Folks who live on the east side of
the Wind River Mountains have a tradition of getting “looped,” as often as
possible. This is my term for driving the spectacular Loop Road.
On a recent Sunday, there was
plenty of fall colors as we headed for the mountains.
We were re-visiting a magical place
that cast a spell on us exactly 49 years ago.
Sinks Canyon and the Loop Road outside of Lander are what caused my wife
Nancy and me to move to Wyoming from Iowa almost a half century ago.
It is every bit as beautiful now as
it was then. I recall telling Nancy about being totally impressed by how the
Popo Agie River was so picturesque. It looked liked color photos I had seen on
calendars but never dreamed that these places really did look like this in
reality. It was a transcendent experience.
Sinks Canyon is the primary gateway
to the Wind River Mountain Range from the east. Located just south of Lander,
the canyon’s sheer cliffs and magical river make it a haven for sightseers.
The remarkable reason for the name
of Sinks Canyon is that the river disappears into the side of the canyon wall
and reappears a quarter mile downstream on the other side of the canyon. If you have not visited this eighth wonder of
Wyoming, you should. There are wonderful visitor centers there to explain
things.
Then you climb out of Sinks Canyon
and head up the Loop Road. The highway up the paved switchbacks and pretty soon
you are climbing up to the saddle below Fossil Mountain and Windy Point. I always thought Windy Point should be called
Chief’s Head, as it looks like old Chief Washakie looking up to the heavens.
Beautiful lakes in the form of Frye
Lake, Worthen Reservoir, and Fiddler Lake greet you along this first section of
the Loop Road, which is graveled but passable for sedans.
The gigantic form of Wind River
Peak at 13,192 feet looms over this entire scene. It is the tallest mountain in the southern
Wind Rivers. It has plenty of snow on it
now and glistens in the distance.
Another monolith that shows up in
your rear view mirror is the massive hunk of rock known as Lizard Head Peak,
which is 12,842 feet high. It is one of
the signature mountains in the famous Cirque of the Towers. It is amazing that you can see it so well
from the Loop Road, but you need to know where and when to look.
Highest point of the road is Blue Ridge,
which sits at 9,578 feet above sea level. A short hike farther up and you can
climb stone steps to an old Forest Service fire lookout station. Again, well
worth the trip and the view is breathtaking for 360-degrees. A two mile stretch
of this road will be closed on weekdays in October for some road work. It is
open on weekends.
There is a spectacular spot where
the road crosses the Little Popo Agie River.
I stopped and snapped some photos and then saw a gal swimming in the
frigid river. She climbed out of the water onto a big rock and started to sun
bathe. It must have been very
invigorating. She was from Washington state, according to the license plate on
her small car parked nearby.
Louis Lake (pronounced Louie) is
the showpiece of the Loop Road. It is a very deep lake. It has nice beaches on
its east end and is a favorite place for boating, canoeing, fishing, and just
enjoying life.
From Louis Lake to WYO Highway 28
on South Pass, the Loop Road goes by Grannier Meadows and up and around Dead
Horse Curve. The reason it is called the
Loop Road is that you never need to backtrack.
You just keep going and complete the loop drive back to Lander.
As you get to South Pass, you look
off at the vast Red Desert, which is one of Wyoming’s seven legitimate
wonders. Continental Peak and the Oregon
Buttes stand out in the distance.
On the way back down the mountain
back to Lander the most stunning sight is the vast Red Canyon. This is a huge
box canyon, which is striking by all the red rock of the Chugwater Formation.
It is one of the most photographed places in this part of Wyoming.
And then we were back home, having
enjoyed a wonderful three-hour drive that reinforced all the wonderful reasons
of why we live here.
Another of our reasons for this
particular trip was that we had not driven the entire Loop this year. We ALWAYS drive the Loop at least once each
year. Time was running out. What a great
pleasure it has always been; it was this time, too.
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