Upper East River Road hikes, part 2

Continuing from the location pictured in my last blog post, we continue the hike toward the hills in the distance.

Since my wife and I aren't mountain climbers, we are glad to find that most hikes to the top are made possible by looking for the paths the animals take. Furthermore, while one side of the hill or mountain looks intimidating, there usually is another side with a manageable slope.




In the background of the photograph below is Roundtop Mountain.

looking northwest (below)

The shot above looks southwest and the one below looks north from the top of the hill.

Below is looking east, about half way down the north slope.
looking northeast (below)
The above two shots were taken from the location below.

This dirt road (below) leads back to River Road which follows the Bighorn River on the east side. Directly on the other side of the road is the parking lot for the public access to the river.

Although it is hard to see, here is another view of the entrance to the public access area.

We then walked south along the road and passed this sign (looking north).

Here is a backward look from the road at the hill we just climbed.

And below is where we parked, next to a sign which must have said something at one time. The snow in the dirt road was still there even though it was in the low 60s. Moisture in the air helps to melt snow, so when the air is dry, the snow takes longer to melt.

See also Upper East River Road hikes, part 5, part 4, part 3, part 1.

See also flowers, etc., part 8.

link: index to photographs

Upper East River Road hikes, part 1

If you enjoy hiking, there are a few places to hike just north of town and on the east side of the river. Just 2.1 miles from the Star Plunge parking lot is a road which leads to the rock formation below (if you get to the river access parking lot, you have passed it by a half mile). From all the graffiti and broken beer bottles, it is probably a place where teenagers have gone to hang out.

A pickup truck is required to climb the road, so we parked on the shoulder and walked. By the way, the soil here is hard when dry, but it turns to soft clay when wet. Always park on gravel in such conditions or you'll regret it.

Most of these shots were taken back in October, but a couple I took on the 3rd of March. The last two were taken on the 20th of January just after daybreak.

For a satellite image of this location, click here.

The next three shots have Roundtop Mountain in the background.

My wife found these rocks on the ground and put them in order of size. It is interesting what erosion does.

We hiked the hill in the background below on a subsequent day. I'll show you those pictures in my next blog posting.

These last two shots, taken in January, early in the morning, are good examples of how sunlight and the time of day affect the colors here in Wyoming.

See also Upper East River Road hikes, part 5, part 4, part 3, part 2.

link: index to photographs