ALWAYS Take the Road Less Traveled: Wild, Windy Wyoming

One disadvantage of winter birthdays and anniversaries (his, mine, and ours) is that the weather is a huge factor in planning celebratory get-aways. Snow canceled my birthday trip to Yellowstone (see Deer John...), so Dan suggested an overnight road trip this weekend to celebrate our anniversary. Despite a wind that howled for four days straight, the snow stayed away. We got up Friday morning to some very forbidding clouds, but by the time we had the truck loaded, the skies were clearing to a beautiful, bright blue. Within an hour, we were in Wyoming.

Heart Mountain, a Cody landmark

Our destination for the weekend was Riverton, Wyoming, and to get there, we drove through Wind River Canyon. (If you have never taken this drive, get it on the short list!) The road squeezes between the cliffs and the river on one side, while the railroad tracks parallel the other side. I don't know if we have ever driven all the way through the canyon without stopping to take pictures. While we didn't see the big horn sheep that frequent the canyon, and the ducks were less than cooperative, melting water along the cliffs had created some very interesting ice displays. We spent most of the afternoon in the canyon, and we reached our motel in Riverton just as the moon was rising full and orange and bright.

Part of the reason that we chose this destination for our weekend was to meet up with a long-lost cousin... literally! Dan had not seen Gary for ten years, and I had never met him. We spent several hours over dinner getting acquainted wth Gary and Vickie and their children. We hit it off so well that they invited us to have breakfast with them at their farm the next day. It's hard to beat fresh eggs and home-grown bacon and sausage! However, knowing that daylight hours are so very limited this time of year, we eventually tore ourselves away. With promises not to let another ten years go by before getting together again, we left our new-found friends and headed north. We ran back through Wind River Canyon before deviating from the route that we came by. We started spotting deer, but nothing to make us stop. When we did finally hit the brakes and grab for cameras, it was thanks again to a deer. This one had not made the road crossing safely, and was now eagle food.

We stopped for dinner in Greybull, and it was just getting dark as we returned to the truck. As we drove out of town, I noticed a glow over a nearby peak. It took me a moment to realize that it was the rising moon. Sure enough, within a few minutes, half of the glowing orange orb had cleared the horizon. We pulled over, and I tried to capture the beautiful scene. And tried... and tried... SIGH! I guess I still have a lot to learn about nighttime photography! Oh well, that just gives us an excuse to go out again!

*** Bonus Pics***