Fri. July 18 Wind River en route to Cody

 Friday, July 18

51 degrees this morning. Today we are heading towards Cody in northwest Wyoming, which means crossing most of the state.  We'll aim for a campground along the Wind River tonight.

As we are leaving the Snowy Range we spot these sandhill cranes with a chick.  They mate for life and we have seen them at various places at different times of year - Florida, New Mexico, Mississippi, Arizona...but don't remember seeing chicks!

Then on to Saratoga for some coffee and gas.  The next hundred miles or so are pretty boring as we are out of the mountains and into mostly flatlands.  A few antelope and lots of snow fences.

We notice that instead of regular mailboxes, most folks have these small shed-type buildings with mailboxes incorporated.  I guess this is a nod to Amazon and other deliveries?

Next stop is Split Rock, which was a landmark for both the short-lived Pony Express and for those traveling the Oregon Trail.  Two large mounds of rock with a wide path between them.

 Ranches here must be huge because there is so little grass!  But there are ranches, as this sign attests.

We eventually find Boysen State Park after touring around a dam for a bit.  The camp host, Gordon, is quite nice and gives us the resident rate of $20, vs non-resident $32.16.  (Kind of pricey for no hookups if you reserve on line and pay the additional $8 fee for that!)  Only 3 or 4 sites taken so we find a nice one at #9, with shade.

We are next to the Wind River, at the start of the beautiful Wind River Canyon. Across the river is a railroad and if you look closely at the last picture you can see a railroad tunnel on the center left, and a car tunnel on the right.

Wind River by our campsite, facing away from the canyon.

On the other side of the railroad is Wind River Indian Reservation.   It is a bit noisy for a while as we are fairly close to the road, but things die down in the evening.  There is a nice breeze and the grounds are well kept.

There are some resident turkeys wondering around and Gordon has a bird feeder, so we talk about birds and see many, including swallows that dip into the river.  I discover that young robins are speckled, both their brown wings and their orange breasts.

Young robin

Momma Robin

Many  ravens.

And noisy wrens.

We watch the turkeys fence-sit, then fly into the trees to roost for the night. Our warmest night so far, but it does reach the 60's eventually.

 Greg grills burgers for dinner and it is Beth's turn to win at cribbage tonight.