Wyoming – 10 days in the footsteps of the pioneers

As part of our trip to Mid-West USA, my husband and I spent 10 days in Wyoming in the footsteps of the pioneers. After visiting the big national parks in the state, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, the contrast was huge. Few foreign tourists find the time to explore the lesser known sites or the forts dotted around the region, built to host and protect the 19^th century pioneers. Some stops also took us across the state border into South Dakota and Colorado.

You absolutely need a rental car if you’re doing this trip, as many of the sights are very remote and even most towns have limited public transport. Ten days was just the right length for this trip. Including a long hike in the Badlands and an extra day in Dinosaur NM would have been nice, but I felt we covered the main sights.

Tip: book your own rental car for the USA here!

DAY 1: CODY – BUFFALO BILL & RODEO

Buffalo Bill Historical Centre

We arrived in Cody from Yellowstone National Park. Our main plan for the day was to visit Buffalo Bill Historical Centre of the West in Cody. The museum is so big that tickets are valid two days to allow you to cover everything (some smaller museums in town are also included). The visit was my husband’s idea and I was somewhat skeptical, but I was really impressed with the quality. The museum covers much more than just the life of “Buffalo” Bill Cody and the myths built around him. We spent several hours going around the exhibits outlining all aspects of life in the West in the 19^th century. Needless to say, we ran out of time to cover the other museums included in the ticket.

Local rodeo visit

In the evening, we went to a local rodeo. I’m always a bit in limbo as to whether or not I like rodeo. One does hear mixed stories about animal welfare. However, I enjoyed the evening, chatted to several passionate ranchers and found the rules around handling of horses and other animals to be strictly enforced by the organisation (eg. one cowboy was promptly disqualified for his way of handling a calf during tie-down roping).

We very pleased when we finally laid our heads down in the Irma Hotel for the night. The hotel is right in the centre of town (walking distance from the museums and rodeo) and despite all modern amenities, staying at the Irma feels like stepping back in time, into a 19^th century saloon.

DAY 2: DRIVING THE CANYONS

We spent the next day mostly in the car. Our destination, Sheridan, was only 350 km away, but we had listed numerous points of interest on the way. Our first call was Bighorn Canyon. Since it “only” qualifies as a National Recreation Area, my expectation were not very high, but I was wrong. If you want to see desolate canyons in all colours, without the crowds of Grand Canyon, head straight to Bighorn. We opted for a short and easy hike, but if you have more time, opportunities are plenty.

Next we entered the Bighorn Mountains. The Bighorn Scenic Byway (US 14) is the road to take if you want to take in the best views. We took a turnoff to see Bighorn Medicine Wheel (badly signposted, so check the map upfront). The Wheel is a limestone structure located at nearly 3000m elevation. Whilst its exact origin is unclear, native tribes consider the Wheel, laid out in astronomical alignment, sacred. Don’t forget to look out for the iconic bighorn sheep that roam the mountains!

We stopped for the night in The Historic Sheridan Inn, another beautiful hotel in Western style. Unfortunately, we arrived late and set off early, so we had very little time to really feel its vibe.  

DAY 3: ALONG THE BOZEMAN TRAIL

Fort Phil Kearny & Buffalo

I was very excited for our next day, as the plan was to visit one of the many “forts” in the area, along the so-called Bozeman Trail. I love history, but the dramatic “Indian Wars”, battles between native American tribes and settlers in search of gold, are not a topic that is typically covered in Belgian schools. Keen to learn more, we visited the small museum in Fort Phil Kearny and the sites of the epic Fetterman Massacre and Wagon Box Fight. I cannot call these pleasant visits, but I think any visitor to this region ought to take the opportunity to learn about its bloody past.

Our next stop was the town of Buffalo, where we visited the small, but incredibly interesting Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum. Shout-out to the staff who let us in for free when they found out we were on our honeymoon! Buffalo was exactly how I imagined a small Western American town to be. We walked around and admired the cute houses.

Mining & old miners’ town

We were planning to visit the Devil’s Tower National Monument next, but as we were short on time, we only admired the Tower from a distance (we’re now five years later and I am still gutted). The reason for our hurry was the Black Hills Mining Museum in Lead. We were keen to catch the last gold mine tour of the day (which we managed and it was worth it) and visit the nearby Homestake Gold Mine.

After barely 400km, but a full day, we reached Deadwood, our stop for the night. This is a town that’s definitely worth spending some time. We walked up to the old cowboy cemetery a few kilometres outside town. Not only the graves are beautiful, they are also interesting. Ranging from Jewish to Chinese, you’ll find people of all origins, including some very iconic individuals of the Wild West like Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock and Sol Star. The highstreet of Deadwood is lined with old style casino-hotels. We chose to stay in the Historic Franklin Hotel, but options for lodging in Deadwood are plenty.

DAY 4: BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

Here comes another day I was very much looking forward to. Badlands National Park was a bit off our route, but we didn’t want to miss out on this natural jewel. A two hours drive took us from Deadwood to the Ben Reifel visitor centre. The Badlands have not stolen their name: their outlook is arid, vast and dramatic. Whilst I could easily have spent a few days exploring the Badlands, this is the perfect national park to visit in a day. A loop road gives you easy access to all trailheads and viewpoints. We followed it and make several stops for short hikes. It was also the hottest place of the entire trip and I struggled to adjust quickly, so I didn’t mind that we didn’t do a longer trekking.

DAY 5 – 6: KEYSTONE & SURROUNDINGS

Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse

Our stop for the night was Keystone, which for most people is the base for visiting Mount Rushmore. Exceptionally, we checked in for two nights, because there are also many other things to see. We stayed in a random motel which didn’t stand out. But given the amount of visitors coming to Mount Rushmore, the offering for accommodation in Keystone is large, so there is something for everybody.

The very first activity on our list was a visit to Jewel Cave, the third longest cave in the world. We’d heard it can get really busy, so we were keen to get there before the crowds. Next, we drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial via the “Needles Highway”. We stopped several times, as the needle shaped rock formations are quite impressive. The Crazy Horse Memorial is the Native American response to Mount Rushmore. The memorial is work in progress and is planned to depict Lakota warrior Crazy Horse. Even if it is not finished, the sheer size and vision make this place worth a visit.

We stopped in Hill City for dinner and then, finally, drove to Mount Rushmore to attend the Evening Lighting Ceremony. I recommend going to the Ceremony. It includes a Ranger Talk explaining the history of the monument and, moreover, witnessing the American patriotism during the Ceremony is super impressive.

Exploring the Blackhills

On our second day in Keystone, we took a ride one the Blackhills Central Railroad to Hill City and back. My recommendation is: do your research. We bought the tickets online well ahead of time (the train does get completely booked out) and there are different options for longer or shorter stops in Hill City. Since we had enjoyed the visit to Jewel Cave so much, we decided to also squeeze in nearby Wind Cave. If you have to pick one, pick Wind Cave. The saying that “size doesn’t matter” is definitely true here. Even if Jewel Cave is bigger, Wind Cave has got the most amazing formations (“popcorn”, “frostwork” and many others were all new to me).

We drove 100km to Hot Springs to spend the night and be in position to visit Mammoth Site the next day.

DAY 7: MAMMOTH SITE & SCOTTS BLUFF

I loved Mammoth Site. It holds the largest collection of mammoth fossils in the world and, best of all, it is an active excavation site. You can see scientists and volunteers at work as you explore this labyrinth of mammoth bones and learn about the ice age. If Hot Springs weren’t so damn far from Belgium, I would definitely consider spending some time as a volunteer. It is one of the sites where Earthwatch organise their “citizen scientist” programme and I know from personal experience in other locations that they are very good.

We ended the day in Scotts Bluff. We visited the National Monument and stayed the night in the town. The monument is small, but worth a visit. We took the Summit Road to the top of the bluff and walked to the overlooks for some amazing views. Dotted around the site are exhibits from the past.

DAY 8: RETRACING UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD

Fort Laramie

I’m sure many people will get bored of visiting forts much more quickly than me, but if you are going to visit one, pick Fort Laramie. Whereas Fort Phil Kearny will give you the best insight in the cold reality of the Indian Wars, the Fort Laramie site is best preserved and the visit is most interactive. It was originally a fur trading post, but quickly evolved into a military outpost.

Cheyenne & the Depot Museum

Apart from history, my husband and I also like trains. Therefore, we had planned to stay a night in Cheyenne and visit the Depot Museum, telling the story of Union Pacific Railroad. Moreover, the local model rail club has built a VERY impressive model railway which you can see in action. The enthusiastic volunteers will gladly point out all the details.

DAY 9 – 10: DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT

The final stop of our road trip was Dinosaur National Monument. From Cheyenne, we drove 6 hours to Vernal, the best hub for visiting Dinosaur. Fossils are the main attraction of the site, but the canyons with floating rivers are equally impressive. We squeezed in a visit to the famous petroglyphs, located at an hour’s drive from Vernal.

The next day we drove to the Quarry Visitor Centre where we parked our car. The park shuttle took us onwards to the Quarry Exhibit Hall. I didn’t think I would ever see that many dinosaur bones in my life! We joined a ranger walk to a recently excavated dinosaur, the proof that there are still many undiscovered treasures here. We drove to the Canyon Area Overlooks to hike Harpers Corner Trail and the Purple Point Trail. After that, I was absolutely shattered and left the driving seat to my husband as we made our way back to Vernal and I took a nap.

Dinosaur National Monument was a definite highlight and I would have loved to stay longer. However, we had a flight booked from Salt Lake City (5 hours drive) just two days later. We set off the next day, making stops at Flaming Gorge Dam and Emigration Canyon. We spent the night in Salt Lake, prior to our early morning flight.

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