2016 Motorcycle Adventure (DAY eight)

When you move every day to a new state or town sometimes it plays havoc with your memory. I tend to confuse which place was which sometimes because it's always a moving target. I remember thinking that I must be the slowest person to pack up and leave because I couldn't help but notice that a large number of campers were gone as I pulled out this morning headed for Cody, Wyoming.
The night before didn't rain but the wind was so strong that I thought somebody was outside jumping up and down on the trailer tongue. It made it a little tougher for me to fall asleep even though I turned out the lights around 10:00pm.
The days of long, flat highways that seem to never end are gone for now and I finally had some amazing twisty mountain roads to cruise on. The two lane Hwy. 16 that runs over some foothills from Buffalo to Worland was quite spectacular. It coincided with a major bicycle ride which meant the shoulder of the road for over 60 miles had a continuous stream of bicyclists all riding in single file and all wearing their brightly colored neon biking outfits. I had my tunes cranked up and was hoping these weary tortured riders might get some enjoyment out my my music selections.
Here is a couple of photos I took as I descended  from 9400 ft. elevation down into the Buffalo basin.

Shortly after I took these shots I passed through a very tiny town and had to take a photograph of this sign because it reminded me of a certain little lady in Northern Ireland.

By now the mercury had risen significantly and had climbed up to 36'C (96'F). I wanted to take off my riding jacket and just go with my sleeveless t-shirt but my arms were already pretty baked from earlier in the ride. As I pushed west I passed through another town, Thermopolis, which seemed like an odd name too until I realized why. 

The large pool up top is fed by a small stream. As the large pool overflows the mineral rich water cascades over the cliff into the river below.
According to Wikipedia :"Thermopolis" (/θɜːrˈmɒpəlɪs/) is from the Greek for "Hot City". It is home to numerous natural hot springs, in which mineral-laden waters are heated by geothermal processes. The town is named for the hot springs located there.^[7]
The town claims the world's largest mineral hot spring as part of Hot Springs State Park. The springs are open to the public for free as part of an 1896 treaty signed with the Shoshone and Arapaho Indian tribes.
As I walked the trail back to my bike I decided to dip my hand in the tiny feeder stream. The water was so hot that it would have burned me had I left it in the water any longer.
The road seemed to follow along the same river and I stopped to take some photos of the terrain.

Heading further west the vegetation was becoming very dry and minimal, almost desert like. This is all part of the basin formed between the town of buffalo and the foothills of the rocky Mountains.

It was only 3:30 pm and the heat was getting to me along with a nagging back pain that has developed on this trip. It's odd because it's only on my left side just below my shoulder blade and it's somehow connected to my riding position. I'm wondering if a back rest would help. I arrived in Cody, Wyoming and found the KOA campground so I checked in for the next two nights to give me plenty of time to explore Yellowstone Park. I had originally planned to camp in the park but I learned that most camp sites are restricted to only motorhomes and hard sided trailers because of the large bear population and the obvious danger to tent dwellers.

Because it was so early in the afternoon and I was getting quite overheated I got out my bathing suit and spent a relaxing hour at their pool. It was just what the doctor ordered and I felt refreshed and all ready for the cocktail hour. One of my camping neighbours came over to talk motorcycles and then after dinner came by with his wife and we went to the main office for free margaritas. They were a retired couple from Florida traveling in their motorhome towing a Honda Goldwing trike (three wheel conversion) so we had lots in common to talk about.

He gave me a wonderful map of the area and a great suggestion for a ride tomorrow. It's a beautiful clear evening with a full moon so if the weather holds my ride tomorrow should be awesome. Can't wait!