Friday, July 10, 2026 Across Wyoming, Wind River, Sacajawea, Big Horn Sheep Info

 Friday, July 10

41 degrees this morning, brrrr.  Had to dig out an extra blanket last night!

We drive over to Sand Lake and have breakfast there.  Coffeemaker won't work (forgot that it doesn't like high altitudes).  Egg sandwiches and oranges.

 

The water level is pretty low and very still.  We are surprised that there are no fishermen since we thought that was the draw here.   Lots of birds including some little sandpipers.  Interesting to see shore birds in this part of the country in the Summer, but it happens often.

We continue north on more gravel roads.  We see a couple of deer, but mostly trees, trees and more trees, including lots of aspen for the first few miles. The air sure does smell good!  A family of antelope resting on the road scatters at our approach.  The cattle does more of a "mosey" out of the way. 

 We descend to more rolling hills and ranch land and turn west on highway 80 briefly, to 287 which goes toward Lander and the Tetons. 

Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary in Lander is a quick stop.  It is managed by the Oldham family and Doube D Ranch.  Lots of signage regarding the history and importance of the introduction of horses to America and to the American Indians. Also discusses the different types and coloring of horses and how they are cared for.  There are pockets of wild horses throughout the west and they need to be managed for health and safety reasons.  

This is a wagon - early RV? - that the herders used when following and working with wild horse herds....we saw similar sheep wagons in other parts of the west. Cozy?

Next is a short detour to Sacajawea Cemetery, where she is buried along with her son.  Colorful decorations on graves ranging from very old to more recent.  There is one grave marker which just says 2 white women killed.........  A statue and small writeup about Sacajawea, who traveled as a guide with Lewis and Clark.

A nice Red Rock area around the Wind River.

Next is the National Bighorn Sheep Center.  Very informative about types of bighorns and their ranges, their body language, courtship rituals (butting heads) and a group of Shoshone Indians called The Sheep Eaters who followed the sheep and co-existed with them from 1200-1800AD.  Their horns grow more in summer than winter, creating kind of rings which can be used to determine age.  Unlike antlers of deer and elk, they do not shed their horns.

We decide  to go a little further into more wooded areas again as we are approaching the Tetons.

wild rose

We settle at small, 8-site, Hatch Campground, a good jumping off point for tomorrow's travels through the Tetons and Yellowstone. Glad to get a spot, as by 5:00 it is filled.  We've come down in altitude and the temperature has risen.   The host and his wife are from Idaho and have been campground hosts for 11 years at various locations. He comments on the heat wave (Yellowstone has had a heat advisory the past few days) and we pull out our small portable fans until things cool down.  It is a manageable 73 by 9:00 with the overhead fantastic fan running creating some nice air movement. More mosquitoes here as the sun goes down.  We spray all the window screens on the outside and only have a few visitors who come in through the door when we are in and out.

We enjoy chips and hummus,  sandwiches and carrots.  Beth has the upper hand at Cribbage tonight.

Thursday, July 9 Through Colorado to Snowy Range

Thursday, July 9

53 degrees this morning as we have a leisurely breakfast and discuss our route. We originally planned a few days through Colorado, but they are having a bad forest fire. After checking Google and the Colorado Dept of Transportation, we opt to just get on I-25 and buzz through the state.  Pretty countryside as we wind our way there.  Skies are a bit hazy, but nothing terrible.  A fair amount of construction, especially around Denver, slows the "buzz" considerably.  

We get off I-25 after Fort Collins to cut over to Laramie, reaching the Wyoming border around 2:00 with scattered light rain on and off.  See a few antelope and deer along the way.                .

 The Snowy Range, west of Laramie, is one of our favorite spots and we've camped there numerous times.  We decide to try a more remote campground called Deep Creek which is in the northern part of the Medicine Bow National Forest.  A stop at the local Ranger station for any info on what's happening and they agree that it would be a good choice as "hardly anyone goes up there"  and some of the other campgrounds are full.

Old water pump

After 16 miles of gravel road, dusty in spots but in good condition, we arrive to find the small campground over half full!  Talk with a neighbor from Missouri who is camping with his son and grandkids.  He has a van similar to ours but laughs and says the grandkids have to stay in a tent - "they need to start at the bottom". 

Beth finds a short trail which goes through a lovely meadow complete with stream and wildflowers.

  After dinner of ham, sweet potatoes and pineapple, we go for a walk, hoping to see some critters. A few mosquitoes join us, though they seem to have a preference for Greg. Our neighbor said a moose came through the campsite this morning! 

 All we see is this strangely behaving ground squirrel/gopher (?) who flattens himself on the dirt road and stares at us, then finally moves away a short distance.  Sand Lake is a short drive away, but we opt to check it out in the morning.

No fire ban here but we pass on a fire.  It stays light for a long time and the mosquitoes keep us inside where Greg is the winner at cribbage tonight.

Wed July 8 Tolby, Ghost Ranch, Taos

 Wednesday, July 8

51 degrees this morning!  We had breakfast and then drove a short way to the Tolby Trail.  After a short time the trail splits, one going uphill , the other flat.  

 There were supposed to be some old CCC type buildings, but after walking uphill for 1/2 mile or so, we determined that they must be on "the road not taken", so gave up.  Got the blood flowing at least.

Continued through the Canyon, past the development at Eagle Lake and on a winding road to Taos and beyond. We follow the  Rio Grande for a while, where we spot people rafting.

 

As we head northwest things become more arid and rugged.   This is Georgia O'Keeffe country, where she lived and painted. 

Pretty, arid, high desert country.

First stop is the Abiquiu Inn (in town of same name) and the O'Keeffe Visitor Center.  Nice display and the Inn has an extensive sculpture garden that we enjoyed.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Tours of her house in town, a refurbished old adobe, were totally booked so we continued on to The Ghost Ranch. The Ghost Ranch, a 21,000 acre area, is home to another of O'Keeffe's homes as well as an artist retreat center, with classes, workshops, lectures, etc.  

This old cabin, just before the entrance, was used in the movie City Slickers.  You can just see a large lake behind it - one of the few bodies of water in the area.

We visited some of the buildings, including the adobe Ghost House which was built in the 1880's and once was a refuge for cattle rustlers.  Redone in the 1930's by a rancher and purchased by O'Keeffe in 1933.  Disappointed that we saw very little of O'Keeffe's work - it is at a large museum in Sante Fe.

The Agape Center is a beautiful adobe chapel.

There are also two museums on the grounds, mostly archeological(which were closed); a ranch for rescued horses, and assorted other buildings.  

This flamingo was at a gas station and country store on our way back to Taos. It DID get our attention, which I guess is the purpose. 

We headed back into Taos and visited Taos Plaza which is a traditional gathering place surrounded by shops.  Some construction going on in the  plaza, so it wasn't at its best.  There were some beautiful shops and galleries, mixed with a few "tourist souvenir" type places and restaurants.  All beautiful adobe buildings. We had been to Taos Pueblo a few years ago which is a much more interesting destination, imho.

We continue a little north of town to Columbine Campground in Carson National Forest for the evening.  Pretty basic with faucets for water and pit toilets but nicely wooded with rocky mountains across the way.  Many noisy stellar jays.  Even though the evening is cool, there are no campfires, as there have been fire bans everywhere.  Of the 28 campsites only a few empty ones.

We break out the cribbage board and the luck goes Beth's way tonight.