Thursday, June 30, 2016

Bones and Baths in Thermopolis

Our next stop on our trek west was Thermopolis, WY. We got this recommended stop from the lady at the hardware store in Newcastle. Must be legit, right?
We parked at the Eagle RV resort just outside of town. Tight quarters but there were lots of shade trees and the owner and his Son were the nicest people we've met so far.
We had two days scheduled for this stop, the first day we took in the Wyoming Dinosaur museum and the Hot Springs State Park. Everything was within 5 square miles of the RV park so we took the opportunity to ride our bikes around town.
Our first stop, the dinosaur museum, was one of the best we've visited. Lots of information about the fossil history of our planet with enough jaw dropping displays to keep you reading the fine print and actually learning something. The dinosaur fossils in the main hall were staged well, the supersaurus taking up the full space with his smaller cousins filling in the open spaces. They even offer an extra ticket to visit nearby dig sites and help scientists discover new bones.


The Hot Springs State Park was a pleasant surprise. Built around the world's largest single mineral hot spring, Big Spring pours millions of gallons of mineral water every 24 hours at a constant temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The perpetual fountain forms a seething caldron and some of the water is channeled into pools to be cooled and then piped into bathhouses for public use. From another stream, the water flows over a Rainbow Terrace and then spills down into the Big Horn River.
In the bath house we had our choice of indoor and outdoor pools. Guests are limited to 20 minutes every 2 hours. After sitting in the outdoor pool for 20 minute we can certify this is for health reasons only. Any longer and you would cook.


The next day we took a drive out to Legend Rock to see the Petroglyphs. This protected spiritual site has been important to native Americans for thousands of years. Thought to be a place where one could speak to the spirits, the petroglyphs here show a rich visual history of the people who have lived here. The wall carvings date from 8000 to around 400 years ago.


This might be our favorite spot on this stop. We would have stayed longer but the deer flies wanted to eat us alive.

More photos here on Flickr.

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