August 18-25, 2024
Arrival
When I started planning this summer’s adventure there were a few destinations and the rest got filled in as part of planning. The destinations were Christmas in July, Curt Gowdy, Grand Teton NP, and Rocky Mountain NP. So this was a destination.
The park is midway between Cheyenne and Laramie. It has hundreds of reservable campsites and some first come first serve. It has miles and miles of dual purpose mountain biking and hiking trails. And, I thought, I cool climate in late August. I say I thought because talking to locals they tell me it can be blazing hot through mid-September. I lucked out and had pretty reasonable temps. I was a an electric site so I could have run AC if necessary. I also had water but now sewer hookup and there is no dump station in the park. There are pit toilets at each of the campgrounds and other strategic locations.
I checked in and got set up at Tumbleweeds Campground site T-31. When I arrived, well past the checkout time of 11AM (I think it was 2PM) the site was occupied. I think the guy was hoping no one was going to check in and he would get an extra day. So there was a short delay while he and his family packed up and vacated. Here’s the me set up and some views from the site.
Visitor Center
The visitor center is fairly impressive with lots of mounted animals on display along with a history of the park. I really wanted a park map but they had run out and were suggesting that visitors take a photo of the one they had on display. The visitor center also has flush toilets and showers available 24/7. The showers cost about 25 cents for 1.5 minutes.
Cheyenne
Monday, August 19 was resupply and errand day. Cheyenne is ht closest town (and closest gas station) at about 25 miles. I had a 9AM appointment at Cowboy Dodge-RAM for an oil change. I also desperately needed a haircut as well as to stock up on food for the week. Not much park activity on Monday.
Campsite Wildlife
Monday night as I’m prepping to cook dinner I look out the window and see this:
Lots of ground squirrels and Canadian Geese (doing what they do the most) around the site as well.
After dinner must have campfire (and Bourbon).
Hidden Falls
Tuesday I hiked the popular “Crow Creek Trail to Hidden Falls”. It’s a 2 mile in and 2 mile out hike that follows the Crow Creek. The falls at the end of the trail are truly hidden. Here are the trail pics.
The falls are hidden up in that crack in the rcoks.
Picture above zoomed in. Picture below from same spot with 1x zoom.
Laramie
Wednesday I had to be on a work call at 11AM so I thought in the afternoon I would go on a recon mission to Laramie and Medicine Bow. For this trip I have reservations confirmed for all but September 5-11. Friends suggested I try to get a first come site in Medicine Bow forest for that time. I wanted to check it out as on line resources suggested that room for trailers like mine might be difficult without reservation. Glad I did. I don’t think I want to risk going into the forest without a reservation for my size.
So, I got to see Laramie. Visited two nice breweries. Added a brewery sticker to my fridge – Bonds Brewing. Bought some fresh coffee beans. Replenished the Buffalo Trace supply. Got a nice mural picture. And settled on Laramie RV Resort for Sept 5-11.
This mural went on for several buildings to the left but there were too many obstructions for a good picture.
Looking forward to this:
Stone Temple Circuit
Massive stones and boulders are everywhere in the landscape here. Stone Temple Circuit is a 3.6 mile loop trail for hikers and mountain bikers. This sign near the trail head gives testament to the mountain biking scene here.
Again, I continue to take more pictures of rocks and boulders along the trail.
Crow Creek, Mo Rocka, and Foxtrail Loop
This trail, Mo Rocka, is aptly named. This is a 3.8 mile loop trail also designed for hikers and mountain bikers. More pics of rocks and boulders. I never would have thought I could take so many pictures of rocks.
Last days at Curt Gowdy
On Friday, August 23rd, my friends Jim and Evy road their bikes into Curt Gowdy. They are riding across the country from Oregon coast to some Atlantic beach. We got pictures of sunrises and sunsets and spent a day running errands in Cheyenne. On Sunday I headed to Grand Teton and the bike riders headed the opposite direction. In one picture below you can see their tent.
