Cool Passes and Hot Springs: Grand Tetons RV Park, Moran, Wyoming 10/19/09

Was that gobble-gobble I heard waking up this morning? Yeah, our campsite neighbor (shirtless and in his skivvies) was throwing dry dog food to turkeys. Just about everyone at our RV camp was either coming in or going out hunting. In fact, all day just about every person we saw was wearing camouflage outfits with orange hats or had antlers sticking up from the back of their pick-up. We even drove by one campground where there was an animal hung upside down and the guy was skinning him. These people take their hunting seriously! When we left Buffalo it was overcast, but not too cold. We drove over Powder River Pass in the Big Horn Mountain Range and through the Ten Sleep Canyon. Absolutely drop dead gorgeous!! As you drive along these incredible rock formations, with every imaginable color, there are road signs identifying the name and approximate age of the geology. Some were 3 – 5 billion years old while the youngsters were 300 million. Unbelievable. The canyon reminded Ned of Bryce National Park. It was also beautiful to see the white snow on some parts of the pass. We reached Thermopolis at about noon. Our destination was the Hot Springs State Park. (See today’s pic). In the foreground across the river are the Rainbow Terraces formed of mineral deposits called Travertine. The Big Spring produces 127 deg. mineral water and as it makes its way down the terraces the water temperature changes and different colors of algae and micro-organisms give the terraces its multi-colored look. In 1896 a treaty was signed with the Shoshone and Arapahoe that gave the public use of one of the largest mineral hot springs in the world. Yes, it’s totally free to the public. We entered the Bath House, changed into our suits and spent 20 min. soaking in the 104 deg. outside pool. There’s also an indoor pool if one so chooses. At the most there were 7 people total in the pool. My favorite part was when one of the guys turned to me and said, “If everyone did this everyday there wouldn’t be any more wars.” So true! When we finally emerged, and were somewhat cleaned off from our showers (the sulphur smell is still lingering a bit in my hair tonight – is that romantic?) I noticed that the 3 guys getting into the car next to ours, all wearing hunter attire and holding their guns, were also in the hot springs with us. It was a warm 65 degrees and after the hot soak we felt like wet noodles. So appreciated after the bout of cold weather we’ve had. We drove through several Indian reservations, and again another gorgeous canyon, Wind River. We were going to stay at an RV park in Dubois, but turns out it was closed for the season. In fact, almost all the state campgrounds and RV parks are closed –including all the campgrounds in the Teton National Park. We stopped at a soda fountain in Dubois and had a great conversation with the woman soda jerk. She called some of the local resorts and also gave us some tips on what to visit if we ever want to see Kansas. We decided to brave one more pass and shoot for a RV park in Moran, outside of the Tetons. The Togwotee Pass is 9658 feet and covered in snow from the storm last week and undergoing construction. The roads were dry, but at least 10 miles was slimy mud due to the construction. Poor Winnie is looking a bit road worn. Looks like I’m not the only one needing to be freshened up. Driving over the pass and seeing the completely snow laden Tetons was amazing. Hard to believe these are the same mountains as six weeks ago.