Today was a 7 hour road trip across Wyoming from Buffalo to Grand Teton National Park. Bill did all the driving today as mountains were involved, along with lots of downshifting and curvy roads, Bill’s speciality. So I got to enjoy the gorgeous views on this beautiful sunny day. Our route took us through some jaw dropping scenery, so I’m detailing our route here and including a few photos that don’t come close to doing the views justice.
Before selecting this route we talked to several locals, the information desk and other big rig drivers, as this was our first adventure into the high altitudes with this rig and there is no room for mistakes. Maximum 7% grade along the route we decided was very doable.
Heading out of Buffalo, we immediately crossed through the Bighorn National Forest mountains. Route 16 was called Cloud Peak Skyway Scenic Byway. We passed snow along the road but on the southern part of the forest we were at a lower altitude but had a great view of the 13,000+ snow covered mountain tops just to the north.
Still on Route 26, we headed into Ten Sleep Canyon. Wow pretty much sums it up.
- The town of Ten Sleep has a population of 260. Wyoming is the least populated state in the US with about half a million people in the entire state. A plus besides the scenery is no state income tax, sales tax at 6% and real estate taxes are low also. (I’m ready to move based on this but Bill’s not quite convinced.). One more thing to note along this route, don’t expect to have much cell coverage. This is wilderness.
At Worland, we headed south on Route 20, following the river through Wind River Canyon between Thermopolis (which has hot springs we didn’t stop for) and Shoshone. This area is called Wyoming Scenic Byway. At Shoshone we picked up Rt 26 into Riverton the headed north toward Moran Junction in the Tetons. This is my preferred way to enter the Grand Teton National Park, as the views of the Tetons entering the east entrance to the park is spectacular. I couldn’t stop taking photos.
And below are the Tetons that we saw for miles and miles as they got closer.
Mountains, foothills, canyons, prairies, snow, rivers and lakes made this journey go fast.... at least from the navigator seat.
Gorgeous pics I am in awe
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