It was a beautiful day when we got up and we decided to bike on the Clear Creek Trail System, beginning from the campground, and catching the trail through the center of town, Washington Park, and the Greenbelt section we had already walked previously. As we worked our way to the trail near the park, the skies became really dark. Tom, as usual, was prepared for anything. Me, I was glad I had my windbreaker.
 |
| Nice sunny day...good for biking |
The trail follows the creek, and is quite pleasant. Its hard gravel, and easy to bike on. We passed very few others, maybe because of the weather.
 |
| what is that? a rain cloud? |
 |
| time to get the jacket on...its chilly and rainy |
 |
| should we turn around? nah.... |
The trail leads into town, where there are buffalo footprints painted orange to depict the trail. We walked our bikes the few blocks through town so as not to cream anyone. Eventually, we hit the trail that goes through a huge park...with tennis courts, playgrounds, horseshoes, etc. It was quite a big park and very well maintained.
 |
| in town - the historic Occidental Hotel |
 |
| walking the bikes through town |
After the park, we joined the Greenbelt Trail, which we had previously walked a few days before. The low clouds totally obliterated the snow-peaked mountain tops.
 |
| watching the deer in the tall grass |
 |
| should we turn back? nah... |
 |
| another view of Clear Creek |
As we got to the part of the trail that travels through the cow pastures, we debated on how to proceed. There was one cow, staring us down, and she had 2 young ones with her. We later realized, there was a third one coming across the field, and she was just not budging until her "kid" was safe with her. It also started to rain rather steadily, so, we made an executive decision to cut the bike ride short and head back into town for some lunch. We still managed to ride about 8 or 10 miles round trip, despite the weather.
 |
| Mother Cow blocking our way |
 |
| Don't you ride by us yet...I'm waiting for one more calf |
We ate our lunch in a small cafe and had the most delicious burger I've had in a while. Don't ask me how I ate that after seeing all those cute cows. I totally wasn't thinking....thankfully....or else I wouldn't have been able to eat it.
 |
| We're from NJ-we lock our bikes! |
 |
| historic part of town |
 |
| great fries! |
 |
| I can't believe I'm eating a burger after seeing those cute cows |
The Occidental Hotel is an historic landmark, and a fully operating hotel now. For more information, click
here. The likes of Teddy Roosevelt stayed here. (I read somewhere that he had a cattle ranch in the Dakotas after the death of his wife-he wanted to do something different). Maybe I got that wrong! The public is allowed to come in and browse through the lobby, and the saloon. Of course, there is a gift shop, as there is in most tourist-y museums. I took note of the books.
 |
| shoe shine? |
 |
| too early for a beer |
 |
| Occidental Hotel-Lobby |
 |
| just like the old cowboy days |
 |
| lots of history here |
 |
| the writer was a Buffalo native |
 |
| the grand saloon |
Later in the day, around "rush hour", we drove up to Sheridan, about a half hour away, to get some RV supplies at Walmart (the camper's friend!). There were hardly any cars on the road in either direction. Check out the truck ahead of us! Walmart! Hahaha.
Also of note, check out the sky. I have never noticed clouds like that. I think they are contrail clouds, but not from a jet. They cross the whole sky, not just a part of it. The puffy cumulus clouds were much lower in the sky. The sky is so big here....so we are really taking notice!
 |
| I guess we're all going to Walmart! |
 |
| Contrail and cumulus clouds |
The Clear Creek Trail has different segments, and we decided to hike on the Mentock trail, which meanders through evergreen forests at the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains, along the Clear Creek. This is my favorite kind of hiking.....its cool with the evergreens and shade from all the trees, and the evergreen scent is strong. The creek was flowing rapidly from snow melt, and much of the trail is right next to it. Its so nice to have natural air-conditioning! Plus the sound is refreshing. So so nice! Of course, the wildflowers were everywhere, and I took a few pics of them as well (okay, more than a few!). I was amazed to see cactus on some parts of the trail! This is not the environment I associate with cactus. It was mostly shady and the river and creek were right there. Anyway, not only did we spot cactus, but we were treated to flowering cactus!! Bonus!
