Wild, Wondrous Wyoming

Buffalo Bill Reservoir, Cody, WY.

Wyoming. Awesome and incredibly beautiful. Who knew?

Words cannot describe Wyoming. The landscape is other-worldly, almost surreal, and a curious blend of arid desolation, lush wilderness, sand and sagebrush, imposing mountains, jutting rock formations, and astonishing beauty.

You can drive for hours-and-hours on endless stretches of highway without seeing another soul. Towns are few and far between . . . and so small, you pass through most of them in the blink of an eye.

What you do see are bighorn sheep, buffalo, elk, moose, and bear on the roads in Shawnee State Park and Yellowstone . . . cattle grazing on rolling land miles from the nearest town . . . cowboys in Cody, not just wannabes in boots and ten-gallon hats; but real, honest-to-goodness Marlboro men who ride broncs and the open range and live on remote homesteads and dude ranches in the shadow of the mighty Rockies.

Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, winding through the far mountainous northwest region, is spectacular beyond description . . . even photos don’t do it justice. It has to be experienced—seen and felt—first-hand to fully appreciate its stunning beauty.

In the Big Horn Mountains, we drove 9,000 feet to the snowy summit. Amidst gently falling flakes, the air was crisp and clean . . . and silent. All you could hear was the babble of water flowing gently in a mountain stream. It was as if we were the only two people in the world.

The landscape of Wyoming is as diverse as anything you can imagine. Rolling, grassy plains. Dry prairies dotted with shrub-steppe, sagebrush, and ephemeral wetland. Rocky, jagged formations rising from the earth. Bluffs, buttes, mesas, and mountain ranges. Thick forests and open range. Colors blend one into the other in every imaginable shade of green—emerald, chartreuse, silver-gray sage, vibrant teal, turquoise, and deep forest green—with a backdrop of dusty sand, red earth, and snow-capped mountains against a wide, never-ending, ever-changing sky.

My lasting impression of Wyoming is that of a vast, open, unspoiled land with few people, abundant wildlife, stunning views, and a definite western flavor.

The Landscape of Wyoming

Heading down a lonely stretch of highway.

American bison grazing among sagebrush and shrub-streppe.

Washakie Wilderness and North Fork of the Shoshone River in Shoshone National Forest.

Landscape painted in every shade of green—emerald, chartreuse, deep turquoise, and forest green.

Bluffs, buttes, mesas, and a lot of sagebrush.

Rolling foothills of the Absaroka Mountains in northwest Wyoming.

Wind River Scenic Byway (US 20) winding its way through Wind River Canyon.

American bison resting in Yellowstone National Park.

Fire damage on NE Entrance Road in Yellowstone National Park.

Somewhere on I-25 between Glendo and East Glenrock, WY.

Where the deer and the antelope roam.

Approaching the first of three tunnels through Rattlesnake Mountain.

A pallet of soft green is offset by deep red earth and snow-covered mountains on the
picturesque Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.

Living in the shadow of the mountains. Do you see the house?

Buffalo grazing on the open range among sagebrush and shrub-streppe.

Placid water of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir.

Granite rock in the Big Horn Mountains.

Same day, an hour or so later . . . snow in the Big Horn Mountains at 9,000 feet.