Estes Park to Cody, Wyoming, via Casper for a night

We spent two days driving to Cody, Wyoming.

The first part was up the interesting Big Thompson Canyon, by the Big Thompson River.

However we soon hit broad, flat plains, the arid Badlands.

Before long we were in Wyoming and travelled for several hours through the Badlands until we arrived at our nights destination, Casper. This town has little to recommend it. It is very industrial and has been the centre of Wyoming's large petroleum industry since 1890.

The towns saving grace is the historic Fort Casper Museum. Fort Casper was established in 1855 when hostilities between Native Americans Indians and pioneers increased.

The North Platte River valley, was on the pathway for the Oregon, California and Mormon Pioneer Trails as well as the Pony Express Trail. The Wyoming Plains were home to the Shoshone, Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians. It was at Casper that the pioneers needed to cross the river and this is a ferry able to transport their wagons across.

A painting in their museum shows how it worked.

An officer's room in the fort.

Next day we passed an interesting geological formation, a break from the badlands for a bit, called Hell's Half Acre, also called The Devil's Kitchen, where Native American Indians drove great herds of buffalo into the huge depression to slaughter them. It has many holes, different kinds of rock formations and many different colours.

At last we began to see some hills again as we passed through the Wind River Canyon.

There was a series of interesting rock tunnels.

A beautiful river valley drive.

We had to stop as workmen were clearing up after a rock slide. We saw a lot of evidence of rock slides on all our mountain drives. Dramatic variations in temperatures in these alpine areas cause intense freeze/thaw activity and this allows water to seep down cracks in the rocks and undermine their strength.

We had lunch in Thermopolis, a sleepy town with supposedly the world's largest mineral hot spring.

In case you don't know this fact, they deface one of their hills to let you know.

A suspension bridge over the river.

A terrace formed by minerals coming from the hot springs.

Bill tests the water. Yep, it's hot!

These fences, which we've seen in many of the mountainous areas, are to keep the snow from drifting over the roads. In this case, we were told they are mainly here to keep the buffalo off the roads.