Tag: Bighorn National Forest

First days in the northern Bighorns

Monday we drove the truck with the RZR in the bed up US 14 into the northern Bighorns. We took the RZR to check out some boondock sites and campgrounds. Beautiful country. And moose about 1 mile from the campground.

US 14 in the distance
There were 3 moose, but one hid
Nice big bull

We were surprised to find a no-reservation site big enough for us in Tie Flume campground, and we grabbed it. We left the RZR in the campground, and went back to Peter D’s in Sheridan to pack up. The drive up the mountain in the motorhome was made much easier by Kevin driving the truck separately! The road has long grades and sharp turns, and it was sooooo much easier without the truck in tow! We didn’t get into the campground until about 4:00, and then we discovered the sky was too obstructed for Starlink! I am a FMCA chapter officer, and I had computer work to do. I was quite disappointed, thinking we would have to move in a couple of days. Luckily someone moved out of a better non-reservable site on Tuesday so we moved. Service is still a bit spotty due to obstructions (trees), but acceptable.

Classic NFS campsite

We did take the RZR on a short ride up Black Mountain Rad next to the campground. we finally saw some deer that weren’t running away as we passed.

There are two in the picture

Black Mountai  Road ends at US 14 were turned around. Sadly we saw this guy where the road ends.

Felt sorry for this driver on US 14

Tuesday we just laid around, sitting outside a bunch, reading mostly.

Wednesday we took another RZR trip to Park Reservoir. It was overcast with occasional light rain, so we put the windows in the RZR before we left. Good thing since we definitely got rained on! The ATVers and side by side occupants without windows looked jealous. We don’t have a windshield wiper though, so Kevin had to get out occasionally and wipe the windshield.

I had wondered about the name of our campground, Tie Flume, and we discovered there was a wooden flume that took logs from here to Dayton, many miles away. We couldn’t find any flume ruins, but we did find this cool splash dam ruin.

Signage
Sluice is still visble
Amazing shape

We passed a lot of ponds along the way. This was my favorite with the lilies.


There was a ranger station along the way too. Interesting buildings. This is a sample. Obviously still used.

A bit of smoke was coming from the chimney

Lots of just beautiful country though the overcast made pictures hard. There is still snow in a few places.

Views to die for (zoom in for snow)

The reservoir looked cold, but there were a few people fishing and boating.

There were some interesting old buildings near the lake. I think they were private cabins, though they were right on the main road. Other cabins had their own entrances and were off the road some. Look at the cold house especially.

And we saw more moose! I just caught a glimpse of this cow moose and calf, so we turned around to get pictures.

Thursday we just relaxed some around the campground. I cut out a rag doll from a kit I bought at an historic site somewhere I can’t remember! Shouldn’t be hard to sew, and I intend on giving it to my youngest granddaughter, 4 years old.

Today (Friday) we took a big circular trip in the truck down US14A, coming back on US 14. The views were interesting due to the clouds. We also got rained on a lot so only this one picture.

And only 1/2 mile from the campground we saw this big bull.

Not sure about tomorrow since it is supposed to rain quite a bit.

Crazy Woman Canyon and moving to Sheridan and civilization

We took one last trip in the RZR on Friday from our camp on Grouse Mountain. We went to a trailhead for Crazy Woman Canyon and drove  Rt 33 until just past the Forest Service boundary. The ride is well worth the hype.

The main road is suitable for passenger cars, and there were a number of them along the way

Just a nice scenic view

I do apologize for the sun reflections. I didn’t know it was this bad until I processed the pictures. But the bluffs quickly came to overshadow us. We met another couple in a side by side as we were unloading. They had just arrived, so we went over the routes with them and asked if they were interested in joining us. It is much safer with more than one rig, and our driving styles were pretty similar.

Desert varnish
Our newfound friends in front

When we got to the bottom of the canyon, the walls closed in tightly. Sadly none of those pictures came out at all, so you will just have to go yourself! We climbed up out of the canyon after a while, and the views got much broader.

Did I say cliffs?
Broken rock falls

We found a new flower along the way. I think this is bee balm, and it had just started blooming.

Bee balm?

The rocks here are very ancient limestone, and they fracture regularly. It was interesting to see the result of a rockfall in open country. The rocks are big, with the rectangular one closest to the cliff perhaps 20’ tall.

Massive rockfall aftermath

Once we finished the main road we just took off randomly along the trails. They got significantly rougher, but we also left the people in passenger cars behind. We only had one unexpected dead end needing back tracking. That was when a trail crossed a water way that was an unknown depth and moving pretty fast. Discretion being the better part of valor, we turned around there.

A bit rougher!

There are a number of cabins the Forest Service now rents out. This is the Muddy Guard Cabin just off the trail head. I don’t know what it looks like inside, but the outside was in good shape.

