Jeff surprised me last weekend with a fun trip to Thermopolis Wyoming. We had such a great time and there are so many fun things to do. Thermopolis is home to the WORLD`S LARGEST MINERAL HOT SPRING. We spent time so much time swimming that we all turned into raisins but Karie loved every minute of it.
We had a rough start but it was worth every minute once we got going. The roads were closed starting Friday morning so we spent much of the morning thinking we would never get out of town. Once the roads opened we were on our way.
We stopped and saw a few sights along the way.
Hell's Half Acre is a roadside curiosity—located about 40 miles west of Casper, Wyoming on US 20/26. Encompassing over 300 acres, this geologic oddity is composed of deep ravines, caves, rock formations and hard-packed eroded earth. Hell's Half Acre was used as the location for the fictional planet of Klendathu in the movie Starship Troopers.
The location was known as "The Devil's Kitchen", "The Pits of Hades", and "The Baby Grand Canyon" until a cowhand appeared and thought he was at Hell's Half Acre, an area southwest of Casper full of alkali and bogs.
Native American tribes used the ravines to drive thousands of buffalo to their deaths during their hunts.![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9RidOVfuWD03aZJwYhcOiQaTTgdQSC12OpiWp2f3x4mc0NThpbWA226m0hRmIGlfL2JaUdjRSv3n29re94dZus3rDP-UERPeLPrYWdjAnnWZcnsXRHnvb7aXK24g7DD5TrA_PKTvEw0/s320/IMG_2122_2.jpg)
Next came Wind River Canyon. It was so beautiful to drive through and the weather couldn't have been any better.
It is a scenic Wyoming canyon carved out by the Wind River. It is located between the cities of Shoshoni and Thermopolis and is a popular stop for visitors to Yellowstone National Park.
Traveling through the canyon, at times you are level with the canyon floor. The scenic route offers views of the canyon and landmark natural structures like the Chimney Rock. The canyon is at times as much as 2,500 feet deep.
The southern mouth of the canyon is near the Boysen Dam in Boysen State Park several miles north of, and about half a mile east of, the state park's borders with the Wind River Indian Reservation. The canyon includes a number of homes along the highway and a Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad line. The north end of the canyon is at the Wedding of the Waters, where the Wind becomes the Big Horn River.
We finally made it to Thermopolis and checked into our home for the weekend. We rented a little cabin for the weekend from the Roundtop Motel and I highly recommend it. They were so friendly and the cabin was perfect for the weekend.
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Saturday morning we decided to drive around in Hot Springs State Park to see what we could see.
After the bridge we went over to the center of the park and found some amazing places to take pictures. Karlie was getting pretty antsy by now and was ready to go see some dinosaurs but that didn't stop us from taking some great photos first.
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After the Dinosaur Center we took Karlie swimming as promised. She had so much fun in the water and was even brave enough to go down the little slide they had outside. It was such a beautiful day that it was hard to pull ourselves away from the warm sun and warm water.
Next came Legend Rock State Historic Site. One word.....AMAZING!!! It was so cool to see
Our day had come to an end but not before we had one of the best meals in a long time, thank you Pumpernicks. After dinner it was off to one last night of swimming. Karlie LOVED every minute of it and hated having to get out of the pool at closing.
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Well that is our trip in a nutshell. Between Jeff and I we took over 400 pictures! If you ever get the chance to go to Thermopolis DO IT!!!! You won't be sorry!