Tuesday - Sept 19th Ranchester, WY

Today, we departed Cooke City, MT and headed east with an intermediate destination of Cody, WY and hopefully, somewhere east of that on Interstate 90. This was not a good decision!

I worried when we left Cooke City if the roads would be open. As it turned out, Beartooth Highway to Billings, MT was CLOSED –snow at the pass. Fortunately, we had planned to head for Cody across Dead Indian Pass! Ominous sounding, yes? The pass was “only” 8,048 feet, but it is a Wyoming state highway, not noted for smooth surfaces and easy passage. But the lady in the coffee shop in Cooke City said it was an “easy” road. I was concerned because of the many squiggles on the map indicating switchbacks and sharp turns.

The good news was the road was in reasonably good condition with many beautiful sights along the way including the narrow bridge over the deep gorge (see photo). Our first “accident” of the trip occurred getting into the scenic overlook parking lot. I cut too sharp and tried to take out the awning over one of the slide-outs. I think I was able to fix it but time will tell.

Dead Indian Pass refers to an Indian war event where the Nez Perce Indians were chased by the US Cavalry and General Oliver Howard (cousin?) into Montana. (Reading about the Nez Perce Indian war is another example of the injustices done to the Indians by the US Government). In their attempt to elude the army pursuing them and make good their escape, they cross this high pass hoping to join other tribes to the east or flee north into Canada. A wounded warrior, unable to travel, was left at the pass. He was found and killed; the cavalry was still smarting from Little Big Horn and wanted revenge. In later days General Howard came to defend the Nez Perce cause and Chief Joseph. The scenic road followed their steps over the pass and was named for Chief Joseph. The pass itself was only 8,048 feet, and no problem despite the many switchbacks.

After some grocery shopping in Cody, WY (no, we didn’t see any of the Buffalo Bill Cody exhibits) we headed east. Unfortunately, because of a navigational error on my part (Miss Priss wasn’t consulted), we took an alternate route east. We ended up in the same place but we crossed many miles of US 14 marked as Road Damaged. They weren’t kidding. It climbed from 4,000 feet at Cody to over 10,000 feet enroute to Ranchester, WY.

In a way, it wasn’t too bad. We didn’t just cross the mountain range, we climbed to it and then rode along the crest. Thus the snow, snow, and snow. Suki – the cat – got his first taste of snow (a paw-full). Margaret threw her first snowball of the year at me. And we got to try out the engine brake going down-hill seemingly forever – at least to the driver. The last several miles were all steep, winding down the side of the mountains. It was a lot like landing in an airplane where you see the valley – where you’re going – but wondering how long it will take to get down!

Saw many prong-horned antelope and stunning vistas. At one spot there was an ancient stone medicine wheel atop a mountain ridge. The area is held sacred by the Indians even today, though the knowledge of who built the ring and why are lost in time. It is aligned with the solstice. The road up the mountain was dirt and snow, impassable – at lease for us.

We spent Tuesday night in Ranchester, WY, listening to trains all night. Shades of Salt Lake City.