7/12/2013–Thermopolis, WY–The Wyoming Dinosaur Center

When we left the RV this morning we first headed over to the Visitor’s Center to pick up any literature we may have missed at other locations.  Once done there, we drove to The Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

The following photos are just a small sampling of what is there.  They have some very large displays, but we found the lighting in the exhibit very difficult to work around to get any decent photos.

There were several pieces similar to this one with many of the same types of fossils in one clump.

This one looked like a predecessor to an alligator.

This looked like a sea turtle.

This is the only known Albertaceratops on display in the world.

After visiting the museum, we decided to drive back out to look at the bison range and look for another possible range area in town.  We couldn’t find the other area, but the same bulls were hanging out close to where we found them yesterday.

We drove north of town and stopped at an overlook looking down at the World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring.

We continued a little further north to a historical marker for the Bridger Trail – Bighorn River Crossing.

We turned back toward town and stopped to get a photo of this deer with some pretty impressive antlers.

We stopped in town for an ice cream treat before heading back to the RV.  Tomorrow we will be driving about 100 miles to Cody, Wyoming for a couple of nights.

7/11/2013–Kaycee, WY to Thermopolis, WY

With temperatures expected to be pushing 100 today, we got an early start on our trip from Kaycee to Thermopolis.  I had been down to the Chris LeDoux Memorial Park earlier in the week but didn’t take any photos, so before leaving today I walked down there to get some pictures.  For more information about Chris LeDoux and the park, you can read about it here.

After getting on the road, our first stop was in Casper to take on some fuel at $3.839 a gallon.  From there, we drove through a few towns that have obviously seen better days.

And a lot of the usual high country desert scenery.

We eventually got into the Wind River canyon area and the scenery improved.

We drove through a series of three tunnels.

We followed the Wind River through the canyon.

An older DeSota driving toward us.

While stopped in a construction zone, there were some beautiful home perched above the red bluffs.

We arrived in Thermopolis and were able to snag a couple of nights at the Eagle RV Park which was probably lucky as the Wyoming State H.O.G. (Harley Owner’s Group) is here for the weekend.  After lunch, we drove around town to look at the hot springs and bison area.

Yes…we know buffalo are dangerous…bison are dangerous too.

This group does appear to be pretty laid back.

There are also dinosaurs in Thermopolis…we’ll find out more about them tomorrow.

Several people seem to be enjoying the hot springs.

A view of Thermopolis from up on the hill.

This was an informational sign about Tepee Fountain and how it’s evolved over several years.

Tepee Fountain.  We also found a similar fountain in town.

We returned to the RV for dinner and an evening doing our computer and tv thing.  That’s it for today!