OUR 2019 WIND RIVER RANGE TRIP Day 4
From my brother’s Notes: “National forest campgrounds directly accessible from the routes described in this log are generally closed as fee-entrance stations this time of year, but restrooms therein may still be accessible. Just remember that these bathrooms often are of the pit-toilet variety.” Remember what my brother always preaches: since restrooms are few and far between in the high country; you should use them whenever you find one.
We reached the Powder River Pass (9,666 feet), the highpoint of the southern route through the Big Horns. It is about twenty-nine miles east of Ten Sleep. Exposure to wind has cleared much of the snow from this area. There were virtually no aspen seen west of Powder River Pass.
Around six or seven miles past the Powder River Pass, or about thirty-five to thirty-six miles east of Ten Sleep, very small concentrations of aspen begin popping up; some of these have already been stripped of their foliage. Those which still retain leaf cover are a most unimpressive brown or exceedingly pale yellow.
I got some good photos from the Loaf Mountain Overlook, where US 16 has turned north. The South Fork Lodge and Campground are just a few miles further.
Aspens are not common anywhere along the Cloud Peak Scenic Byway, particularly west of Powder River Pass, where they are virtually nonexistent. There was, however, one very large concentration of aspen at the fifty-six mile point of our journey or about eight miles from Buffalo. This is probably the largest aspen stand visible from the Cloud Peak Scenic Byway
As we descended from the Powder River Pass, and eventually left the Bighorn National Forest the road leveled out. Two miles after exiting the Cloud Peak Scenic Byway we entered the city limits of Buffalo, Wyoming. The drive over the southern portion of the Bighorn Mountains, from Ten Sleep to Buffalo was right at sixty-four miles and took a leisurely two hours.
From Buffalo it took a little over half an hour to traverse the distance to Sheridan, Wyoming named after famed General Philip Sheridan. Along the way we made a pit stop at Exit 23 off of I-90/I-25 N. This is a Visitor Center/Rest Area and you actually get off the interstate to reach it. As with the other rest area/visitor centers I have seen in Wyoming, it is excellent.
We spent the night, in a cabin, at the world’s first KOA Campground in Sheridan, Wyoming. Dinner was at the Perkins Restaurant in Sheridan. Needless to say, it was much more enjoyable than our previous night’s rest.
