October 2, 2008 Miles and Miles

Yellowstone is nearly 400 miles away from Moorcroft so we got an early start. Wyoming is a large and sparsely populated state. Much of the land is prairie until you get into the mountains in the western part of the state. As we were riding I was thinking how desolate it must be but actually it's not at all. There is all kind of life there. The first thing we noticed was the number of Pronghorn Antelope. They graze in small herds and are everywhere. They are not hard to find and they don't seem to be afraid as they do not run when approached. I shot them with my camera but yesterday was the first day of hunting season here. I don't see the sport in hunting these creatures since they just stand there and look at you. There are other animals as well: rabbits, mice, birds, coyotes, snakes, deer. The coyotes are probably the largest predator out there.




We had to use Interstate 90 for a short time then turned onto Highway 16 also called Red Cloud Scenic Byway. It cuts across Wyoming on a path toward Yellowstone. There is more variety in the landscape here.There are deep canyons, rivers, jagged rock faces, more hairpin turns and historical markers along the way telling stories of the old west and things that had occurred in the past. One marker told the story of a hunter gone missing and when they found him a week later it was discovered he had tried to get a mountain goat and had fallen to his death. Today there is a memorial on top of the canyon rim placed there years ago by his friends.
We made it to Cody, Wyo. and stopped to have my camera cards put on Cd's. It took so long we decided to spend the night here and go the last 50 miles to Yellowstone in the morning. We got a room at the Kings Inn on Hwy 16. This is the only smoking motel/hotel in Cody. It is nice but expensive, more than $80 after taxes. They love their rooms here and all of the rooms here are high. Location, location, location.