Cody, WY
We left Gillette, WY early Sunday morning after having the MH weighed by the Escapees
Smart Weigh program. We had the coach weighed 6 months after we purchased it back in 2010, but we were not fulltimers then and we weren't carrying our "worldly possessions" with us at that time. I was very happy to find out that we are fine on individual wheel, GVW, and GCVW weights. I'd recommend individual wheel weighing to anyone who has never had their rig weighed. It was $45 thru the Escapees and well worth it for the peace of mind.
As we headed west on I-90 out of Gillette the landscape was basically rolling, with these occasional "bumps".
Even before we got close to Buffalo, WY (out point to leave the interstate) we began to be able to see the snow on the mountains of the Bighorn Range.
This was just west of Buffalo after leaving the interstate.
Rt. 16 thru the Bighorn Mountains is two-lane all the way. It didn't take long before the climbing began. Fortunately, we had very little westbound traffic either ahead of, or behind us for the climb.
Now that we're higher in elevation, the snow on the mountains is much easier to see.
Once inside the
Bighorn National Forest there are signs indicating that there are "free range" stock areas. Shortly after seeing that first sign we came around a curve and sure enough! They just wandered across at their own leisurely pace and didn't seem fazed by the traffic at all.
We got a good laugh out of this speed limit sign. We never got close to 65 MPH. We did get down to 35 MPH in 3rd gear several times going uphill, however.
When driving a larger rig you know that it's time to pay attention to your speed (and braking control) when you see these areas.
The final sign that made me a true believer was this "25 MPH Sharp Curve" sign. We pulled off in the parking area to the left to take a few pictures of the area. The curve is at the bottom of a fairly long descent.
Looking downhill from the pullout you can see the switchbacks leading to several tight curves. The scenery in this area is beautiful.
We finally made it thru the Bighorn Mountains without too much "white knuckling". Actually, US16 in this area is not too bad if you pay attention to your speed and stay off of your service brake. There is another route a bit north of here thru a different section of the same mountains (on US14), but was advised that it was quite a bit more "stressful". I really didn't want to experience that today! LOL Once we left the mountains, we experienced a lot of landscape similar to the picture at the left. This is enroute to Ten Sleep.
We pulled into
Absaroka Bay RV Campground in Cody around 1:30 PM. We were certainly glad that we had made reservations as there are no vacancies tonight. We will be here for the next 8 nights. Got set up and that was about it for today. Tomorrow we'll probably hit the visitor's center and start planning our adventures here.
Thanks for stopping by to take a look!
This looks like a good place to be. I look forward to what ya'll find in this area. Glad you made it up & over the mountains just fine. We're headed to North Carolina this summer so we'll get our first experience with mountains. Be safe and have fun exploring.
ReplyDeleteThat does look like a white knuckler and glad you made it safely. The scenery is pretty and much greener than I would have expected - I suspect the driver didn't get to enjoy it much on that road though. It's much more curvy than we experienced in NC last month.
ReplyDeleteWe stopped at Lake DeSmit 6 miles north of Buffalo and then we'll be heading over 16. Stopping before Tensleep and staying in a NFCG for a week or so. I've stayed at the CG you are at. Had knee surgery in 2000 in Cody. Don't miss the rodeo..sit on the far side of the arena. Also the new Japanese Internment museum north of town is excellant. Do not take this in the motorhome but drive the Chief Joseph and Beartooth road loop. Awesome beauty. I've done it twice and can't get enough of it.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for the suggestions on things to see. Some were already on our list, but a few were not. Thanks for the tip on the rodeo seating. Thank you for taking a look.
DeleteWhen we visited Cody (2008), we stayed at the KOA. We originally were headed into Yellowstone NP, but had to turn around because the road was snowed in (early June).
ReplyDeleteWould have liked to do the Buffalo Bill Museum, but we had a time pressure on us, I was taking my son and his family to his new CG assignment in Oregon. We couldn't wait for the road to open. :c(
Hopefully you guys can get back this way again. We'll be here for 8 days and that will probably just scratch the surface.
DeleteThat's great area. We have done it a couple times on a motorcycle but are looking forward to doing it next year in the RV.
ReplyDeleteA great pictures by the way.
Thank you. Almost all of the pics were taken by the wife thru the windshield as we drove.
DeleteI certainly enjoyed all of these pictures, but glad I wasn't driving on the roads.
ReplyDelete