Onward to Wyoming.....

After about 3 fabulous weeks, it was time for us to leave South Dakota and head onward to Wyoming. We had a beautiful day to travel....no severe thunderstorms, hail, or tornadoes, thankfully! Apparently this has been an unusually rainy spring in South Dakota. We were talking to a local rancher, who said he couldn't remember such an unbelievably green spring. Of course, it was due to all the rain. We also overheard a local say that he had never seen the fire danger sign anything less than "moderate" except for this spring....its "low". So my memories of South Dakota are of green fields...everywhere....when actually, they are usually quite brown. Especially by the end of the summer.

driving through South Dakota near Sturgis

South Dakota Visitor Center-near Wyoming Border

We had a beautiful driving day, with little (or no!) traffic heading into Wyoming. The clouds were like big cotton balls in the sky, rolling forward. Really cool.

the sign says it all!

Check out those clouds....right?

I think we've seen this airplane before-right Chris?

Driving along

Mountains coming up 

 As we headed towards Buffalo, Wyoming, the Big Horn Mountains appeared around a bend. Magnificent! Some of the peaks were still snow-covered. And some of the landscape also looked a bit like the Badlands.

snow-capped mountains right under the clouds

heading towards Buffalo, WY

pretty

looks a bit like the Badlands

Our campground in Buffalo is right off of the interstate, and it is only about a 5 minute drive to town. As we pulled in to the campground, we noticed "snow" falling. We thought they had quite a dandelion problem, with all the fuzz flying around. Once we were set up, we went into town to the local grocery store to stock up, and the fuzz was just flying everywhere, including inside the store near the door. Wow, and we really didn't see that many dandelions so we couldn't figure it out. I had to find out what the deal was. The cashier told us it was cotton....from the cottonwood trees. It lasts about 3 weeks or so, and he mentioned good-naturedly that everyone in Buffalo has allergies! I'll bet! That stuff was just flying everywhere.

Here's our campground now

heading into town...note the traffic! haha

cotton...from the cottonwood trees! I wasn't exaggerating

On our way back, we made a beer run for Tom, after all, it was Father's Day! I actually bought a bottle of wine too! Hope to drink a glass some time this summer, and actually finish the bottle before it goes bad. 

Crazy Woman is everywhere

skype-ing with Chris...Happy Father's Day!

We began our exploration of Buffalo by walking some of the Clear Creek Trail. For more detail on the walking, and scenic drives, click here. The trail is used by locals and tourists alike - walking, running and biking. The part of the trail we walked was relatively flat and easy, and VERY scenic! The view of the mountains was awesome, and much of the trail was next to Clear Creek, which you could hear for most of our walk. It was very refreshing. We did spot some wildlife-that Tom with the eagle eyes!!  

the trail system

Clear Creek

starting our walk

we see you!

and you

The views were so nice, and the wild flowers were blooming everywhere. We had a spectacular day.

Nice view of the mountains!

wildflowers everywhere

the creek

great trails for biking!

how many petals?

nice 

its starting to get a little warm now

the breeze from the creek feels like air-conditioning...really!

One part of the trail goes through a cow pasture, with cows walking around just trying to  mind their own business. Reminds me of the A.T. in NJ, near the Stairway to Heaven trail, where there is a boardwalk through a cow pasture. I always found that a bit unnerving, especially when the cows started walking towards us.

hey guys....don't mind me...just walking through

no worries!

beautiful wildflowers everywhere

more

At the end of our walk, Tom spotted what we thought were bald eagles. I'm not really sure what they are. Does anyone know? Looks like some type of eagle or falcon nesting.

eagles?

falcons?

We thoroughly enjoyed our peaceful walk...the mountain and meadow views, the wildflowers, and the ponds hidden in the brush.

so sweet

another view

a snake swimming through...

end of our walk

Later, we took a "scenic drive" to explore just a bit more of Johnson County, near our campground. We picked an easily accessible drive, according to the visitor information we had from the camp office. We drove through the Bud Love Winter Range, described as some of the most scenic mountain views around. We were not disappointed!

long country road

beautiful isn't it?

odd landscape

lots of rolling hills

antelope

lots of shades of green

It looked as though we were driving through a painting. Really. I am amazed at how beautiful this country is! We spotted antelope on this drive, and magpies too. And the cutest little deer with huge ears!

magpie

vibrant purple flowers

US flag atop one of the hills

Farm nestled in the foothills

cutest little thing! Check out those ears!!

There was still time in the day to relax, though I admit not much. Hahaha. Still can't get myself out of vacation mode. There is so much to see and experience! 

I think Tom is reading his Kindle?? That's what he told me!

Even the sunsets are a big deal for me. These shots were taken from our campground, right behind our campsite. Our new backyard! At least for a few days anyway.

great subdued colors

like a painting-huh?

good night!