Thermopolis- Day 3

driving down the Wind River Canyon towards Thermopolis

(it feels strange  because the river runs North through here)

Having three days in Thermopolis turned out to be just the right amount of time. On our last day, we started by driving out to Legend Rock Petroglyph site. It's about a 30 minute drive from Thermopolis. It was very interesting to look at the various carvings, some that have been dated thousands of years ago. What surprises me is how recently they began protecting the site. I read that any new carvings since the 1990's are considered graffiti and are removed. That's only 20 years ago!

After eating a McDonald's picnic lunch at our favorite playground in town, we stopped at the library for a bit of blogging and reading stories. When we finished at the library, we visited the Hot Springs Museum and Cultural Center. The kids' favorite part of the museum was the replica of an old school house.

reading at the library

sitting at Butch Cassidy's favorite Hole-in-the-Wall Bar

Miriam ordered a soda

playing school

We had one last quiet night at the campground, until things got more exciting. We were down at the shore with the kids swimming when I noticed lightening and rain in the distance.

As it got closer, we could see that two storms seemed to be converging on us. When it started to feel unsafe by the water, we went back to camp. I started putting away things that might blow away or get wet. I felt kind of silly making preparations for the storm as I looked at the other people in the campground who seemed unconcerned about the weather (and they had Wyoming plates). People were tubing on the lake, fishing on the shore, sitting around camp visiting. After about 30 minutes I could see the rain coming down hard on the far bank of the lake, it looked like smoke as the wind pushed it around. I wondered if it really was rain or if instead it was smoke from a lightening fire. I believed we were in for quite a storm.

Within minutes, the winds hit. I'd been preparing for a rainstorm, not a wind storm.  The tents were bending down flat in the wind and the canopy was threatening to turn into a kite.  Isaac and I started running around as fast as we could.  We pulled the top off the pop up canopy and dropped the tents.  Isaac Colson came back from the bathroom in the middle of the craziness and we called for him to help us. He was running around in circles, trying to find the soap and water we'd already put away in order to wash his hands. He just couldn't help until his hands were sanitized! He said that even if he was stuck in a hurricane, he'd have to wash his hands if he went to the bathroom!

Once we were secure, I sent the boys to help other people. I felt pretty good about our preparedness. Here I was a single mom with six kids and I was sending my kids off to help other grown ups. People were still on the lake and soon boats were racing back to shore. We watched one tow tube tumble away when they made it back to shore. When another one flew by, I saw Isaac Colson running after it. He never would have caught it if the tow rope hadn't gotten tangled in a bush.

white caps on the water

We piled into the van and watched the lightening strike all around us. It was interesting to watch birds try to fly against the wind and then give up and quickly travel down wind. The bursts of winds were strong enough to give the van a good shaking. In the rear view mirror, I could see the tires on the trailer rocking back and forth in the gravel. Throughout the storm, the kids were not just worried about the storm but also about our jumper cables because earlier in the evening, a man  had come up to Anastaya and asked if we had any jumper cables. He'd borrowed ours (feeling pretty good about myself here for being a single mom and being more prepared than some tough Wyoming guy) and promised to bring them right back. It wasn't too long before we saw him fishing on the shore, using two poles and nursing an alcoholic beverage. The kids were all very concerned that we'd seen the last of our jumper cables. Apparently watching all those fish jump was too compelling and he just had to try his luck (he didn't catch anything) After the storm died down, he brought back our jumper cables. I hope that's the only time they get used on this trip!