August 30 - 31, 2020 :
It’s cloudy, cool and the skies are threatening on the drive out of Forsyth. I am heading southwest on I-94 along the Yellowstone River amidst beautiful range land. I exit onto route 39, make a stop in Colstrip and then continue into the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation to Lame Deer. The reservation is mostly closed to the public, but open to drive through so I don’t venture off the road.
At Lame Deer I turn onto route 212, also known as the Warrior Trail which follows the Rosebud Creek. This was also the route of Custer and the 7th Calvery on their fateful journey to the battle of the Little bIghorn. There are several historical roadside markers on this route and I stop at most of them.
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| Indian revenge in Lame Deer, this may have actually been his last camp ? |
I then turn onto route 314 south which is very beautiful range and farm land land with the Crow Indian Reservation on the west side of the highway and the Cheyenne Indian Reservation of the east side.
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I kind of wonder how the Crow and the Cheyenne tribes get along, they were on different
sides at the Battle of Little Big Horn |
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| The tribal land looks relatively unchanged except for fences |
Route 314 also follows the Rosebud Creek and I stop at the Rosebud Battlefield where a preliminary battle was fought a few days before the Little Bighorn Battle. The Battlefield is now a state park and you can drive through and see the terrain where the battle was fought, it’s beautiful rolling hilly grass land, but there really isn’t much to see, you need to use your imagination. You can also park and walk a few trails to get out in the grassy fields, it feels eerie to be walking where people died for their freedom.
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| The Indians refer to the battle by this name |
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| The story behind the name |
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| Sitting bull had a vision |
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| A beautiful place to kill or be killed |
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| I walked to these sandstone ledges where there were Indian petroglyphs |
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| Such as this one |
It's now longer threatening, it's really starting to rain and it’s cold and raw. A day ago I was hot and sweating, now I’ve added a long sleeve shirt to my wardrobe. The road continues past the Tongue River Reservoir and then you enter Wyoming. This is coal country passing several mine and power plants, some of the terrain is scenic, but the cloud cover has put a damper on it.
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| There was a sign advertising "coal for sale". |
I have chores to do here, it's laundry time again and I need new rear tires for the van, then to the local public library for my blog, it’s not all fun and games !
I walked around Main Street like I did last year when I came through here and not much has changed. Sheridan has a very attractive downtown area and is in the process of beautifying the the area where the Tongue River flows through town.
I went into the fabulous Mint Bar where someone was actually playing something other than the usual honk tonk country and the bar maid sensing I was not a local or might be interesting came over a struck up a conversation to learn my story.
I also went into an antique store, the same one I remember from last year and ended up buying a vintage first edition book , Trails of the Pathfinders by George Bird Brinnell.
Covid-19 precautions in Sheridan, possibly all of Wyoming, are mostly ignored. You can walk into any store without a mask and no one will say a thing, but most of the store clerks are wearing masks. Walmart is the strictest store, they insist you wear a mask and give you one if you don’t have one.
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| A few new murals I may have missed from my last time in Sheridan |
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| This bar really appeals to me because of the sign, but I've never gone in to see if it's true |
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| I had breakfast again at the Cowboy Cafe, too cowboy for me |
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| The Mint seems more like a a college hangout than a cowboy bar |
I used to really like the over the top cowboy atmosphere in Sheridan, but the political climate of today has ruined it for me. As a result, I left at noon time on September 1st heading on I-90 west to route 14 west. It’s odd how you leave the Sheridan metropolitan area and within a few miles it’s wide open range land as far as you can see.
I stop at the small town of Dayton where there is a beautiful store, the kind of store where you want to buy something, just a cookie or a drink, anything and if you don’t, you leave feeling, guilty.
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| The Dayton Mercantile had coffee, baked goods, antiques, rocks and minerals |
Shortly after leaving Dayton there is a sign saying “watch out for runaway trucks the next 12 miles” ! That got my attention, this must be some wicked hill I am about to drive up and it was. It just climbed up and up in spirals looping higher and higher. The views were spectacular, but as is the usual case with these views, the haze in the distance, ruins it, the photos are always dull in comparison to your visual acuity, especially with sunglasses. I sometimes put a polarizer filter on my lens, but it makes little difference if there is no blue sky to accentuate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bighorn_National_Forest
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| The image does get the point across |
This is the Big Horn National Forest and one of the dominant trees is the Lodgepole Pine. I stop at a sign which explains how fire is required for their cones to open and that fire is necessary to maintain a healthy forest. As a result, they do control burns periodically of sections to kill the old dying trees which enrich the soil, allows grasses and other plants to develop and in time propagate a new more vibrant forest.
I stop at the Shell Waterfall where they have a short trail for views of the Shell Creek and Falls and the wild geology of this area. Unfortunately, the vegetation and trees along the trail have grown such that they obscure most of the views. I’ve seen this at many such scenic wonders and often wonder why they couldn’t trim things back just little, like a controlled burn ?
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| Yes, a very poor waterfall photo |
The coming down the mountain is actually harder than the going up, it’s a brake burner, but there is only one truck runs away ramp. I saw a tractor trailer rig, one very lucky driver, who cresting the mountain had a flat tire, which totally came apart and luckily was able to make it to a roadside pull off getting completely off the roadway. That was also very lucky for everyone else traveling the road.
Down in the the valley, you arrive at the small village of Shell with another beautiful store, The Shell Taphouse & Kitchen. I stop there and get an ice tea and an ice cream bar. The surrounding geology has now gotten very interesting with interesting rock formations, erosion, and a large spire (like a Chimney Rock). I also pass a sign indicating a Dinosaur trackway area off a road, need to check into that. I stop at a early 1900’s school house next to the road that is available for rent as an air BNB.
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| The landscape colors and shapes were incredible |
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Shell Store Taphouse and Kitchen, a must stop at store after the harrowing
ride over the mountains. |
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| A short ways away this impressive rock formation |
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| And then this old school that is available as a vacation rental |
I arrive at my destination, the town of Greybull, Wyoming about 5 PM. It is larger, way nicer and more prosperous than I had expected with an impressive Hotel, a couple of noteworthy bars, (good signs), a few decent looking shops, a nice grocery store, several convenience stores and a modern looking school. This is also a BNSF railroad division point and the junction of routes 14 and 16.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greybull,_Wyoming
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| A very attractive downtown |
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| The Uptown Cafe |
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| The Old Big Horn Hotel |
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| The Branding Iron is for sale |
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| They offered good services |
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| The current major Hotel in town |
There is even an airport outside of town which I saw as I visited the Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting. An Aerial Firefighting company was started in Greybull in the 1960’s, going through a change in ownership in 1969 which went out of business in 2004. It flew military surplus planes converted for fire fighting to battle forest fires in the area. They have a small museum and 5 or six planes on display outside.
https://www.museumofflight.us/ourhistory.html
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The original company started in Greybull began by using mostly salvage aircraft that
they then upgraded and modified for forest fire service |
That concludes my visit to Greybull, Wyoming.
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