CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: BIKING IN CURT GOWDY STATE PARK, FLICKR/JOSHUA COOLEY; SINKS CANYON STATE PARK, KENNAN HARVEY; VEDAUWOO CAMPGROUND, JEFF DIENER. The 115-year-old Grand Encampment Opera House still presents melodramas, plays and dinner theaters. RAWLINS TO LANDER Rawlins dates back to when tracks were first laid for the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming and is best known for the Wyo-ming Frontier Prison . Known as the “Old Pen,” this museum is said to be haunted with history. A break from the interstate will take you on Hwy 287 to the South Pass City State Historic Site . North of the historic Ore-gon Trail, the city was built in 1867 during the gold-mining boom. Stop at Sinks Canyon State Park , a geo-logic phenomenon where the Popo Agie River vanishes into a cavern and reappears in a pool a half mile down the canyon. Lander has several ways to stretch your legs in the Wind River Range: mountain climbing, fishing, miles of hiking trails and the Beaver Creek cross-country skiing trail system. Or visit the Museum of the American West , where you can investigate a recreated pioneer village with 10 different buildings, including a 1909 chapel, 1881 school-house and a livery stable filled with antique farm equipment. LANDER TO RIVERTON RIVERTON TO DUBOIS Next up is Dubois , where you can explore the National Bighorn Sheep Interpre-tive Center , which tells the story of one of Wyoming’s signature animals — the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. DUBOIS TO YELLOWSTONE Northeast of Lander is the town of Riverton , where the 1838 Mountain Man Rendezvous — a recreated gathering of Native Americans, fur traders and moun-tain men — takes place annually. Try your luck at the Wind River Hotel & Casino , which hosts the Northern Arapaho Expe-rience , a weekly Native American dance performance during the summer. From Dubois, head to the Moran Junc-tion on Hwy 26, the Centennial Scenic Byway , where you’ll choose your final destination: Grand Teton National Park or Yellowstone National Park . Grand Teton National Park’s peaks are popular with climbers, hikers and photographers. Yellowstone National Park has served for generations as a living museum, giving visitors an up-close-and-personal glimpse of what the continent was like in the days before recorded history. TravelWyoming.com 61
Wyoming Official Travel Guide 2017 Wyoming OTJ: Page 61
