About one minute after I crossed the border from Colorado to Wyoming, I saw this and knew I had definitely left the urban sprawl of Denver far behind.
I drove through the outskirts of Cheyenne to my overnight destination, a way station on my way to the Grand Tetons. I wasn’t sure what to expect other than it was a state park and it was named after Curt Gowdy, the sportscaster. Sure, I thought when I made the reservation, it might be a fun place. Well, the entrance did NOT disappoint!
When I checked in at the registration kiosk, the woman said, “Oh, you picked the nicest campground here” and I thought to myself, it’s all pretty good so far. I drove past a couple of fields with trailers and RVs scattered around and wondered if that was it. It wasn’t so I kept going. Onto a gravel road. For three miles. Rutted and washboarded after recent rains, it was slow going and I debated whether this campsite would really be worth it.
It was. This was the view of the lake, and my little campsite was right on the lake. Score!
In the morning, I took a walk around, enjoying the explosion of wildflowers on the trail.
And I spotted my tiny trailer from across the lake. Pretty cool spot, right? Of course, you can’t actually see the other three RVs sharing that spot with me, which is kind of the whole art of taking campground photos: crop or compose it so people think it’s just you and nature and they don’t see the RVs behind the bush or around the bend!
The trail wound around to this view of the rock-covered hills. I’m not sure what created these things but they looked rugged as Wyoming should be and I walked back to my trailer and hitched up thinking that woman at the kiosk was right: this was the best spot. I’ll be back, even though it was one of the few places in my three-plus years that had absolutely zero cell signal (Verizon or ATT). Worth it, though.
Folks, this is perfect weather for today’s game. Not a breath of air.
Curt Gowdy
Great to follow your journey.
How do you find your places to stay?
So many beautiful places you visit.
Hi, Shirley. I use Campendium and Allstays when I am researching campgrounds in an areas. I might also google a specific campground to see reviews or blogs posts or YouTube videos people have done that mention it so that I get a better understanding of what it looks like and if it fits my style of camping. For example, I like kayaking, so a place with a boat launch is always good!
Wish I was there with you in the flesh, of course i’m there in Spirit
Gorgeous place – which campground at Curt Gowdy is this? Looks like they have 6 campgrounds there!
I was camped at Twin Lakes, the only one of the three campgrounds at Crystal Lake with hookups. It was hot, so I wanted my A/C for a few hours!