Snowy Range Scenic Byway, Highway 130, Wyoming ---9/15/18

When we first got on Highway 130,  we could see where we were going!!!!!!  WOW!

Dear Friends,  On the way home on Sept. 15, from our West Trip,  George and I meandered off of I-80 and took a wonderful 'back road'  between Rawlins, Wyoming and Laramie, Wyoming.   This was Highway 130 which  is called the Snowy Range Scenic Byway.   We had never been in this area ---and in a word or so,  we LOVED it.

Snowy Range Pass is part of the Medicine Bow National Forest.    The Snowy Range used to be called the Great Sky Road.  Today I'll share pictures from our little  'side trip'....   Hope you enjoy them!!!!

Along Highway 130,  we enjoyed the beautiful Colors of Fall.   (Photo taken from inside the car)

Oh how I love seeing the ASPENS in their glory!!!!  And the Lodgepole Pines were beautiful here (as opposed to Yellowstone --where many of them had been destroyed by beetles)

The SNOWY RANGE is now in view!!!!!  Wow!

Getting CLOSER and higher in Elevation  (the Peak at Medicine Bow is 12,013 feet)

A nice lady took our picture together when we stopped at Libby Flats --which was over 10,000 feet.  

One of my favorite pictures from Libby Flats --showing one of the many GLACIAL Lakes in that area.  I think this lake is named Bellamy Lake.   

From the Libby Flats area,  I took this picture looking south --toward the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

From Libby Flats,  we just had to walk to the Observation Point in the distance...  See it????  It is so neat --and looks like a castle!!!!

I haven't found any details about who/how this Observation Point was built --but I do know that it is an official  Historical Site.

On the way up!!!!!   What an awesome observation point.

I took this picture of George at the Observation Point.  The weather up there wasn't cold --but it was VERY windy.  Hence NO hat for my man!!!!! ha

 I love seeing the Lodgepole Pines here... I did learn some interesting trivia.... Do you know what a Krummholz tree is?????  It is a stunted or deformed tree caused by the wind/extreme weather in high altitude areas....  I've seen many Krummholz trees through the years --and George and I have always called them our Creative Trees... ha

Another beautiful picture along the Snowy Range Scenic Highway;   That peak on the right is named  Sugar Loaf!!!

I'll close with one more picture of the Gorgeous ASPENS showing off their colors along the Snowy Range Scenic Byway.

Well---as you can see,  George and I loved this little side trip.   IF you are ever in that area,  we highly recommend it.. However,  this road is closed from November to June each year due to high amounts of snow.....

If you enjoy high mountain hiking,  there are LOTS of trails.   I'll close by giving you a great website telling much more about this amazing area.  Click HERE.

Have a great week.. We plan to have a wonderful week ahead!!!  Blessings to all of you!

Hugs,

Emoticons

The Mighty BEARTOOTH Mountain Scenic Byway, Montana/Wyoming, 9/10/18

This is Beartooth Mountain (taken from the other side --after crossing that huge mountain)

Hello Friends,    WOW---did George and I have a fantastic 12 day (5000 mile) trip to South Dakota,  Montana and Wyoming   (Sept. 6-17, 2018)!!!!    This is the fifth trip we have taken out west  (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2018)...  All of them have been so different, one from the other.  To pick a favorite trip is an impossibility because there are highlights from each of them.

One of the  highlights of this year's journey was a trip over the highly-acclaimed  Beartooth Mountain National Scenic Highways All-American Road...   I encourage you to check out this link  (click HERE)  for lots of information and a great video of the highway--along with more pictures, etc.

We stayed 3 nights in Red Lodge,  Montana.   That is a really neat little town --and if you ever get there, try the  Bison Meatball PIZZA  at the Red Lodge Pizza Company...   DELICIOUS!!!!

BUT--my advice  (take it or leave it) is this:   "If you are interested in getting to Yellowstone easily,   do NOT stay in Red Lodge...."  We tried 3 different routes ---and there is not a short way to get to Yellowstone from there.  SO--we didn't have nearly as much time in Yellowstone as we had hoped to have..  BUT we did see some gorgeous places in areas between Red Lodge and Yellowstone,  so we were glad we did it....  The next time we go to that area,   we will stay either in Cooke City or in West Yellowstone...  BOTH are easy accesses to Yellowstone.   Cody is another entrance --but we wouldn't choose it.   (Just my opinion, folks!!!!)

Today I'll share with you our wonderful but CRAZY drive UP UP UP Beartooth Mountain to the summit at almost 11,000 feet in elevation --and then DOWN DOWN DOWN the mountain on the other side... We spent  FOUR hours doing this  (mainly because we stopped a lot and took many, many pictures)....  IF you are afraid of heights --don't do this.    We personally LOVED every single second of it!!!!   Hope you enjoy some of our photos....  BUT--as I told my son,  the pictures don't really do it justice.  This is one experience YOU must have personally!!!!

The major OVERLOOK  on this mountain;  As you can see,  we are at 9,190 feet  UP!!!!  

A very nice lady took our picture together as we walked up to the top overlook at the Rock Creek area;

A beautiful view from the Rock Creek Overlook;  You can see ice/glaciers on the tops of the moutains.  The temperature while we were there was in the 40's --but the wind chill made it feel much colder.

I just had to take a picture of the 'point' --as we walked from the parking lot to this area.

I took this picture of George at the 'point' --at the Rock Creek Vista Point.

After we left,  we stopped ABOVE the Rock Creek Vista Point ---and I took this picture so that you can see the parking area --plus the paved walkway to the top of the point....  Such an awesome place!

As I said,   we stopped  all along the way --as we kept getting higher and higher!!!

