On the Road to Lander, Wyoming

We had no idea when we left Thermopolis, WY that the drive to Lander would be so beautiful. There were dramatic canyons and fun tunnels - even a double tunnel.  Now come along with us!

Kirby and Thermopolis, Wyoming

How many people get a town named after them?  And one that distills Bourbon at that?  We were visiting with friends Sharon and Jerry who live in Thermopolis, WY and they took us to Kirby.  Kirby really wanted to go to Kirby.

 Talk about a photo op!  We couldn't resist his one!

There is a famous bar/restaurant in Kirby as well as Wyoming Whiskey.  We had a great lunch at Butch's Place.  If you are ever near Kirby, you have to go to Butch's for a brew and a burger.  What a fun place.  Character, charm, good food and good service.  And now we have made some good memories there.

This is Sharon and Jerry along with Kirby.  Sharon and Kirby grew up together in Taft, CA a few years back and reconnected on Facebook.  (I love FB for just that type of thing!)  Since we were in their part of Wyoming, of of course we had to get together and share some good times.  They took us all around their charming community, the small town of Kirby, Wyoming Distillery and Hot Springs State Park.

Is this gorgeous or what?  And we wouldn't even have known about it if Sharon and Jerry hadn't taken us there.

And of course, following with tradition, we visited Wyoming Whiskey, had a great tour and did a bit of tasting.  It was so interesting to find a distillery in Kirby, Wyoming of all places.  The owners are actually cattle ranchers who had more property than they knew what to do with so decided to hire an experienced distiller from Kentucky and make their own whiskey.  Now they use the leftover mash (corn, barley and wheat) to feed their cattle.  Makes sense to me!

Wyoming Travel

We traveled from Buffalo, Wy to Thermopolis, Wy today and the scenery was so diverse.  At the top of Powder River Pass we reached an altitude of over 9,600 feet.  It was steep going up and really steep going back down.  We saw snow covered peaks, rugged rocks and desolate flats covered with oil wells.  The drive was short but I think with the altitude changes and all the curves it was pretty tiring for Kirby.  Sure was beautiful though.  Now come along with us!

This was our route.

The Wild West - Buffalo, Wyoming

We finally pulled ourselves away from South Dakota and had a short drive to Buffalo, Wyoming. The roads in Wyoming so far are about the best we have had but the day was cloudy, wet and cold.  By the time we arrived at our campground in Buffalo it had pretty much cleared up but was still chilly.

 

 When we were checking in the host told us about the Occidental Hotel and Saloon downtown so of course we had to go check it out.  We were not disappointed!

Do you see "Founded 1880"?  It really was and has the same bar that was installed in 1908.  People like Butch Cassidy, Buffalo Bill, Teddy Roosevelt and Calamity Jane drank at the same bar that we did yesterday. 

Both Kirby and I enjoyed a local brew and a visit with the barkeeper who pointed out some of the bullet holes to us.

The barkeeper let us look down into the cellar and said that they still use it for storage.  In looking at some old photos, I am not sure it was there in the beginning.  I may have been added in the 40's or 50's.  The top is copper.  The floor looks the same as in the old photos but I can't be certain it wasn't replaced.  There is not much information available.

 

The hotel itself has also been preserved and is incredible.  If you ever find yourself in need of accommodations in this area, I am sure you would enjoy your stay here!  Check out the hotel website HERE.  They have a lot of the history in their site. And HERE is an interesting piece about a young ghost who resides there.

It was a fun trip and the brews were good!

Custer State Park - Wildlife Loop

Our last day at the park.  We will move north just a little bit today and I am trying to figure out why we are going north when it is mid July and 47 degrees outside.  We are experiencing a cold spell!!  I guess so!  Way too cold for summer!  We need to go south!

Anyway our day on the Wildlife Loop was also incredible and I took too many pictures again.  So, I use little collages to try to give you some of everything,  Now come along with us -

Wildlife Loop - we didn't see that much but we did get up close and personal with this Bison.  Shot from the car window!

Pronghorn Sheep

Prairie Dog

The Pronghorn Sheep photo was out the windshield and the Prairie Dogs just kept popping back into their holes as I got closer so the photos aren't very good.

This is what a lot of our trip looked like.  I loved it!  But I sure wouldn't want to be there in the cold!

A roadside stop

Then we saw the sign for the Lookout and both agreed that we wanted to go.  How stupid could I have been.  I can NOT handle heights!  By the time we wound our way up the cliffhanger narrow road I was almost in tears with my eyes shut.  I was on the outside the whole way up which was one mile and the longest mile in my life!  Thankfully we didn't meet a car coming the other direction or I know we would have gone off the cliff and died.

This is the lookout tower that I did not climb.

After our picnic lunch we followed a little trail that we thought might take us to the Badger Clark Home.  It wound around this little lake and did indeed take us where we wanted to go.

Badger Clark was the Poet Laureate for the state South Dakota in 1937.  He is the author of the famous "Cowboy's Prayer".  His home in the mountains is still there just the way he left it.  I thought it was beautiful!  I could live there.  No indoor plumbing, no running water, no electricity.  It would so peaceful - for a bit of time and then I would want all my modern conveniences again! After touring the house we took his trail around the property and enjoyed the same mountain views that he enjoyed for over 20 years of his life.

This is my normal view when we take walks!

Sylvan Lake - Custer State Park, South Dakota

At the end of the Needles highway sits this incredibly beautiful place.  It has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  I would like to have been there earlier than our 10:30 am arrival to see it with the water perfectly flat with no wind.  It was just coming up when we arrived. There is a trail all the way around for tourists like us and today we brought Jake and he loved it.  We even met some people who said they have a dog that looks just like him which is hard to believe as he is about 4 or 10 breeds all mixed up!  So, here are the pictures -

I did NOT enhance the color - it looked just like this!

Now you see them -

Now you don't!  Very skinny cut in the rocks.

 

And our last little tunnel.

Needles Highway - Custer State Park, SD

After all the activity with the Bison and the Sheep we headed for the Needles Highway. I had been told not to miss this and had seen a couple of pictures but I still was not prepared for the incredible awesomeness of it.  I will let my pictures talk for me - come with us on our tour!

And we finished with the smallest tunnel ever! We even had to fold in the mirrors on the truck as the tunnel was so narrow.  But so fun!

A friend of mine used up all her space on her blog with her photos.  I am afraid I might do that too.  I guess if that happens, I will just go find another place to blog!  Enjoy the photos!