Wyoming

This is a state of many physical differences and beauty is to be found in the high desert windy plains as well as the beautiful scenic mountainous areas

We love this state and enjoyed being in it and have explored and visited almost all of it

One of the most unexpected pleasures is the Snowy Range Pass with tiny glacier like ponds and lakes

There are moose and deer and even Sand Hill Cranes to be discovered there and other small furry creatures as well

What seems like only fifteen to twenty miles north and you are on an Interstate in the middle of high desert plains

After a long day of driving in the summer heat, well, the Snowy Range area is deliciously cool and refreshing, and unexpected

After a long hot and what our grandson Zach called boring day, we came to the Snowy Range Pass and he was re-energized

We even gave the land to Rawlings from Lander the name Zachery Land because he thought it was so ugly

It really wasn't ugly at all just different and very beautiful in its own right

Rawlings is a city of wind and nice people who direct you where you want to go with glee and more important it is the turn off to the Tetons and Yellowstone Area

From Rawlings you can go to Lander or Riverton and each is different and pretty

The wild horses are almost always visible from the top of the long mountain you have just climbed out of Lander and of course we have stopped and taken pictures

North of Lander is Fort Washakie, where we have stopped and taken pictures of the great American Sacajawea's grave

This is a woman who lived and did incredible things when being a woman was just incredibly hard

She deserves so much credit and admiration we have a very hard time accepting how little she is known

Near Lander is Sinks Canyon State Park another small but scenic and fun drive with campgrounds and hiking areas

As you enter Dubois, you pass a fish hatchery and if you take that road you will enter a wonderful back country area

The road is gravel but passable and we have seen eagles, osprey and deer and much more out there

Dubois is only 55 miles from the Tetons and it is through grizzly bear and moose country and is beautiful

We took a cut off to the Buffalo Valley Road once and saw moose and went up and down a one lane jeep track and finished at a Dude Ranch at the junction

Jackson is a city of many memories including on our 43rd wedding anniversary when we spent a few hours taking pictures of a fox and her babies near the middle of the town

We enjoyed taking pictures of this small but photogenic animal and her babies with other people as much as anything we have done

Another time we drove the back way across the Elk refuge and took pictures from afar of Big Horn sheep on a ridge and then up into the mountains

We have been to Mass there and we have been on a Chuck Wagon Trip there

So many times we have white watered there and each was memorable

We once had to have a van fixed there and it was an excruciating ordeal made bearable by the wonderful way we were treated

There is a hamburger place in the downtown right near the Elk Antler display and it is the best

White watering is a seriously fun thing to do and isn't all that scary with the right company

We have driven out and up and over the long mountain on highway 22 to Victor and beyond and it is a long pull both ways

There is a campground just up and out of Jackson near the airport, Gros Ventre that is always available and open all year

It is filled with moose and we have had moose wander through our camping area often

Further down the same road there are some great views and wonderful ranches

On the road from Moran Junction to Jackson we have seen moose, buffalo, elk, wolves, deer, coyotes, and both black and grizzly bears

We have been there in the winter with snow and always in the early summer and even in the fall

We have visited the famous Triangle X Dude Ranch and taken a sunrise float trip down the Snake with them

We drove down into Powell once for an American Legion Baseball tournament to show support for our kids from Grafton

There were tons of antelope and our team was quickly eliminated but we were there for them

Cody is another place of great interest and once we were camped there when the wind tore our tent up and actually we had to replace it

Cody is in our opinion the least friendly of the towns we have visited in Wyoming but still a neat tourist city

We have taken a white water trip on the river there and it was not as exciting as other trips we have taken

We have driven across the Chief Joseph Highway before it was paved and afterwards and this can be an exciting drive

It is always a cool and beautiful drive with great scenic views

Greybull , Ten Sleep, and Worland are other small towns that hold a lot of interest

There is another of the unexpected wonders of Wyoming as you head to Buffalo

You climb up and through a moose laden wilderness and can do so through a red rocky cliff area

There is beauty to be found in all parts of this state and high plains hot desert is never far away

The Laramie River Road is a gravel and paved road that is winding and filled with modern day cowboys and not to be travelled lightly

Finally, we have to say that we have visited and were much impressed by Devils Tower National Monument

Yes, we have seen "Close Encounters" and yes Devils Tower seemed just right for the movie

We remember how isolated it is and the rattle snakes and prairie dogs but we saw not a single alien

We love Wyoming and suggest it is a state anyone would like to visit!