Hot Springs in the morning, stars at night
Trip Start
Sep 26, 2011
1
12
34
Trip End
Dec 05, 2011
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Lander, Wyoming
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Our plan was to drive down through Yellowstone into Grand Teton National Park and head east for Dubois, Wyoming. Dubois has a winter refuge for Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep and I am hoping that the sheep have descended from their summer grazing areas. So, off we go....
The road between Old Faithful and the South Entrance of Yellowstone is closed in the early morning due to snow on the passes over the Continental Divide. Knowing the situation changes often, we kept to our plan and visited the Old Faithful area one more time and as our luck would have it, by the time we finished some small errands the road had re-opened. We drove past the park ranger as he pushed the barricades aside.
Back through the beautiful parks on the way to Dubois, we spot bison, deer and antelope. No elk or bighorns, unfortunately. The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Center is located right on the main drag in Dubois, so we checked to see if the sheep have come down from the mountain tops...we aren't that lucky. The docent on duty told us that only a few ewes with youngsters are down and the chances of seeing anything are slim. Latter November is the prime time. The center had a nice video on the sheep, rated only a three on my scale of five due to loud noises disturbing my slumber. There are large dioramas of stuffed sheep and their predators, lots of things to touch and examine, like fur and horns. It was very informative, but, not like seeing the real thing.
With nothing keeping us in Dubois, we decide to make some distance towards our next goal, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Heading down the road, we ended up in Lander, Wyoming at the Sleeping Bear RV Park on a bluff above town. The campsite gave us a splendid view of the sunset and stars.
Off to bed to prepare for another day on the road tomorrow.
