Our first tourist day was on Thursday. In the morning we explored Hot Springs State Park, the main attraction in town.
These historical mineral springs are impressive, with water leaving the ground at a piping hot 135 degrees!
Before flowing through the park, a good percentage of the spring water is diverted to supply water to the public baths, "the pond" (where everyone in town goes swimming), and a few resort-managed water parks/pools. The water then flows through its natural course through streams and ponds until it finally trickles over the falls. The minerals deposited over hundreds of years are an impressive sight.
The mineral rich spring water then joins the Big Horn River.
Our crew walked around a few of the ponds before taking the boardwalk to the suspension bridge overlooking the falls.
Anna plowed ahead on the boardwalk since using her walker in grassy spaces is tricky. She was determined, but then became tired and asked me to push her walker while she rode on the back.
By this point, Ethan was not a happy camper. The sulfuric smell of the water was giving him trouble. I think he spent a good portion of the morning with his nose plugged.
Kate and Ruth, however, would have stayed here much longer imagining all sorts of exciting places to play in the rocks.
We ended up back at a playground (which was far enough away from the water that Ethan could play with cousin Zeke again).
Ruth and Kate buddied up again to climb the stone buffalo.
After a break for lunch (for us) and swimming lessons (for the Needham kids), we joined up again in the afternoon. While the big boys went to the shooting range, the rest of us visited the Dinosaur Center.
These kids were thrilled at the beginning, shouting "Mom! Come here and look at this!" over and over again.
But they started slowing down when we entered the large display room to see the dinosaur skeletons.
Once they saw a video playing, it didn't take long for them all to plop down in front of it and have some screen time.
Meanwhile, Sam, Jonah, and Seth took Matt to the local shooting range to practice target shooting. The boys are active in the shooting sports projects through their 4H club and were looking forward to showing Matt what they had learned and what they could do.
Matt tried a few different guns and enjoyed the opportunity to spend this time with the others.
Jonah and Seth were very impressed that Matt hit a bulls-eye from 25 yards with one of the pistols!
Friday was another fun-filled day. In the morning, Matt, Kate, and Ethan met up with Sam and his kids to climb to the top of Roundtop, the most prominent and popular hill around Thermopolis. (The moms, and Anna, stayed home to pack and prepare for the next leg of the trip.)
Actually, Jonah told us that sometimes for P.E., his teacher would drop the kids off at the base and say, "I'll meet you at the top at _____", at which point the kids were to choose their own way to climb to the top.
The walking stick Ruth is holding is to tap against rocks to scare rattlesnakes. Life is different in Wyoming ...
Matt told me the pictures didn't to the steepness of the trail justice.
After climbing Roundtop, the kids came back to our rental to play until lunch/swimming lessons. Several of them had lobbied the adults for this opportunity.
After lunch, we joined the Needhams at their house again for visiting and dinner before our final Wyoming event ... the rodeo! (They're all really more excited than they look in this picture.)
We were able to watch the bareback bronco riding, calf roping, team roping, and saddled bronco riding before we decided that it was time to leave. The next day was going to start early and include a lot of driving.
But before we left, of course the kids were treated to snowcones :)
And, we experienced another crazy fast Wyoming rainstorm that ended with a beautiful rainbow over the hills.
Thus ended our adventures in Wyoming. I think we did a pretty good job of balancing family time and sight-seeing time in this state as well.
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