At about 70-miles into our trip we came to a sudden halt with traffic backed up around a corner so that we couldn't see what was wrong. We didn't move an inch for almost 10-minutes and absolutely no traffic was coming from the opposite direction either.
My thoughts were there must be something seriously wrong up ahead if traffic isn't moving in either direction.
Then a "Pilot Truck" passed by us with a stream of vehicles close behind. That's means we should be moving once again very soon.
Sure enough we inched around the corner and saw there was road construction being performed on mostly the shoulders, but soon our lane was being worked on too and we had to move over into the oncoming lane. All of a sudden there was traffic coming at us and we had to move back into our lane and drive upon the fresh loose gravel they had just placed on it.
Of course the construction had to interrupt the most beautiful 15-miles of our journey, where US-20 enters the south end of the Wind River Canyon and follows the Bighorn River and railroad tracks north to our destination of Thermopolis, WY.
WIND RIVER CANYON
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We are halfway through the construction zone at this point.Notice the freshly oiled shoulders and the new gravel in the right hand travel lane?
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As we approach the first tunnel we're directed back into the right hand lane.
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None of the tunnels were very long, but there were indeed three of them.
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Coming out of Tunnel #1 and entering Tunnel #2 (notice the oncoming traffic).
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Coming out of Tunnel #2 and entering Tunnel #3. They were all less than 50-yards apart.
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In between #2 and #3 we could see there was a tunnel for the train on the other side.
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Coming out of Tunnel #3 the canyon really opens up wide...
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...and so does the Bighorn River.
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This was the only cloud in the sky, weird huh?
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In addition to the roadwork, they were also making repairs to the train tracks.
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Wind River Canyon comes to an end just before entering the town of Thermopolis.
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I don't know what they're growing in that field down there, alfalfa maybe?
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But the deer sure do love it!
The private RV park we're staying at also has a hot spring pool on the premises. We'll have to go check it out sometime today/tonight (they close the pool at 10PM) and compare it to the State Park pools that are just 3-miles back up the road when we visit tomorrow.
It was enough to take down our neighbors shade canopy and throw it up against the back fence of the property. Tricia and I went out in the high winds and wrestled it to the ground, removed the fabric roof and just left the empty frame set up to endure the winds.
About 30-minutes later Tricia went outside to put away our big rear awning and that's when the neighbors came back to see their canopy roof missing. Tricia went over to explain what happened and what we did, then she received warm a thank you and ran for cover inside THE POD because the rains were returning once again.
I think we may have received a few more Good Karma points for that act of kindness.
There is no entrance fee, just like it was at Sinks Canyon State Park previously. In both cases, I think it has more to do with the fact that a public road runs right through the park, so they aren't permitted to charge to use the road.
There is no camping in Hot Springs State Park, so they're not collecting fees that way, but to my surprise they have what is called the "State Bath House" where the public can soak for 20-minutes for FREE in the 104°F mineral waters.
but if you prefer there is a smaller indoor pool right behind those glass panels on the building.
There is also a locker room setting where you can change clothes and shower after your soak.
There's much more to see and do here at Hot Springs State Park. There are two other family orientated pools with slides and other things to keep the kids entertained. They charge money for these theme park type activities as they should. There's even a couple of food trucks in the park if you get hungry or need a cold soda.
There are a few pavilions you can reserve for a fee, but if the pavilion is empty it's free to have a picnic, just don't occupy it all day and be willing to share.
HOT SPRINGS STATE PARK
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Surprisingly the park maintains a fairly sizeable herd of bison.
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This years herd is bigger than most years with the addition of 13 new calves.
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In the first photo you can see just how far away we were,yet this little guy in the street appears to be looking right at us.
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We drove around a huge 1-way loop road to get behind the herdand found this little compact car having trouble getting passed them.
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When ROVER pulled up close they all got out of the road.
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This little guy would get on his feet, follow mom around for a few steps, then...
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...and then plop right back down where she could see him.
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Another FREE feature of the park is this Swinging Bridge.
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The mineral spring water may be crystal clear, but it smells like "rotten eggs".
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Getting onto the Swinging Bridge was like getting onto an escalator,only instead of upward movement it was sideways a few inches at a time.
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The Swinging Bridge crosses over the Bighorn River.
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Halfway across the bridge you can begin to see the mineral deposits on the cliff.
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Different minerals = different colors and different algaes = different colors.
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It's an outdoor version of the flowstone that we usually see in caverns.
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Now here's a different view, looking up from under the swinging bridge.
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The boat ramp in the background is for non-motorized boats only, and it's FREE.
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At this angle you can see the large spring pool that overflows the ridge.
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There is a boardwalk across the pools with several different terrace levels.
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Tan from the minerals and green from the algae.
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This was an interesting feature found at the entrance of the park. It's a man-made structure underneath and then nature has been decorating it for over a hundred years. A vent pipe runs up the middle of a teepee frame to cool the water from 135°F to 104°F for the soaking pools.
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It's still growing, even today, as steam and water trickle over the sides.
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The rest of these photos were taken from ground level down by the boat ramp.
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We spent a total of about 3-hours looking around the park and when all was said and done we hadn't spent a single penny. That's my kind of day!
After we left the park, since we were already in town, we took the opportunity to fill up ROVER's gas tank in preparation for moving again tomorrow. We also grabbed some inexpensive Tuesday Tacos from a Taco John's drive-thru and headed home.
After eating lunch, still in our bathing suits, we headed down to the mineral pools here in the RV park. Since we didn't check them out yesterday, and the forecast for today is the same as yesterday, we figured it was now or never if we wanted to try them out.
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