Stopped at the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center

You go thru 3 tunnels and come out at the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center. The same road will get you to the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park and to Buffalo Bill State Park. Boy the water really flows thru the dam. The reservior is at least 15 feet down from where it will be in a month. With the heavy snow fall they are really going to be working to keep low lying areas from flooding.

water is taken from here

and comes out here

Yellowstone National Park pictures

Here are pictures of Yellowstone National Park. What a great place!!!

The crow that wanted some food!!

Going to Yellowstone National Park

The weather looked promising so we decide to visit Yellowstone National Park. The east entrance to Yellowstone is closed due to an avalanche and the next entrance is the Northeast entrance by way of Cooke City. The road to Cooke City is the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway another road to take on a motorcycle. Just a beautiful drive!!  This was going to add extra hours to the ride but off we went. It is a long ride to the entrance but worth it. We saw bison, deer, elk, long horn sheep, antelope and the rear end of a Grizzly. There were more people than I thought would be there on a Tuesday in May but I can only imagine the traffic jams during the summer. When grizzlys are sited, the road becomes a parking lot with everyone wanting a glimpse. The weather was perfect and it took us just 5 hours :) with numerous stops to see the animals, to get to Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammoth Hot Springs has numerous places to eat, fuel and motels but the thermal features are very cool looking. We had a nice lunch and decided to look around a bit and head back to Cody, made it home in 4 hours with just a few stops to see some more animals. Yellowstone is a great place and we hope to go back and see Old Faithful, if not we will be back, I am sure.

Pictures are of just getting to the Northeast entrance thru Cooke City.

The trip to Cody, Wyoming

We had a nice ride over from Lander to Cody, Wyoming on Monday 5/16/2011. We are staying at the Absaroka Bay RV park on the south end of town. It is a nice park, with a very clean laundry room. The roads were nice and the views fantastic as always. Cody is home to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the most important museum of the West. Took a little drive when we got here and saw some mule dear eating away in someones yard. They seem to have no fear of us humans. The weather is suppose change to lots rain. So we will need to plan our days :(

A few more pictures of Sinks Canyon

It is a long way up!!

Run Suzanne, I got it!

Visiting Sinks Canyon State Park on Sunday 5/15/2011

Sunday is our last day in Lander. We wanted to do some more hiking and went back to Sinks Canyon State Park. The day started off a little on the cold side but warmed up nicely. Our hike started out with a nice trail thru the woods and by the river. The trail took us in an area that we were hoping to see some wild life but it was not to be. The next hike took us to a place where rock climbers show off their talents. It is amazing what they can do and it does take a lot of nerve to make some of those climbs. Suzanne and I took the hike up with a few stops and it wasn't to bad. It was neat when you got up there as you could be right next to the rock climbers. It got narrow in one spot and Suzanne wanted to turn around and go back the way we came instead of completing the loop. So back we went but it was still a great hike. But after lunch we decided to go up the other end of the loop. It was a very steep hike up and we both had our STRESS Test for the day. We got up to the top with some effort and I talked Suzanne into completing the loop. She was very brave and kept to the narrow trail, but never looked anywhere but at the trail. She made it and I am proud of her as she is dealing with her fear of height issues:) I must say we were really up there!!
Moving on to Cody, Wyoming tomorrow for a week of more FUN!!

Our truck is down there somewhere

Saturday in Lander, Wyoming

The weather was messy and cold on Saturday and never got above 45. We decided to take a little drive to get out of the camper and go buy a vase we saw on Thursday. On the drive we saw the grave of Chief Washaki.  He signed one of the final formal treaties executed between an American Indian Community and the United States government. Due to his skill as a leader and warrior he was able to protect Shoshone lands.  We also visited the town of Ethete which had a very nice High School. On the way back I thought we should try our hand at the Shoshone Rose Casino. It was nip and tuck but we came away a winner with $2.25.