Thermopolis
Fountain of Youth RV Park
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The drive to Thermopolis was mostly through high desert,
with some areas of rocky outcropping formations and cliffs. We stopped about
halfway through the drive at a rest area out in the middle of nowhere. It was
nestled into a very small canyon like area, which was beautiful. Before arriving in Thermopolis, there was
another major road construction area. For about 2 miles there was no asphalt,
only gravel on the road. This really slowed down our drive time and was very
frustrating. We finally arrived in Thermopolis and headed through town to the
north side, where Fountain of Youth RV Park was located. We had chosen this one
because it had availability. We had read reviews that it wasn’t such a great
place. When we arrived, the owner greeted us in his golf cart, wearing only
ratty looking shorts and no shirt. That would make any city person a little creeped
out. It was not so bad, as we’ve seen much worse. But the facilities were
adequate with full hook ups. However, there could have been some basic
maintenance and it would have looked so much better (like some paint on the
picnic tables). It was named Fountain of Youth, as they had their own hot
springs pool on the property, but based on the general maintenance, I decided
that I would not be getting in their pool!
We didn’t settle in too much, as we were only going to be there for two
nights, so we just made the best of it.
We then drove back into town to go to the visitor center. We
were able to get information that we needed on our intended activities for the
next day. Kurt wanted to do a kayak float on the Big Horn River, which flows
right through town and along the Hot Springs Park. We then drove south through
town along the river to find where a put in would be. We did find a boat ramp
upstream of town where he could launch. He would end at the Hot Springs SP and
take out at the boat ramp there. We drove a little south into the Wind River
Canyon, which was amazing. We turned back as we would be driving through there
on our way out of town.
The next morning, we drove Kurt to the put in boat ramp.
This park was named Wedding of the Waters. The surrounding lands in this area
were once inhabited by the Arapahoe Indians. After the land changed hands to
the US government, there was a treaty that was signed between the US and the
Indians. The river was named Wind River and the US named it Big Horn. The treaty
allowed the river within the reservation to continue to be called Wind River;
but outside the reservation, it would be known as the Big Horn River. Kurt took
off and merely floated downstream, as the river was running very fast. The boys
and I headed back to camp so I could drop them off at the RV. I then headed to
the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. WOW, I couldn’t believe how many dinos were there
and the extensive exhibits. In the Hall of Dinosaurs lies "The Thermopolis
Specimen" the only Archaeopteryx in North America, "Jimbo" a
Supersaurus, one of the largest dinosaurs ever mounted, and "Stan" a
35-foot T-Rex and a Triceratops, the Wyoming state dinosaur. They even had a
working laboratory inside. Visitors could watch the archaeologists working on
cleaning rocks to expose the fossils. My sister Terrie would love this! They
sponsor several digs in Wyoming to get their specimens. This museum has been
named one of the top ten in the US. Kurt called me and he had arrived at the
take out boat ramp. I went to pick him up and we went back to the RV for lunch.
After lunch, we headed north about 15 miles to a tiny town called Kirby. There
we took a tour of the Wyoming Whiskey Distillery. This is a fairly new whiskey
plant, started in 2009 by a family from Jackson, Wyoming. They are in their
third year of releasing the whiskey for distribution. We then were able to have
a taste testing and it was very good (however, I am not a big whiskey drinker)
but it seemed very smooth for sipping. At this time, it is only available in
Wyoming, so we purchased one bottle to take home and share with our friends at
Christmastime! Can’t wait for everyone to taste it.
After the tour, we went back to the RV and picked up the
dogs, then headed to the Hot Springs Park. We walked around the hot springs on
the boardwalks and also across the swinging bridge, which goes over the Big
Horn River. After our walk, I headed to the State Bath House to soak in the
mineral waters. Kurt took the boys to the river so they could get in and cool
off. It was a nice way to end the
afternoon.
For dinner, we had decided to go try out a Mexican
restaurant in town. Prior to that, we visited a local bar called Macs. While we
were in Flaming Gorge Rec Area, we met a couple that was from Thermopolis and
they told us to make sure and go to this bar. It was very nice and there were a
lot of locals in there. And they had a pool table, so Kurt had to put his
quarters on the table and challenge the players. They were all very nice and I
spoke with some of the ladies while the guys played pool. We stayed there until
about 9pm, then headed out to eat. Well, this is a small town and by the time
we got to the restaurant, they were closing. Bummer, we really wanted to eat
there. At this late hour, our only choice was McDonalds or Pizza Hut. Kurt went
into Pizza Hut and we ordered a takeout pizza and wings, then went back to eat
at our RV. After dinner, we began preparing to leave the next morning.