 |
| start of the Mentock Trail |
 |
| flowering cactus |
 |
| nice! |
 |
| pink flowers too |
 |
| more cactus flowers |
 |
| a nice trail through the forest |
 |
| flowers along the river bank |
This trail was actually very easy, meandering up and down gently the gently rolling path, and much of it was flat. Walking through the forest was nice on the feet too, as the pine needles were soft to walk over.
 |
| wonder if there are fish in this river? |
 |
| the forest floor is so soft to walk on |
 |
| more wildflowers |
 |
| the river is keeping us cool! |
 |
| walking through |
 |
| another shot of the "rapids" |
 |
| nice |
Between the rushing water, and the pine scent, it was a very refreshing hike. Part of the trail passes an old power house station. The actual building seems in pretty good shape...at least it wasn't falling down. There were several spots with really nice benches right near the water. Would have been a good place for lunch, but it was too early.
 |
| the geography is always a surprise |
 |
| old power station |
 |
| still standing |
 |
| trail sign |
 |
| more wildflowers |
 |
| great spot but too early for lunch |
This hike was very scenic, with wildflowers and/or the river or creek at every turn. We passed a few people, some locals with dogs, and some tourists like us (with cameras), but the trail was not that heavily traveled.
 |
| walking through |
 |
| more flowers |
 |
| everywhere you look |
 |
| walking through |
 |
| nice trail |
 |
| mostly along the river |
 |
| flowing nicely from snow melt |
 |
| wonder what this is like in summer? any water flowing? |
 |
| continuing on |
 |
| still too early for lunch |
 |
| more flowers |
 |
| nice trail |
The wildflowers were great, adding spots of color all over the place. What a treat!
 |
| so pretty |
 |
| up close |
 |
| more |
 |
| mini iris? |
 |
| more wildflowers |
 |
| the pine smells so good |
 |
| more flowers |
 |
| flowers along the trail |
 |
| wildflowers everywhere |
 |
| pretty |
Soon it was time for lunch (11:30ish-hahah), and of course we didn't see any more benches near the water. Instead, we spotted a nice spot near the water with rocks to sit on, and a soft pine needle floor. It was nice and cool, and a great place to enjoy our tuna sandwiches!
 |
| lots of pinecones |
 |
| refreshing river-can feel the coolness |
 |
| looking for a lunch spot |
 |
| oops...more flowers |
 |
| ah...perfect spot |
 |
| great place for lunch! |
 |
| forest floor |
The walk back seemed so quick, as there were not as many photo stops...hahah. The hike was about 5 miles roundtrip, and very enjoyable.
 |
| heading back |
 |
| beautiful hike |
 |
| more wildflowers |
 |
| red flowers starting on the cactus? |
 |
| little creek next to the river |
 |
| love that pine scent |
 |
| smetterling (german for butterfly) |
It was pretty early in the day still, so we stopped at the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum in town on the way back to the campground. We spent about an hour or so exploring and learning a bit about cattle wars, the Bozeman trail and the Indian wars, and Jim Gatchell himself. He was a pharmacist by profession, but collected lots of artifacts and displayed them in his shop. When he was a kid, he grew up with Lakota Indians, so he had a good relationship with the Indian people. They would come to him (the medicine man) when they needed medicine. He also had an ice cream counter, and he gave free ice cream to kids he knew couldn't afford it. He also was known to be fair about the price of medicines. He was satisfied with what you were able to afford. Isn't that nice! I guess things were a little different in the "old days". He sounded like a very generous man. His family donated all of his collections upon his death, as did some of his many friends, with the stipulation that the town of Buffalo would build a museum with the collections.
 |
| more cotton from the cottonwoods! It looks a little like snow |
 |
| Jim Gatchell Museum |
 |
| in the middle of town |
 |
| no pictures allowed inside the museum |
 |
| except for this "homestead house" |
 |
| log cabin homestead house |
 |
| heading back |
The afternoon was pretty warm, well in the sun anyway, so I took advantage of our pool. It really was only in the low 70's, but the pool has looked so inviting all week. I'm gonna sound old when I say this, but...it was nice not to have kids in the pool so I could swim a few laps! Don't get me wrong. I love to see kids having a good time in the pool, but it was also really nice to have it to myself to actually swim. With my own private lifeguard! I don't think it was hot enough for Tom to swim!!
 |
| aaahhh...refreshing! |
 |
| my private lifeguard...reading a good book! |
No comments:
Post a Comment