Wyoming Bound! Finally after 9 months

[GEORGIAINMT]

A drive you won't want to miss out on is the drive from Wyoming into Montana (or vice versa) over the Beartooth Pass that is in the very NW corner from Yellowstone Park going over the pass to Red Lodge, Montana. It is gorgeous. But you have to be careful as to when you'll be traveling. Last week an avalanche trapped a family on one side of it and there was no way to go the other direction as the road was closed that way. They had to wait for the snow to be dug out. Thank God no one was hurt. The road is usually open by Memorial Day but we had a lot of snow in the high country in May this year.

That being said, you will want to travel the road all the way from Jackson, through Teton and Yellowstone parks. Yellowstone alone has some fantastic varying views.....from geysers & "hot pots" to grasslands with buffalo grazing to mountain vistas, to canyons with rushing water & awesome waterfalls. One can spend days in Yellowstone alone.

The Wind River canyon from Thermopolis to Boysen State Park (reservoir) out of Shoshoni is also a cool trip. It's a short one but is beautiful.

I'll let someone else tell you about other roads....I could talk forever I wish the best for you in your Wyoming venture!

[GEORGIAINMT]

OOOOPS! Still in the NW corner, I forgot to mention the Chief Joseph Highway which is north of Cody. It intersects a highway that takes you either into Montana or back into Yellowstone.

[jdavid93225]

A few years ago, I did a loop around Wyoming, as well as some ventures into other states. Since you mentioned visiting your friend in Yellowstone, I'll start there with what I think might be worth your while. Anyone else that wants to can add to what I am proposing.

When you leave Yellowstone, take the Beartooth Highway (US 212) out of the Northeast gate of the Park. This is a drive through some incredible country, so be prepared to make it last a while. I recommend only going as far as Red Lodge, Montana, where you can rest for the night. This allows a reasonable amount of time to enjoy this drive.

The next day, I would take the drive from Red Lodge, back into Wyoming. There are many options for this part of your trip. Three suggestions are to take 120 into Cody, 310 into Lovell, or I-90 into Sheridan, which is the only one of these routes I've driven. From there, I would recommend driving across the northern part of the state, at least as far as Sundance, either on I-90, or US 14, which would likely be more scenic. Again, I've only driven I-90 through this area. This will also take you to the area near Devil's Tower.

From Sundance, you can either head into South Dakota, or you can head south, staying in Wyoming. Taking the South Dakota route will take you through the Black Hills, allowing you the opportunity to see Mt. Rushmore, which is worth the trip, especially if you haven't seen it. You can then work your way back into Wyoming, probably somewhere around Newcastle, which is where you would end up if you bypassed South Dakota and headed south in Sundance. From Newcastle, you can head south on US 85 until you get to Torrington.

Once you get to Torrington, I would recommend you visiting Fort Laramie and the Oregon Trail ruts and Register Cliff in nearby Guernsey. From there, you can head south on I-25 until you get to either Highway 34, which will take you to Laramie, or you can continue south to Cheyenne (where there is a lot to see and do), then head west to Laramie.

From Laramie, I would suggest continuing to head west to Walcott, but there are several choices on how to get there. The most direct route is I-80, but you can also take US 30/287 to the North, or SR 230 to the South, which actually takes you into Colorado briefly. From Walcott, I'd suggest taking I-80 West to Rawlins.

In Rawlins, you might want to consider taking US 287/SR 789 Northwest to Lander, then head back to the Southwest on SR 28. This will take you to South Pass City, and eventually on to Farson. If you don't take this route from Rawlins, then I'd suggest taking I-80 West to Rock Springs, then heading North on US 191 to Farson. Either way, once you are in Farson, I'd continue north on US 191. This will take you through Pinedale and Daniel, then on to Jackson, and eventually back into Yellowstone.

An interesting detour off of US 191 that you might want to consider would be taking US 89 into Alpine from Hoback Junction, which is a little south of Jackson. From Alpine, you can head into Swan Valley, Idaho, then over the pass on Idaho SR 31 into Victor, ID. From there, you can head back into Jackson on Idaho SR 33/Wyoming SR 22.

This proposed route will take you around the perimeter of the state, for the most part, but you will miss much of the interior of the state. You will get a feel for the diversity of the terrain and geology of the state, but there will still be a lot more that you haven't seen. I've personally driven most of this route, at least along the interstate portions. I still have a lot I want to see in the interior of Wyoming. In my case, that is being saved for a future trip.

[WyoMama]

EH is right - 14A & Fallen City ROCK (no pun intended...) the big horns of course were formed from glacial activity, as was Fallen City. But then when you get back on he west side, take a "side trip" down to Worland & down to Thermopolis thru Wind River Canyon. That is sort of north central Wyo. Then on another trip (or same....) we have van caravans of geo students coming to the Absdarokas. Cody has a real anomaly here - Heart Mountain - heard of it? Has a GIANT block of a rock on top of it & the geologic make-up of it is UPSIDE-DOWN!!!! It is a must see for a geo'ist. The stories / legends of how it was created go from the possible to the totally innane. The wildest part is it matches the rock make-up from the bottom of Y'stone Lake and one of the most popular theories is at the time of the huge volcano 650,000 years ago or whatever, that rock was flung out to the range-land landing on top of a hill north of Cody. The Indians alled it Bufalo Heart Mountain.

[DD_USMC]

My wife, Gunner (Golden Retreiver) and I made it safely to Cheyenne, we got a short-term rental the day after we arrived, found a home in Western Hills North that we love and submitted an offer which was accepted by the builder (4 days after we arrived to Cheyenne). We close escrow on July 1 (a really quick escrow) and we LOVE the people, attitude and lifestyle of this area.

God has blessed us with more and better blessings than what we had dreamed of! As usual, God knows best!

[Kristynwy]

Congratulations! and welcome to Wyoming

[ElkHunter]

Outstanding!!!!! Seems that you fit right into a slot that needed filling. Now, it's off to see the area that your calling home.

[tamir]

DD_USMC
First, Thank you for your service. I love a Marine, myself, unfortunately he's stationed at Camp LeJeune and I have no desire to live on the coast so I'm moving to Wyo.
Second, I'm SO JEALOUS! My house hasn't sold and I had to delay the move that was supposed to be in May I guess good things come to those who wait and it's just not meant to be right now...at least that's what I keep telling myself

[Westernstarr]

Welcome to WYOMING ! I hope you enjoy it here, you've made a good choice.
We've been here a year and we love it, Cody is a great place for my family.