We took care of business in Casper, and the next morning, we headed off for Lander, Wyoming. This is the high plains. At an altitude of over 4,500 feet, there are few trees and mostly ranch grasslands.
Wyoming is a “fence out state.” Most of the U. S. consists of “fence in states.” In other words, fence in states require the owners of livestock to maintain fencing to keep their livestock on their property. In a fence out state, a property owner is obligated to fence their property to keep livestock off of their property. As a result, the cattle and horses roam relatively freely. The state Department of Transportation has fenced in most of the interstates and large highways, but we weren’t always traveling those. Thus, we had to watch for livestock in the road for much of the day.
On our way to Lander, we took a detour toward Dubois to see a big horn sheep preserve. The drive up the canyon was scenic, and we stopped so I could take several pictures. Doug was very patient with my continual requests to pause so I could grab some shots.
After a little misdirection to the sheep preserve, we found the the visitor’s center in Dubois, but the preserve itself is back in the direction from where we had come. Once again, I misdirected us and we had to backtrack. But at last, we found it…and we drove and drove and drove. Then, before we could find a turnaround and give up on the hunt, we finally found our first Big Horn Sheep.
We drove a little further and discovered more and more sheep. When we finally reached the end of the road and turned around to return the same way, the scenery changed, and so did some of the sheep. This time, we found moms and their babies. These guys were tagged so conservation officers could keep track of them.
Traveling back to Lander, we stopped at a couple of scenic overlooks. While observing the beautiful scenery, I happened to spot an bald eagle coming in for a landing on a branch nearby. That was a nice moment.
The next day’s journey was a short one. We were headed to Thermopolis, where a hot pool awaited. And that was good to hear as it was chilly and there was still snow flying occasionally and laying on the ground
But first a stop at Sinks Canyon State Park. This is a unique location where the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River where it flows into an underground limestone cavern, named “the Sinks,” and emerges a quarter-mile down the canyon in a pool named “the Rise.” The Sinks was very picturesque. The Rise, not so much but the views were nice.
Thermopolis is the home of the Hot Springs of Wyoming. There may be others, but this town has staked its existence on theirs. It is a mineral hot spring that is clearly visible by the mineral deposits around the river and creeks.
The water comes out of the ground at 128 degrees. In order to be usable as a hot pool, it is cooled to 104 degrees with water from other sources. This is monitored by park staff every 20 minutes or so to make sure that no one is cooked alive. The park provides a free 20-minute soak but monitors each person’s time in the water closely. This is as much for health reasons as it is to prevent abuse. After an enjoyable 20 minutes where the minerals and the heat provided our joints and muscles some needed relief, we returned to the hotel for a good night’s rest before another short journey the next day.