July 8,9,10,11,12,13 Days 9-14

Well, since my last post, we have moved into the great, expansive state of Wyoming (where there are PLENTY of deer and antelope playing). We have friends that live in Pinedale, WY (about an hour and a half drive south of Jackson Hole, WY): Bethie and Benny Rogers, and their 18yr old son, Will. We’ve sort of landed here in Pinedale for a while, and, thanks to the incredible hospitality of Bethie and Benny, we are soaking in some magnificent sights, including the omnipresent Rocky Mts.


Last Wed (7/8/09), we reluctantly left the beautiful state of South Dakota and drove over to Wyoming to see Devils Tower. (pic attached) Devils Tower was designated the 1st National Monument by Teddy Roosevelt back in 1906. (I can only imagine how commercialized it would be today if he hadn’t done that.) It’s a popular rock climbing destination also, and we saw 3 different rock climbing parties on its walls that day. We hiked the Tower Trail which is a 1.3 mile trail around the base of the Tower.



From Devils Tower we drove to Buffalo, WY and spent the night. It was a white knuckle drive the entire way. We were climbing into some serious elevation levels and fighting 40 mile an hour headwinds. There were several hills we climbed where we could only get the truck up to 25 miles per hour. And, we weren’t even in the Rockies yet! Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck and I don’t think Len was having a real good time either.

We got up Thurs morning with a palpable sense of dread. Pinedale, WY was our next stop, and we had to cross over the Rocky Mts to get there! It was 386 miles to Pinedale from Buffalo and it took us 9 ½ hours!! And again, the winds were very strong!! But, by the grace of God, we made it! :-)

We stayed at Bethie and Benny’s house on Thursday night, and Friday morning we pulled into our campsite at Fremont Lake in the Bridger National Forest. Friday night we went to the annual Rendezvous Rodeo at the Pinedale Rodeo Grounds, and then first thing Saturday morning we drove over to Lander, WY (2 hour drive from Pinedale) and bought ourselves a little souvenir: a 2009, 4x4, ¾ ton, Duramax (diesel) Chevy Silverado with Allison transmission. The Rocky Mts got nothin’ on us now!! J No more nail biting as we travel further north into more mountainous country. Oh, and did I mention that this particular truck is the Wyoming Edition. Other than a cowboy riding a bucking bronco sewn into the headrests on the 2 front seats, I’m not entirely sure what the Wyoming Edition all entails.

Saturday night we went to the Rodeo again and on Sunday we went to the 74th annual Green River Rendezvous Pageant. It was an outdoor play, of sorts, complete with teepees, covered wagons, horses, mountain men, and Indians, with a Rocky Mt backdrop. It told a historical story of this area between the years of 1832-1840. Very elaborately done. (pic attached)
Sunday night, Bethie and Benny took Len and me on a drive out into the Green River Valley. The scenery is indescribable! We also found another campground, called Whiskey Grove (in the Bridger Nat’l Forest), which is right on the mighty Green River. We could not resist the beauty of this campground, so, this morning (Monday), we packed up the trailer and put the new truck to its first test, and set up camp right on the river. The rushing sound of the river is soooo invigorating! We just have to be vigilant about the bears. There are signs posted on the road just outside of the campground: Bear Country Beware. Len is anxious to do some fly fishing and possibly canoeing.

Monday night, Bethie, Benny, and their son, Will, came out to the campground (about 40 min outside of Pinedale), and we had a beautiful campfire on the banks of the Green River. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars in the sky! Will brought us an 18 inch cutthroat trout that he had caught earlier in the day.
Tomorrow (Tues), we are going out for a pontoon boat ride around Fremont Lake, which is 9 miles long, 1 mile wide, and 600 feet deep. (pic attached) Then, it’s back to the Green River for a steak, crab legs, and trout cookout.

Life is good!