And when we reached this area,  we thought we must be at the summit---but we WEREN'T....  We were high enough to be above the TREE LINE ---but we still were going UP.

We finally made up... This is the SUMMIT---almost 11,000 feet up!!!  WOW

A very happy lady at the Beartooth Pass SUMMIT!

What an amazing experience this was!!!!  

There were several Glacial Lakes around the area  --so I used my long lens to get this picture for you.

Heading down ----can you see our road down there on the left???????  Woooooo!

As we get a little lower on the 'other' side ---I enjoyed seeing the road below us!!!!

Here's another one of the lakes we saw as we gradually went DOWN...  The views from this side are so pretty.   The road between Red Lodge and the Summit is much steeper than the road going down the mountain toward  Cooke City.

Like I said,  we stopped a lot and took in all of this amazing place, both coming and going!!!!!  George is getting up close and personal to get a good photo of the lake!!!

Now that you've seen what the summit looked like,  here's one more picture we took near the Rock Creek Vista Point---as we looked up TOWARD the summit.... Amazing,  isn't it?

I was looking for some aerial views of our experience ----and found this google photo marking the road UP that mountain....   Like I said,  amazing!!!

WELL---are you still with me?????   I'll now show you the first picture I put on here ---so you will see again the huge mountain we crossed on 9/10/18.....  Wow WOW WOWWWWWW....

Thanks for letting me share this amazing experience with you!!!

Hugs,

Emoticons

Yellowstone Visit 9/20/13 --Day 2 Continued

Hayden Valley in Yellowstone

If you want to see my posts so far from our Yellowstone trip in September of 2012,  click HERE.    I am posting info on that trip in the order that it happened... So---today,  I'm posting the rest of our day (Day 2) from that trip.

We left the Canyon area and headed south --since I wanted to see HAYDEN VALLEY--which I had heard so much about.  IF you go to Yellowstone and want to see LOTS of wildlife,  this is the place to go,  especially early in the morning.  We however got there late in the afternoon...

Birds and mammals alike are drawn to the lush wetlands along the Yellowstone River,  which meanders through the length of the valley as it flows northward toward the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.   Above is a photo I took of Hayden Valley ---with LOTS of BISON in the distance.  You can also see the Yellowstone River.

Click on the photos for enlargements.

Bison at Hayden Valley, Yellowstone

Here is another photo from Hayden Valley -----using my long lens.  You can see the Bison a little better in this photo, and you can see a tiny bit of the river.

BISON crossing the road near Hayden Valley, Yellowstone

We got in a traffic jam (which is common in Yellowstone) as the BISON crossed the road.  I got this great photo of a couple of them up close and personal!!!!

Mud Caldron at Yellowstone

As we headed south (leaving Hayden Valley),  we saw some geothermal sites.    The only accessible geyser basin in this area lies between Hayden Valley and the LeHardy's Rapids.  The photo above is of MUD CALDRON.  There is no excess water---so the discharge is a thick mud.

Close-up of the thick mud at Mud Caldron, Yellowstone

Here is a close-up showing that THICK mud at Mud Caldron.  Wanna take a mud bath????  Yuk!!!

Sulphur Caldron,  Yellowstone

This is Sulphur Caldron ----and if you have ever smelled sulphur,  you will know that it smells like rotten eggs.  It is not a 'pretty' smell at all!!! ha

Mud Volcano,  Yellowstone

Here  is a Mud Volcano...  See all of that mud????  Mud Volcano has acidic waters that leach clay particles from the lava rock below.  These particles are kept suspended in the waters,  resulting in the grey mud that distinguishes this spring.

Dragon's Mouth,  Yellowstone

And---here is the most popular thermal area here,  a hot spring called Dragon's Mouth.  This one gets its name from the manner in which the water surges out from the superheated source--like a flicking, liquid dragon's tongue.

LeHardy's Rapids,   Yellowstone

After leaving the thermal area,   we checked out the LeHardy's Rapids.   After seeing the calm Yellowstone River flow through Hayden Valley,  this was an interesting place to visit.

LeHardy's Rapids,  Yellowstone

Here is a photo of George standing at the overlook at LeHardy's Rapids.  It was great standing there and hearing the sound of that amazing water!

Fall Colors at Yellowstone

AND--not only could we enjoy those rapids,  but we could also enjoy some beautiful FALL COLORS on the other side of the river.  Aren't they pretty?

At the Fishing Bridge,  Yellowstone

We drove a little farther south to see the fishing bridge.   George took this photo of me on the bridge. You can see that the water is calm here...This bridge is located very close to Yellowstone Lake.

Yellowstone River,  taken from the Fishing Bridge

Here's a photo taken of the Yellowstone River from the Fishing Bridge.

Virginia Cascades,   Yellowstone

Since it was getting late,  we turned around at the Fishing Bridge and headed back to the Canyon Village for dinner... After dinner,  we checked out the Virginia Cascades.  We had tried to see it early on the 2nd morning --but there was smoke in the area.  SO--we went back.  This beautiful 60 feet waterfall is in a heavily forested area of lodgepole pines which make for great photos.  (NOTE:  We saw 19  different waterfalls in Yellowstone plus 3 more in the Tetans area while there those five days.)

George took this photo of me at the Virginia Cascades.  Out came the sweater toward the end of the day --as it was getting cool outside.

Sunset in Yellowstone,  Sept. 20, 2012

AND--on our way back to West Yellowstone (where we were staying),  we captured a beautiful sunset....

Hope you enjoyed seeing the remainder of our Day 2 photos from Yellowstone.  There will be lots more to come!!!!!   I'm having fun re-living this wonderful trip--as I go through all of my photos.   Yellowstone is one place I would go back to in a heartbeat!!!!


Hugs,

Emoticons