Traveling Twosome
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    • First Belize Trip 2010
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    • Charleston Sailing School 2007
    • Biscayne Bay Sailing School 2007
    • Key Lime Sailing Club 2006
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    • Offshore Sailing School 2004
    • Annapolis Sailboat Show 2004
    • Finger Lakes 2004
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    • Biras Creek, BVI 2003
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"Pearl" in Winter Garden, Florida
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Long shadows in Wyoming

Bighorn Canyon:  Bicycling the Canyon Road

9/11/2016

3 Comments

 
As avid road cyclists, we have been fortunate enough to ride in some of the most beautiful places in the US (and beyond).  Bicycling the road through Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (South Unit) in Wyoming and Montana certainly ranks up there with the top few rides over the years.  You don't have to be a cyclist to appreciate the stunning scenery, but it certainly helps.  We see so much more on our bikes than when whizzing by in a car (or motorhome!)

We planned a ride that would take us from our site at Horseshoe Bend Campground north to a popular fishing and swimming area with a smaller campground, appropriately called Barry's Landing. 

Here's a map of the route, along with its elevation profile, courtesy of Google Maps.
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This route gives new meaning to the word epic, starting with the climb out of the Horseshoe Bend Campground area, surrounded by stunning red rocks.
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Barry is the tiny image in yellow heading up!
Barry did the climb twice so he could get my photo going up too!
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Look how tiny I am next to that HUGE mountain!
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The first third of the way out was mostly uphill, as you can see from the elevation profile. This would make for an exhilarating descent on the way back to the campground at the end of the ride.
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Up, up, up we go!
We stopped to take a photo of this sign as we crossed the state line.
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Finally we reached the high point of the road and would get to enjoy mostly descending until we got to Barry's Landing at the end.
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We stopped at Devil's Canyon Overlook, a gorgeous spot for viewing the canyon and the river below.  The olive green color of the river is so interesting.
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Time to continue onward -- and downward.  Yay!
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Screaming descent
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Wheeeee!
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We saw some Mule Deer.
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And crossed a few cattle guards.
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So gorgeous
Finally, we reached the turnoff.  Almost there!  We would descend quite a bit more before the end.  With every descent, I thought about what it would take once we turned around and started the long trek back. 
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Down, down, down we go
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More Mule Deer
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Approaching Barry's Landing
I stopped at the top of this very steep hill down to the water and let Barry take it from here -- I did not want to have to climb this one!
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Here it is, Barry's Landing!  Gorgeous, isn't it?  
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Barry rode down and back up (ouch).  After all, it was named after him.
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GRUNT!
Halfway done, it was now time to turn our wheels around and do the entire thing in reverse.  But first, snack time.
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I won't lie, the way back was tough. The first two thirds was mostly climbing, and my legs were tired!  But, we got 'er done.  We were rewarded with a very nice view of our campground from way up high right before crossing the Wyoming state line.  And after that, a screaming descent.  THAT was fun!
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Horseshoe Bend Campground in the distance
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A quick stop for a photo by the Bighorn Canyon sign, then back into the campground and another excellent descent capped off an amazing day.
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Next stop:  Yellowstone!
3 Comments
Cheryl Geeting link
9/22/2016 09:51:14 am

Absolutely stunning scenery! I can imagine how much better it is to ride on a bicycle .. the smells and breeze really bring it all together so much better than being in a car!

I don't blame ya for not following Barry down that last hill .. sounds like you had enough to ride bike up already .. LOL!

Catching up on all of these posts tempts me to ditch all the boat work and buy an RV! We're in it too deep now, but to be honest .. if we had realized all the repairs needed (we knew nothing about sailboats when we bought Nirvana) at time of purchase .. we may have just bought an RV!

So glad ya'll are having a great time!

Reply
Emily
9/22/2016 02:26:50 pm

Yes, boats do require an awful lot of work and maintenance, but then, so do RVs! They are almost just like a boat on wheels with many of the same systems. We just ordered an A/C motor kit (to replace the one that died) and a backup water pump. The exterior needs a ton of maintenance that we have been woefully neglectful of while traveling and having so much fun this summer. Pearl no longer shines! We will be catching up on a lot of the less fun but necessary maintenance and repairs this fall and winter once we get back to staying longer in one place.

Reply
Cheryl Geeting link
9/23/2016 09:39:22 am

Yeah, I guess everything needs maintenance ... house, RV, sailboat. At least wheels n sails on a home can take us to different places! =)

Reply



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    ©2018 by Barry & Emily Smith .All rights reserved.
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    Emily & Barry

    We're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base.  After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible.

    Our passions are bicycling, walking and hiking, birding, continuing our midlife struggles to learn Spanish, enjoying healthy food (and the occasional donuts & pie!), traveling (duh!)  We travel with a fleet of bicycles and Paisley, our 10-year old Boston Terrier. 

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    Paisley, May 2016
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    States visited (pre-RV)
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    Pearl, a 2007 Newmar Bay Star
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    States visited in "Pearl"

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  • Traveling Twosome Blog
  • BeBelize - Our life in Belize (2011-2013)
  • Earlier adventures (2003-2010)
    • First Belize Trip 2010
    • Fall Sail Cruise Aboard Logos 2009
    • Conch Key 2007
    • Charleston Sailing School 2007
    • Biscayne Bay Sailing School 2007
    • Key Lime Sailing Club 2006
    • Southwest Parks 2006
    • BEYC/Jost van Dyke, BVI 2005
    • Offshore Sailing School 2004
    • Annapolis Sailboat Show 2004
    • Finger Lakes 2004
    • NY State Bike Tour 2004
    • Biras Creek, BVI 2003