Wind River

We headed out towards Thermopolis for a couple of days of soaking in the peaceful healing waters of the hot springs, but the ride there was an adventure.

Mineral Travertine Cone

Highway 13 on the way to to Thermopolis,  had a few miles of Alaska style construction. One way traffic, no pavement, mud holes, all the exciting things that make riding in the north so much fun.

The construction proved not as bad as the wind we encountered. Mile after mile of strong gusty wind with a temperature in the 90’s made one feel like you had been riding in a very large convention oven.

The hot springs made the wind and construction  there worth it.

Travertine Pools

Staying at the springs besides soaking,  allowed time to explore the Thermopolis dinosaur center, and besides seeing fossils proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the planet we are on is over 6000 years old. We also took the tour and traveled up the hill to a actual dig site. The tour was guided by a very knowledgeable paleontologist who made the dirt we saw quite interesting.  I never knew dinosaur bones occur in specific layers of rock, but he did!

One Of The Centers Actual Dinosaurs

Finding classic vehicles that are in rough shape could be a theme for this trip, and Thermopolis delivered a collection of classic Nash Metropolitans.

Nash Metropolitans

Not to be out done, down the road in Alliance Nebraska we discovered Carhenge

Carhenge Nebraska

Unlike the other cars that are just rusting along the road Carhenge is a replica of Stonehenge in Great Britain. The monument was created by a brit who when asked why he built it his response was “Why Not”

Even though it is not the season for Sandhill Cranes to be here we took Nebraska highway 2 “The Sandhill Journey” highway

I most likely spotted a rare Whooping Crain, but the encounter was to fast to get a photo with the big lens, so the “Whooper” remains a want for my bird list. Swans with signets, lots of geese, and ducks were spotted, and further along  Blue Jays, and Baltimore Orioles were positively identified.

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