A drive through Wyoming

For my kids, the most exciting part of a roadtrip is staying at a hotel and getting a free breakfast in the morning.

 















To me, the best part is seeing all the new scenery while we drive! Whenever we go on a trip, I bring things like magazines, books, journals, etc. thinking I'll want them to be entertained on the long drive. But inevitably, I don't need any of those things and I just enjoy the view.
Last month, we went with Joseph for a spur of the moment trip to Wyoming, where he had been called for a job interview. He ended up not getting the job offer (though it was close) so one might be inclined to think the trip was a waste of time and money. But really, we had  fun experiencing all the new parts of Wyoming.
On the way there, we had to hurry to be to the appointment on time (it is an eight hour drive without stops, so at least ten with kids along!) We were followed by a rainstorm through the mountains of northeast Wyoming, all the way down to the Riverton area. As we drove, I mentioned to Joseph how pretty it was, and I got one picture when we were stopped for construction.This was on the outskirts of a community called Tensleep; I decided I could totally live there.

 















(There was a lot of construction going on through the mountains, we got worried that we might not make it in time!)but the only other time I took a picture was after we'd passed all the mountains and were back in the more barren parts of the state; we had stopped so a certain little boy could go potty..



















But after spending the night in Lander (doesn't this statue at the hotel scream "Wyoming"?)

 




















we took a very leisurely drive home. First we stopped in Thermopolis for a picnic at the park. This is the site of the world's largest hot springs, and I have fond memories of spending a day at a family reunion here many years ago.

 
































There was a cool rock-like climbing structure at the park where we took some fun pictures,

 




















 and before we left we had to pose in front of at least one of the hot spring areas too!

 




















When we got back to the pretty mountainous area, Joseph was awesome and pulled over at a bunch of lookouts without my even asking, so we could enjoy the view and take pictures. It was great! We saw stuff like this as the road wound higher into the mountains:

There was some atmospheric haze that looked cool in person

 





















And there were some breathtaking vistas from the very top of the hills, but I was disappointed that it didn't really translate at all in my camera. Oh well, at least I can remember it!

 

This one must have been shot on the trip down, but I don't remember taking it..

At this turnout with the flowers, I got out of the car to take this picture. There were a couple of bikers stopped there as well, and Joseph swears they were checking me out. Yeah right. They were probably wondering what the crazy lady was doing taking pictures of flowers instead of the view!

As we got to the pass, we discovered that the rain that had plagued us the day before had chaged to snow overnight in the highest areas; it looked completely different! Of course, in the snow, at the very top of the mountain, was when everyone decided they had to go potty. Did I mention we were all wearing sandals because it had been hot at our house when we left?

















 
















 















Shortly before we crossed the border back into South Dakota, we saw the coolest thing of all...a moose!

HI, Moose!