Wild Mustangs

 Wild horses, running free, symbolizes the American West.

"A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground and break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open."  -  Gerald Raferty

"You occasionally see one, and it's the thrill of a lifetime.  But mostly all you ever see is a cloud of dust after they are gone.  It's their stubborn ability to survive that makes them so remarkable."  - Velma "Wild Horse Annie" Johnston 

Buffalo Bill Cody released a number of his horses near the McCullough Peaks just outside Cody, Wyoming.  The descendants have prospered in the wild.  This is what they look like today:

We set out one evening to take a look at the wild mustangs.  Laurie and Todd got this fine picture of a stallion, all alone in his old age and abandoned by his band.

It was a nice, quiet, evening out on the range between the Bighorn and Absoroka mountain ranges.

Big Horn Mountains

We passed through the Black Hills, then crossed the Bighorn Mountains on our way to Cody, Wyoming.  

Here is an introduction to the beautiful Bighorns:

I snapped a few pictures with my cell phone along the way as we hustled to Cody.  Yes, I only use my cell phone for picture taking these days.

A tributary of the Bighorn River is the Little Bighorn.  You will recognize that name as the location where George Armstrong Custer was killed in a heated battle with warriors of several tribes. But that is a story for another day.

Yellowstone & Grand Tetons

 Cody, Wyoming is one of several gateways to Yellowstone National Park.  We've had a family trip to Yellowstone in the past but we could not resist visiting the park again this year.  My favorite part of the park, Lamar Valley, is closed this year because of road damage from flooding.

The hunt was on for a grizzly bear sighting and we got our sighting. 

We viewed the bear named Raspberry and her cup named Jam for perhaps an hour.  Neat.  Here is a look at these bears:

The waters flow out of Lake Yellowstone and create the famed upper and lower falls of the Yellowstone some miles downstream.

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We were constantly on the lookout for bear, wolf, bighorn sheep, and elk.

No trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a visit to Old Faithful the geyser.  We arrived to find a large crowd standing by for the show:

There she blows!

July brings out the wild flowers in Yellowstone.  I attempted to include them in some pictures:

Yellowstone is a must-see at least once in a lifetime.  I have been fortunate to visit Yellowstone many times.  Lamar Valley is called the "the American Serengeti" and it is my spot for wolf watching.

Big views:

The sun sets on our trip to Yellowstone, and out pops a rainbow.

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The Incredible Rock

 We visited the Devils Tower in Wyoming.  Remember it from "Close Encounters of a Third Kind"?  Here is an introduction.  The words describe, better than I can, why this is such a special place.  This will bring back memories:

Our encounter of the present kind led to some great pictures. 

Note the notch in the picture above.  Would you believe there are climbers in that notch, and above it?  Maybe you can pick them out in this closeup picture.  First, the climber with legs spread and just above the notch.

Assisting the climber.

The pictures tell the story.

A sacred place for Native American tribes, the tribal members leave their offerings to this day.

Legends live on.

Our encounter was great, and we turned toward Cody, Wyoming.