Thermopolis, Wyoming

We arrived in Thermopolis on Friday staying at the Eagle RV Park.  We were glad we got here early, because they were full by Friday night.

Thermoplis is a cute, little town with the name meaning "city of heat" in Latin with the world's largest mineral hot springs located here.  A treaty between the U.S. Government, the Arapahoes, and the Shoshones made part of it accessible to all people.  

Bob and Susan from the blog Travelbug always seem to run across neat things when they go on a Volksmarch.  So, we found out there was a Volksmarch trail here and decided to do it this morning.

We picked up the directions at the Bath House and began the walk.

First, we took the boardwalk around the terraces.

Next we went back and forth across the suspension bridge that goes across the river.

We walked by terraced gardens

 and heated pools.

We followed the road by the river

looking at these natural vents in the side of the mountain.

We took the riverwalk that weaved through the town and passed by the Teepee.

This structure "grew" around a vent pipe that had been placed here in 1903 to allow underground mineral water to escape.

We ended the walk back at the bath house.  You can soak in the mineral pool 20 minutes for free at the state bath house, so that's what we did.  It felt really good after the walk.

We returned home for lunch and then decided to go back out to

We weren't sure what to expect, but I have to say it was beyond our expectations.  It was really neat and I'm not really a dinosaur buff.

There were many fossils like this one that looked more like works of art.

Then, the dinosaurs,  there was a large collection of them.

We were both really impressed by the Wyoming Dinosaur Center!

Yesterday, when we had come into Thermopolis, we had come through the Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway.  We wanted to go back through it in the car.  Jim wanted to see it again without pulling a fifth wheel.

Pictures just can't show how spectacular it is, but I'll try.

The walls surround you as you drive through.  You can get an idea of the massiveness of the walls when you see the car below in perspective.

There were also 3 successive tunnels to go through.

So, we wound our way back home after a busy day.