Thermopolis was very interesting, but for us, it is not a
“go back” destination. We were ready to move on to Casper, Wyoming the next
day.
Casper, Wyoming
Fort Caspar Campground
Our drive toward Casper took us through the Wind River
Canyon. The Wind River/Big Horn River created this amazing canyon, as the river
flows northward toward Thermopolis. The highway is very near the bottom of the
canyon, with the railroad running on the opposite side of the river. At some
points, the canyon can be up to 2500’ high. It’s very strange; while driving on
the highway, it appears that it is a downward slope, but the river is running
upward in the opposite direction. The canyon was beautiful with high rocky walls
and formations.
We arrived in Casper and checked into Fort Caspar RV
Campground. This is on the grounds of the historic Fort Caspar (it is spelled
with an A, unlike the city’s name). There are some historic buildings still on
the site and a museum with historic information. This campground was pretty
much a large gravel parking lot with full hookups. It was adequate and we were
glad to have full hookups. The North Platte River flowed around the park, which
was on a large peninsula. The back half of the property was left as a preserve
and there was a nature walk along the river. After we were setup, we took the
dogs on this trail and they loved it, as we let them off leash. Later in the
evening we had dinner and relaxed watching some TV.
After dinner I received a very sad email from my sister Cindy,
who lives in North Carolina. Her husband Tommy had been battling pancreatic
cancer for almost four years. He had been doing remarkably well with chemo and
was living a very good quality of life. He was in the hospital in ICU, as he
had contracted pneumonia. By the next morning, he was quickly losing the battle
and passed away peacefully just before noon. This was very painful and sad news
for our family and we were shocked that he went so quickly. At least now he is
with God and no longer has any suffering or pain. Tommy was one of the most kind,
laid back and caring persons that I’ve ever known. He will be missed so much.
The second day in Casper, I was not able to go out and do
anything after hearing the news about Tommy. I just stayed in the RV and had a
very sad down day. I prayed for Tommy, my sister and his family. My sister had
insisted that we not come to N. Carolina; she wanted us to continue our journey
and not change our plans. Tommy would have wanted that for us.
While I stayed at camp, Kurt decided to drive around town and
check out Casper. He went to the visitor center to check on kayaking and
mountain biking. No one there was able to give him any detailed information on
mountain biking, but he did find out about kayaking. The N. Platte River runs
right through the city and is mostly used by locals to float in tubes downstream.
Along the River is an 11 mile paved trail that travels along the river, the
Platte River Parkway. This trail links downtown with other areas of Casper and
several parks. Kurt took the bike and rode most of the trail, which ran just
nearby the campground. Later he came back, got the dogs and took them for a
ride to look for kayak put-ins and take-outs. This determined his plan to go
kayaking the next day.
On the third day, I decided I needed to get outside and
enjoy the beautiful weather. Tommy would want us to be happy. So, Kurt and I
took the dogs for a hike on Casper Mountain. This was an awesome trail called
Garden Creek Falls. The trail went back up the creek to a beautiful waterfall.
The boys enjoyed getting in the water and playing. After the short hike, we
took another trail that led up the mountain on one side of the waterfall, back
down to the creek, then back up to the mountain on the other side of the falls.
It was pretty steep in some places, and ended up being about 2.5 miles. Along
the way were wonderful rock formations and great views of the plains. Also, the
view of the city was awesome. The dogs were getting hot and tired, but we all
survived and enjoyed the hike. The dogs had been stuck in the RV for the last
couple of days, so it was great exercise and they needed to get outside.
After the hike, we went back to the RV for lunch. Next, Kurt
wanted to kayak the N. Platte. I agreed to run shuttle for him, as I wanted to
get some shopping and laundry done. His paddle on the Platte River was about 9
miles, but only took him a little over 2 hours. He did enjoy it, mostly watching
the young people who were tubing on the river and having a fun time. I picked
him up at the take out, which was at a large river park called Whitewater Park.
At this park, the city had built a series of 5 artificial rapids to allow
kayakers to learn to paddle these white water rapids. It looked like so much
fun and was such an unusual feature for the city to create. While Kurt was
paddling, I was able to get our shopping and laundry completed.
When we got back to camp, we began preparing for our
departure the next day. We were excited to head to Cheyenne, which was our
ultimate destination on this trip. We were going to be there for 5 days of
Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration.
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