Lander, Wyoming

On our way to Lander we stopped at Legend Rock

Legend Rock is one of the oldest and best examples of the Dinwoody rock art in the world.

The ancient people made nearly 300 individual petroglyphs during the past several thousand years.

Lander must be an interesting place to be on the 4th of July

Driving The Loop Road

Sinks Canyon State Park features a geologic phenomenon in which the Popo Agie River (pronounced puh-POE-zha) vanishes into a large cavern, known at the Sinks, only to reappear into a trout filled pool, known as the Rise, about one half mile down the canyon.

Overlook first

  “The Sinks,” where the river disappears into a limestone cavern, reappearing at the Rise hours later.   Popo Agie is a Crow Indian word that most people believe means "gurgling river."

Cave trail

The Rise of the Sinks is a large pool where the Popo Agie River reappears after sinking into the limestone cavern at the Sinks 1/2 mile upstream.

The Rise is over 20 feet deep in places and the water flows into it from many different cracks and vents along the pool’s edge and in its sandy bottom.

There is a fish food vending machine nearby which dispenses handfuls of fish pellets. The trout roil the water rushing to get the food.

The trout are mostly Rainbow and Brown Trout. The fish are not stocked. Trout swim upstream looking for a place to spawn. The Rise is a dead end, so the fish can't go further upstream, but they stay because it is a protected area with an abundant year round food supply.  No one has weighed the fish, but the larger ones are probably in the 12 to 15 pound range.

THERE IS NO FISHING IN THE RISE! 

Hiking the Middle Fork Trail to Popo Agie Falls

We had a 600 feet elevation gain

Getting close

The falls are actually a series of waterfalls and cascades, with the longest vertical fall about 60 feet high.

Worthen Meadows Recreation Area

Louis Lake

Lewis Lake Convenience Store

South Pass City, a Wyoming State Historic Site and home of the Carissa Mine.  South Pass was a rich focal point of the 1867 gold rush that settled this part of Wyoming Territory.  Of  300 original building, 25 remain today.

South Pass City, a former station on the Oregon Trail, it became a ghost town after later gold mines were closed.

Atlantic City was founded by gold rush miners from around the world.  All hoped to "strike it rich", but few did.  The name refers to the town's location on the Atlantic side of the nearby continental divide.  Today the hordes of miner are gone, but the mines dot the hillsides.

Red Canyon just 24 miles south of Lander, is one of the most scenic vistas in Wyoming.  Red Canyon has been designated a National Natural Landmark because of it's outstanding example of geologic and ecologic features.

Much bluer skies after the rain