Muddy Guard Cabin

We came back to the motorhome, cleaned up (a UTV ride gets you dirty!), then headed to Peter D’s Campground in Sheridan where we had reservations. It is a small place, family owned, and spotless. It is a bit older though, and our passenger side slide was maybe 4’ from our neighbor’s driver’s side slide! It was pretty inexpensive at $40/night, cash. We started the inevitable laundry, and on Saturday we drove out US 14, the northern route through the Bighorns.

This is a much more abrupt climb into the mountains with 8% grades and tight turns, but it is a spectacular drive. We have done it a number of times. Like Crazy Woman Canyon, the rock here is mostly ancient limestone, and it fractures with water over time. Here it overlies a thin layer of shale. When the shale gets wet, the heavier limestone slips and fantastic landslides result. This is one of the biggest – Fallen City. I hope you can get a feel of the scale – those blocks are HUGE!

Huge blocks of limestone

We were hoping to see moose in the area, and I was so excited when I saw this!

Excitement

But a closer examination showed a nice mule instead. Sigh.

Disappointment

We were lucky enough to see two marmots cuddling on a rock. Their faces were adorable, and they didn’t seem to worried about us.

Yellow-bellied marmots I think

Sunday I got my latest Hunter’s Star quilt top finished. As you can see, tops are called “flimsies” for a reason! It also needs a good pressing, but I won’t get to that until we get home, and I am ready to quilt it. It is 40×52, a nice size for a baby girl quilt. I will put it in my stash for the next one that comes along. I like having a couple of baby quilts ready.

Tomorrow we are riding the RZR to the Owen Creek Campground area. There are lots of trails around there, and we just might find a campsite there. On Saturday we did find a few non-reservation places we could fit, so we will check those out too. If we can find a place, we will claim it and take the motorhome tomorrow. If not, we will come back to Peter D’s and plan on boondocking somewhere beginning Tuesday.

Still in the Bighorns

We have had a great time here, but we plan on leaving tomorrow. Here are the highlights.

Monday we had our son, his wife, and their three kids out for dinner. They are camped in Circle Park campground a few miles down the road. I made green chili enchiladas in the Dutch oven, and I made a peach dump cobbler in the convection oven. Pretty tasty if I say so myself. There was a classic mountain “maybe gonna rain, maybe not” view with virga not making it to the ground. But my oh my the rainbows! Here are the best of the ones I got.

How often do you a perfect double rainbow?
Even fading a bit it was glorious
End of the rainbow

On Tuesday we took a RZR trip. Our first goal was the Sheep Mountain Lookout. We trailed to a nearby trail head, unloaded the RZR, and headed up a moderate gravel road suitable for SUVs or pickups. Most of the traffic was various side by sides and ATVs though. It was the most traffic we had encountered on this trip by far.

Some of the interesting things along this road were the numerous small springs and seeps. They seemingly occurred every few hundred yards. Some were big enough to really show flowing water, but some just kind of trickled their water out.

One of the tiny springs

The Road goes through an old burn scar for quite a bit of the way. I am guessing it was 20-40 years ago, assuming the trees here grow slowly in this climate.

Nice views through a very old burn

Once we got to the top, it was incredible views, even with a bit of haze.

Nice views one direction
And another

The cabin  has bunk beds that I could see, and the toilet was just down the hill a bit to the right of this picture.

The old lookout is now a FS rental cabin

After wandering around some and breathing the 10,000+’ air, we headed back down the hill for lunch. Pretty nice spot!

Lunch spot at Merle Creek

We then took some alternate roads to our trailhead, meeting up with two other small RZRs that we had encountered at the lookout, and they kindly let us join their group. Good thing too! We eventually got to a rock ledge we didn’t feel comfortable doing on our own, but it was fine with someone else around. We are VERY conservative when on our own! Yes, we have an InReach for emergency communication, but my goal is never to have to use it. Here’s a video one of the rigs took.

Hey, it was bigger than it looked for our little rig! See the wheel grabbing air?

On the way back we decided to drive to the Powder River. I was expecting a bigger river, but I guess we are close to the headwaters. Along the way we saw one of the only large animals – a mule deer. One of the disadvantages of a UTV is the noise; makes it hard to see many animals.

Trust me, that really is a mule deer with growing antlers
Powder River with some anglers

Wednesday we stayed at the campsite much of the day, but we did have a fabulous lunch at the South Fork Outfitters restaurant – green chili hamburger for me and green chili cheeseburger for Kevin. It was fabulous!

We had a real mess with the rig on Tuesday too. The slide topper over our bedroom slide broke, and one end was banging loose. Kevin spent some time stabilizing it and firming how to get it off. We dropped by to see the kids at their campsite, and they planned on helping us get it down today. It got so windy today that Kevin and I finally figured out a way to get it off before the fabric ripped up. Now we have yet another thing to get fixed when we get to Alabama in September. Sigh. Motorhomes really are a money out, but we still love the lifestyle.

We had planned on taking a RZR ride today too, but pretty strong winds blew up along with a bit of rain. We decided to wait until tomorrow. Gives us time for a nice meal tonight!