You can't drive over the Owl Creek Mountains. You have to drive through them. Fortunately, the Creator and certain Wyoming engineers found a way through the Wind River Canyon. An incredibly scenic gorge, that I often refer to as,
"The only place I never mind getting stopped for road construction."
But it's raining. It's been raining ever since Chuck showed up. We're in a 7 year drought here but like some modern day disciple with two days stubble on his chin, Chuck has brought the rain to Wyoming. How enchanting...
Tunnels carved by men with more balls than dynamite, lead us through the gorge to the north, heading for the town of Cody. The last true western town, Cody is where you can still get your cowboy hat repaired at a shop on Main Street, although there is a T-shirt shop next door now. They still operate the world famous nightly Cody Nite Rodeo with a huge arena on the main drag in town. Alas, now next door to the arena resides the local Super Wal Mart.
Hi Sam! :wavey:
I drag Chuck out to a ranch on the Northfork of the Shoshone river, where I used to take tourists up in the hills on horseback rides and serve them buffalo burgers cooked on an old pack grill over a campfire. A couple of summers working on a ranch and you begin to walk with a certain swagger. Until I held my newborn son, I was never more of a man than the day I could saddle my own horse in the rain....
The rain. Yeah, it rained in Cody too. It was cold out and the clouds were laid low, like a blanket the mountains had pulled over themselves. With just enough time before the last gray light of the day dissappears, we move on.
We take the Chief Joseph trail up into the mountains. Well, it's not a "trail". It's a paved highway and a designated scenic route by the State of Wyomings' Department of Transportation. But it is really scenic. As scenic as it was when a Nez Perce chief led a band of rogue warriors over it to safety, or something like that the historic kiosk marker said.
And then we found camp. High in the mountains, deep in the snow. Summer my butt. We're hidden in the remote Sunlight Basin, on a spur trail, off of a side route from the secondary highway, two mountain passes past the nearest 4 lane road. Perfect. Time to set up shop and cross "BS" off our things to do list.