June 14 th and 15th Bighorn Canyon to Glendo, Wyoming To Rocky
Mountain National Park
Last night was a nightmare. The high winds blew all night.
The camper shook and I woke Chick up once to see if we could sleep in the
truck. I felt it was heavier and harder
to blow over than a trailer. We had this same problem years ago further south
in Wyoming near Dubois and I should know better. Wind, wind, wind….never ending, roaring… all
night.
When morning finally came we decided the combination of the
wind and the fact that we were unable to access the water for fishing meant we
should leave instead of staying another day as planned.
At this point I vowed I was done with the southwestern USA,
having been to everything I ever heard of to visit, and scared to death by the
wind on these high deserts. (The mountains are ok.)
Our original plan was 2 nights in Bighorn and a long drive
to Rocky Mountain National Park . Instead we started east, and I called ahead
to a Big Sam’s campground (thank goodness my sister had loaned me the
campground book) and we overnighted at Glendo, Wyoming, just north of Cheyenne.
Just out of Thermopolis we drove through Wind River Canyon, a beautiful drive.
Rock walls rise 2500 vertical feet on either side to the ridgetops. Rock formations dating to the Precambian period (more than 2.9 billion years ago) line the highway.
On the drive we experienced a chance encounter with a mama bunny and her daughter at a roadside visitor center.
From Glenda is was a very short trip to Estes Park the next day but the best part was going through the Big Thompson Canyon on route 34. We
set up Snoopy and had lunch in Estes Park, then had the afternoon to enjoy the
National Park and get oriented.
Just out of Thermopolis we drove through Wind River Canyon, a beautiful drive.
Rock walls rise 2500 vertical feet on either side to the ridgetops. Rock formations dating to the Precambian period (more than 2.9 billion years ago) line the highway.
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| Wind River Canyon |
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| Wind River |
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| Wind River Canyon |
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| Wind River Canyon |
On the drive we experienced a chance encounter with a mama bunny and her daughter at a roadside visitor center.
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| Mom |
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| Baby Bunny |
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| Big Thompson Canyon |
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| Big Thompson River before the canyon |
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| Big Thompson Canyon walls beside road |
We ran into (not literally) bull Elk everywhere, visited the
Bear Lake and Sprague Lakes (with easy walks around each) , and gawked at the scenery. Clouds periodically descended making it dramatically ghostly.
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| Elk |
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| Grabbing a bite |
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| Munching away while watching us |
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| Clouds hiding the mountains |
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| Mother deer and fawn |
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| Fawn in flight |
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| Bear Lake - late afternoon |
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| View from Bear Lake |
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| View from Bear Lake |
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| Pedestrian bridge at Sprague Lake |
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| Sprague Lake |
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| Sprague Lake Trail |
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| Around Sprague Lake |
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| Unnamed Hiker.....note SNOW behind him!! |
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| Mushrooms on trail |
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| ANOTHER Elk |
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| Family Photo on Sprague Lake |
Supper at home and early to bed so we can get up early to
check out Trail Ridge Road. Several years ago when we were here we were unable
to travel it as it had not been plowed yet of the winter snow.
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