June 11, 2016 - Meeteetse to Wapiti Campground

The boys were up and on the road by 7:00 am this morning. They were blessed with overcast skies and cooler temperatures for today’s journey. Marcia left Meeteetse and headed straight for the Wapiti area to check out campgrounds and I did the every 10-mile sag checkpoints. The road was pretty good, but they did have some bad shoulders on the first 20 mile section of their ride today which made it difficult.
It was a beautiful drive from Meeteetse to Cody. We passed through the Shoshone Canyon which is a gorge cut through the Rattlesnake Mountain by the Shoshone River. Beds of sedimentary rock that are exposed on the mountain’s northeast flank slope eastward. The range is between 205 to 705 millions years old.

It was cool to see the bridge over the river in the canyon.
They were also blessed with tailwinds today, making it a better day. When they arrived in Cody, we met at the Albertson’s parking lot so I could pick up groceries and Bob and Phil could go in and get Starbuck’s coffee! Marcia met us there and she let us know she reserved a campsite 30 miles west of Cody.

We had some road construction going through town. At the Buffalo Bar there was a line of hundreds of bikers waiting for what we think might have been a memorial service for the 3 bikers who were killed recently in traffic accident.

About 6 miles out of Cody there is a series of 3 tunnels. The first two are very short, but the third is over 1/2 mile long with NO SHOULDER. We decided that we would get behind the guys and put our flashers on and drive VERY slowly – about 8 miles per hour – behind them so they could get safely through the tunnel.

This route is Highway 14/16 that runs directly north of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and Dam. Marcia was directly behind them and there was one car between us.


The tunnel also has an elevation gain, so the guys were really working to make the climb. We pulled out at the dam observation area and they were thankful for the break. We had lunch and rested before they headed on.

After lunch, Marcia headed immediately back to the campground and I did the 10-mile sag stops.
At the first 10 mile stop after lunch, the guys asked if I had seen the Bob’s Big Boy statue down the road. I missed it! I decided to walk back (about 1/4 mile) to take a picture. A car stopped and offered me a ride (an older couple) so I went with them. The guys were still at the RV watching. They took me down and told me the story of the Bob’s statue. Apparently, a guy from Illinois (where Bob’s Big Boy Restaurants started) moved to Wyoming. He owns three ranch homes (one over 6-stories!) and is connected to the Chicago Bears team, bought lots of ranch land in this area and wanted the statue on his land. He bought it for $7000 and erected a concrete structure to sit it on and here he is, in the Yellowstone Valley!

They took me back to the RV and dropped me off! Even funnier, their daughter works as a guidance counselor at the same high school in Fort Collins where our daughter-in-law is a teacher! Small world!

The rock formations in the Yellowstone Valley were amazing. I stopped more often than my 10 miles just to take pictures!



About 5 miles from our campsite I passed the Smith Mansion. It is a 6-story mansion that a guy started building and never finished. He had collected mining timbers from all over the state to build this place. Apparently the family pays someone to watch the site and now there is a restoration project underway to actually complete the place. I will need to check out more about it when I have internet coverage!

I also enjoyed being able to see unusual things as I was driving because I was going so much slower than I usually would drive. This rock formation reminded me of a fighter who had seen better days! And, of course, the wildflowers were beautiful!

I made it to the campsite at Wapiti Campground and got the RV leveled and Marcia and I walked back up to the road to wait for the fellows to make their approach. They rode in about 2:30 this afternoon and all of them felt like they had a good day.

We are sharing a campsite, but we both have electric hookups. Bob has his tent behind the RVs closer to the river.

We are camped along the north fork of the Shoshone River. It is deep and fast moving, but Penny wanted to be in the water. It was NOT going to happen! Across the river, Marcia spotted the bighorn sheep on the steep cliffs.

We counted a total of eight and watched them for quite a while as they scrambled up and down the cliffs.

When it started to spit rain, we headed inside. Our screen door latch isn’t working properly, and Tobey and Phil were trying to repair it using the spring from a ballpoint pen. After “McGuyvering” it, it is working better, but will still need to be replaced when we get back to Colorado.

We had a “carb-loading” dinner tonight, followed by a rousing game of dice which Phil won, before we all settled in for the evening. It is cooler tonight and windy, which we hope stops by morning. Today’s ride was 62 miles and they gained about 1000 feet in elevation. Tomorrow the final 23 miles will be more difficult because of the hills and elevation gain, so sleep well, boys!!!