes. We got gas, washed the windshield and then joined a few other late season tourists and locals at the best place in town to eat. They were right, a dinner that certainly met our expectations.
When we arrived back at the hotel the fumes from their private sulfur hot pool beckoned us for a quick dip before it closed. We enjoyed talking to several travelers from Denver and a young man from San Francisco who worked for the US Geological Survey Crew doing seismic testing in the area.
After a full day of driving and then enjoying a bit of Thermopolis, it was time for bed.
Accommodations: Best Western Plus Plaza Hotel
Comments
Post a Comment!Off on another great trip. I am looking forward to reading about your adventures.
Hell's Half Acre
Plains of Wyoming
Sheep Grazing South of Thermopolis
Hot Springs State Park
American Bison
Featured Journal
Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos
Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.
The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.
Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...
