The night at Chalk Bluffs continued windy – so at least the no-see-ums were driven away! We got up and had drinks while driving around Casper to the Shoshoni Road. Pulled in to a gas station/convenience store with “2 Breakfast Tacos/$8.”
They were HUMUNGOUS! I only ate about 1/3 of mine. We stopped off at one of our destinations – Hell’s Half Acre. Access from the parking lot is now blocked off with a chain link fence – and one can see why!
If you know what you’re doing (so many don’t, sadly) and can get down there it might have some lovely hiking –
John’s got some excellent footage here, plus the next bit of our journey up thru the Wind River Canyon – SUCH a beautiful drive!
Our route took us thru Shoshoni up to Thermopolis – long a favorite of mine and home to the free state hot springs. I had a wonderful soak while John stayed out with Trigger, then we switched.
This is not the best picture, but you can just make out the larger open pools in the back of the building. The interior has a small pool, with the locker rooms and showers. If I lived here I’d be here every day, I swear! I don’t know about anyone else, but I happen to LOVE the sulfur smell some hot springs have…
While John was having his shower, Trigger and I enjoyed the little grassy park and tended the solar panel. It was becoming increasingly cloudy, then began to pitter-patter, so I packed things up. When John came out we drove by the fountains and pools so he could get out and film.
We left Thermopolis and drove north thru Greybull and Worland – both nice little towns. The weather was looking so grey and “iffy” so we decided NOT to go up into the Bighorn Mountains to camp near the Medicine Wheel – but rather to check out our secondary choice, the Lovell City RV Park.
(a wise choice as you will see tomorrow!)
We found the park, which is quite utilitarian – you can tell from the campsite photo above – but has heated bathrooms and separate heated shower rooms. Pretty amazing for a free city park with no electric, but it had its downside. Located on a residential street, there was one house with several dogs apparently being kept in a one-horse trailer in the front driveway – huskies by the sound of their wailing and howling during the night : /
Our camp neighbors consisted of a guy in a (loud) old pickup who was tent camping, a “generator” trailer and a popup trailer. Oh, and a site where only the picnic table was occupied by a cooler and a chair – which 3 different pickups came to visit but no one stayed … Rule #1 of City RV Parks must be “Mind Your Own Business”!
Also a place where you take a phone shot of this sign before going to bed.
The horse trailer dogs went ballistic with frenzied barking when I took Trigger for a walk around the block. Interesting mix of well-tended versus falling-down old homes, but with also VERY loud barky dogs in the backyards! Must not be a lot of canine socialization going on here in Lovell Wyoming.
Fortunately the RV park was also bounded on one side by the local Little League Field, where I could take T off the leash and throw his ball for him a little bit and let him stretch his legs. This was nicely tended and fenced in, so I’d think baseball is popular here in the warm months. Too bad it wasn’t the season, cuz I’d like to try to attend local sports events when we’re traveling, but we rarely get the chance.
Took Trigger further on down Quebec Street to its terminus at the railroad tracks. Sandhill Cranes were flying and honking overhead, and I discovered the next day that there’s a wildlife refuge just outside town. Lowering clouds confirmed the wise decision to stay the night here vs the mountains…
Immediately next door to the park was a storage lot, with mysterious green lighting…I thought the vibe fit the overall mood ; )))
As it was too windy again for outdoor cooking, I frypanned our chicken cutlets inside. SO glad to have a camper where this is possible, because sometimes you just NEED to! Plus I’d not be going outside to make our hot drinks in QUITE such a good mood every morning! Been there, done that – back when we just had the cap.
Carol’s Travels with Trigger and John 