June 10, 2016 - Thermopolis to Meeteetse, Wyoming

Because the forecast for hot weather seemed too real after the 94 degrees yesterday, the guys thought they would get an early start on their ride to Meeteetse today. They left the Fountain of Youth Campground at 6:50 am. It is about 2 miles north of town, so they had to go back to town to catch HWY 120 heading northwest toward Meeteetse. I stopped at the McDonalds to attempt posting yesterday’s blog, but couldn’t get it to post. I figured it would work sooner or later, so I got going, as well.
We decided to stop at the Legend Rock State Archaeological Site which has a turnoff about 21 miles outside of Thermopolis to see the petroglyphs. Marcia and I waited for Tobey and Bob and they loaded into our RV after locking their bikes to Phil and Marcia’s RV. Phil didn’t want to stop, so he told us to go on and he would just rest for a while when he got to the RV, then continue the journey and we would catch up to him.

The drive off HWY 120 to the site is 5.5 miles of paved road then 2.7 miles of really good gravel road. We passed several pronghorn on our way – a couple of them even ran out onto the road in front of me and were trying to outrace the RV! Over 2/3 of all the pronghorn in the United States are located in Wyoming, so it is no wonder we see so many of them every day!

The site is free and has a large display of incredible petroglyphs. The 1/3 mile round trip interpretative trail is well-signed and there are free trail guides which explain the different images.




Archaeologists believe that the group which includes the thunderbird and this animal date to 8000-6000 BC!

This is believed to be one of the oldest petroglyphs at the site – about 11,000 years old! They are representations of bison, elk, and possibly bighorn sheep and deer. There are two human figures on the lower left section which has an unadorned head and extra legs and feet. I am just amazed how they archaeologists are able to interpret this pictures and determine what they might possibly mean!
There were beautiful flowers and it was interesting to see the swallow nests up and among the rock outcroppings.

After our stop at Legend Rock, we were back to the highway and Tobey and Bob took off again at 10 am. We went about 10 miles down the road and caught up with Phil, so we waited for Bob and Tobey. They had a brief stop then kept cycling. About 19 miles from Meeteetse we stopped at the rest area for lunch and a break. The guys had some big hills today, but fortunately, the wind was at their backs!

After lunch they cycled on in to Meeteetse and we met at the Chocolatier for snacks! We decided to camp at the Oasis Motel and RV Park which is located on the Graybull RIver. It is only two blocks from the downtown area, so we walked back and to visit the museum which is also free! A huge portion of the collection has been donated by the Charles Belden family. He was a photographer in addition to a rancher who helped develop this area. The exhibits included many of his photographs and artifacts from his family.

The history of the Pitchfork Ranch and cattle and sheep ranching is the area was depicted in the museum, as well. They found black-footed ferrets in the area and there was a large section explaining the attempts to re-populate the area. Sheep herder wagons were on display at the museum, also.
 

At 5, we stopped at one of the two bars in town for a soft drink and snacks before heading back to the camp. The sign outside said bikers were welcome …. even though they didn’t mean bicyclers!
We are settled in for the night and the fellows hope to be on the road by 7 again tomorrow.

Today they covered 55.7 miles and tomorrow’s ride will take them past Cody.