Getting through the Big Horn Mountains

We left Buffalo, WY, right around 9:00 this morning with a less than 200 mile journey to Cody on the agenda.  After checking with the local folks, they suggested that US 16 was the best way to go.  No matter what route we took, we had to tackle the Big Horn Mountains, and 16 offered the smaller grades and less switchbacks.  It was a long and slow uphill climb once we left Buffalo culminating with a 9000’+ pass at the Powder River summit.  What a drive that was!  Of course there was a construction delay along the way.  That resulted in a lot of slow uphill travel in first gear. 

This is a designated scenic route.  It was a gorgeous (very slow) drive through the mountains.  My eyes were glued to the twists and turns of the highway, but Pam was able to get some great pictures of the scenery along the way.





She shot these photos out the window as we chugged our way along.

The grades were at 7%, and provided me with a good test for the new rig.  I can tell you that I really like the grade brake feature on this new rig!  What an improvement over the old rig.  I didn’t have to stand on the brake pedal much at all.  Once we reached the summit, there was an 18 mile, 7% down grade with some switchbacks.  There weren’t very big shoulders on that road, and about 3/4 of the way down I encountered a woman on a bicycle.  It was several miles before I felt I could safely pass her on that narrow road. 

The scenery, when I could take my eyes off of the road, was breathtaking.
I remember hearing the bugling of the elk in the Big Horn Mountains way back in 1988.  It’s the wrong season for that now, but what a wonderful wilderness place this is.
I had to include this pic of my rig “moving on down the road” in the Big Horn Mountains.  How often do you get that opportunity? 

Well, after 180 miles, and six hours, we finally arrived at the Absaroka Bay RV Park in Cody, WY.  As we neared Cody, the winds really picked up and are really blasting away right now.  We’ll be staying here two nights since our reservations at Red Rock RV Park begin on Sunday.  Tomorrow, we will definitely visit the Buffalo Bill museum and who knows what else.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy