Bighorn & Shoshone National Forests

After the battlefield we drove through the Bighorn Mountains along the Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway seeking our campsite for the night. There is so much free dispersed camping out in these parts that are often more scenic than the developed campgrounds and definitely have fewer people if any. It does take a bit of patience and fortitude to reach some of these sites but it is well worth it. We struck off on a forest service road that soon became deeply rutted and had some impressive “gar holes” but David and the K2R2 took it all in stride and we soon landed on an awesome campsite with a little gurgling brook, a beautiful meadow with abundant wildflowers, and a valley nestled in the hills.

It’s hard to believe that as hot as it is down in the southern part of the US that up here the wildflowers are just getting into their prime with many more to bloom!

The next morning David got the drone up to explore the valley and we spotted a mother deer with twins while out on our walk.

We broke camp and continued along the scenic byway to Shell Canyon. Shell Creek runs along the highway and makes an impressive set of falls as it nears the canyon.

We then headed south to the Shoshone National Forest where we stopped at Fiddler’s Lake for the night. Upon arrival at our campsite we discovered a large hut out on the lake and thought it was a beaver hut but soon the occupants made themselves aware and it was muskrats. They swam about back and forth from the hut to the shore throughout the evening along with a host of various waterfowl. It was a very peaceful and quiet setting and quite different from being on a rushing stream.

The next morning we made the decision to take a little detour back to Pinedale, WY. The Green River Mountain Man Rendezvous was going to be taking place on the weekend and we were so close it just seemed a shame to not experience a little bit of it given the territory we had spent the last few weeks in.

As we drove out of the forest and back into civilization a bit of wildlife graced us with their presence that early morning.