We
spent the night in an RV park that was the epitome of Jed-designed,
Jed-implemented RV splendor. The incredible details were
far too numerous to mention but suffice it to say that we will
not be staying there again by choice. We were, however,
able to get our clothes laundered without anybody stealing our
stuff. Next morning, we broke camp and headed to Cody, WY
to join one of our unimog friends at his ranch.
The photos below are what we saw.
The RV
park had its own hot springs. Back in 1913 they drilled
for oil here, but only hit hot water. But, the borehole
left a 1.3 million gallon/day spring. The structure above
resulted from the deposition of dissolved minerals after the
water exited the borehole.
Next to
the springs were a family of rock chucks dug into the canyon
walls.
North of
Thermopolis, we took a detour to the Hamilton Dome area to see
some petroglyphs. The dome has had active oil production
since the early 1900s and they, too, had hit hot water on their
way to the oil. But, in this case, they just kept on
drilling and discovered that the oil was below the hot
water. Above, you can see the steam rising from runoff
water from the wells.
We found
the petroglyphs with the assistance of some oil field
workers. The carvings were on an escarpment near a creek
to the north side of Hamilton Dome. Some of the carvings
were estimated to be between 8,000 and 11,000 years old.
The carvings consisted of the usual collection of glyphs.
This
rabbit depiction was deeply pecked into the desert patina in the
rock.
A
portion of the cliff face has spalled off removing part of one of the
glyphs.
These
glyphs were anthropomorphic, if a bit optimistic. The
thunderbird glyph is novel.
An
interesting glyph, but I am not sure what it depicts.
Some of
the glyphs were sufficiently abstract to prevent positive
identification of the object.
This
rabbit was deeply pecked and due to the weathering was clearly
much older than some of the other glyphs.
Perhaps
these are shamanistic symbols.
More
interesting glyphs.
A lot of
pecking was needed to form these glyphs.
This
panel had both representational and abstract glyphs.
The
pitchfork design is interesting.
Even the
remote locations are still subjected to graffiti. Note the date
of 1834.
Because
of the age of this graffiti, it almost becomes "historic".
We
stopped in Cody for supplies and then headed out South Fork to
our friend's ranch. The valley is rich with good grazing
land and is flanked on both sides by mountains.
The
front yard of the house has a commanding view of the river
valley and mountains beyond.
The Absaroka
Range surrounds the valley.
Carter
Mountain had sheer cliffs.
Castle
Rock is a local historic landmark and is a volcanic plug.
The same
weather system that produced our very windy days when we were outside of
Rawlins left the Cody mountains with extra snow.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2013,
all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.