I started by driving straight up to Buffalo, Wyoming, to find a cache from page 16. The cache I chose involved a lovely walk along the Bozeman Trail, and I learned a little about the Fetterman Massacre that occurred on 21 December 1866. Georgia was not as impressed with the view as I was, and due to my having to drag her along the trail to get the cache, we did not finish the mile long route.
After I marked page 16 off my to do list, I headed to Tensleep to find a cache in Washakie County. I had just gotten to GZ (Ground Zero) and started reading the informational sign about the name Tensleep outside of a small bar, and a truck pulls up. I pretend to stretch my legs and read the sign, and she comes up to me and asks if I'm looking for something. I smiled, and she told me that the hiding place had been taken down for repair, and she'd take me to it. It was in the back room of the bar. She took me through the side door and I got quite a few strange looks as she takes me to the back room and lets me take the cache out of the hiding place and sign the log. I put it back and thanked her, and she said she'd keep an eye out for anyone else looking and help them out until it got put back where it belongs. As I left the bar there were quite a few people discussing "that geo-thing." If I hadn't been on a time crunch, I'd have sat down and tried to convert them.
I decided at the last minute, to come home a different route than I went up, so I headed over to Thermopolis, where I saw an entirely different view of the hot springs that I visited last year.
I wish I'd brought my swimsuit, so I could have gotten my free 15 minute soak in the State Bath House in Hot Springs State Park (copper roofed building). This link will tell you all about the area, but here are a few tidbits from their website and what I learned while visiting there last year.
The mineral hot springs are believed to have healing powers, and are maintained at 104 degrees in the State Bath House. When the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes gave the land the government in 1896, they put in the treaty that it would remain open to the general public and be free of charge. Anyone can go in and soak for up 15 minutes per day.
Right next to the State Bath House is the State Bison Herd. Last year I didn't see any, due to a visitor right before apparently having let his off leash dog run them into a canyon out of view (so said the nice lady at the Bath House). It is a beautiful area, the Hot Spring State Park.
Here are the few bison I saw today. I had forgotten to take my camera with me, so I only had my cruddy cell phone to document them. I imagine the big one in the front is daddy, and the ladies up the hill with the babies are his harem.
I was going to go down this set up steps to see a spring entering into the river, but it was overgrown, and there was a snake, and some freaky looking spiders, so I settled for this view instead.
Upon leaving Thermopolis, I traveled through the Wind River Indian Reservation, and was reminded once again how beautiful it is here. I don't know why, but I absolutely love these tunnels, and this section of river.
And that was my day. I left home after work, about 9:30am, and returned home at 11:30pm. I only got the two caches, but they were what I needed.
