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Medicine Wheel Wyoming

Ribbons of roadway spotlight some of the West's most stunning scenery

Wyoming--twice the size of New York--holds few mass transit opportunities; there are no subways or city trains in the entire state. Only a handful of the larger towns even have taxi or bus service. Out here it's wide-open spaces, and when it comes to getting around, well ... saddle up ol' Paint or, better yet, buckle up behind the steering wheel.

Yesiree, the Cowboy State puts the power into horsepower. Mile upon mile of traffic-free macadam stitch together its ranching communities and quiet rural towns, it's mighty tempting to let the speedometer creep up a bit. Resist the urge; poking along has its virtues, too, for the ribbons of asphalt lasso the state's natural wonders. A dozen federally-designated scenic byways and backways drape across the landscape, each and every route chosen for its cultural, historic, archeological, or recreational significance, and in all cases incomparable visual splendor. Byways follow paved roads easily negotiated by passenger cars and trucks. Backways venture into more remote areas on paved or gravel roads that during poor weather may require a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Even cloudy skies can't diminish the raw beauty discovered along the Centennial Scenic Byway, a horseshoe-shaped combination of U.S. 26 and 287 and U.S. 26, 89, and 191 linking Pinedale and Dubois. The 163-mile swing through northwestern Wyoming skirts through national forest and wilderness area, even nipping into Grand Teton National Park.

Wildlife-spotting opportunities abound along the Centennial, but don't miss the chance to cast an eye toward the National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Area in downtown Dubois. The same goes for the National Wildlife Art Museum outside Jackson and the Museum of the Mountain Men in Pinedale. Each center adds insight into Yellowstone Territory and peoples' connection to the land.

Northwestern Wyoming's leading cultural institution is undoubtedly the Buffalo Bill Historical Center at Cody. Encompassing more than 200,000 square feet, the center's collections housed in the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, and the Cody Firearms Museum are unparalleled. A new $17-million addition, the Draper Museum of Natural History opening in 2001, will interpret the natural history of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, focusing on the nature of humans and how they affect the environment.

Cody is also the staging ground from which to tackle a trio of Buffalo Bill-Yellowstone Country scenic byways. The Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway is west of Cody, occupying 27 miles of U.S. 14, 16, and 20 along the North Fork of the Shoshone River, through the Wapiti Valley into the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Where Middle Creek teams up with the Shoshone, plan a rest stop at Pahaska Teepee, Buffalo Bill's one-time hunting lodge.

Choose the Chief Joseph Highway, a 47-mile stretch of Wyoming 296 northwest of Cody, to parallel the Nez Perce Historic Trail, the 1877 escape through three states by Chief Joseph and his followers while evading the U.S. Army. Scenic superlatives such as 11,000-foot-high Dead Indian Summit Overlook and the gorge of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River punctuate this drive.

Mere miles southeast of these distinctive pinnacles, the Beartooth Highway, U.S. 212, veers off the Chief Joseph, heading east 70 miles over the Beartooth Mountains into Red Lodge, Montana. Called the "Backdoor to Yellowstone," the summertime-only route crawls over the 10,947-foot-high Beartooth Pass.

North-central Wyoming is the setting for another motoring threesome, collectively called the Big Horn Mountain Country Scenic Byways. The area's namesake route across the Big Horn Mountains is the Big Horn Scenic Byway, 47 miles of U.S. 14 delivering cottonwood-choked canyons as well as juniper and sage-dappled slopes. At Burgess Junction, U.S. 14A marks the start of the Medicine Wheel Passage, 27 miles across the Bighorn National Forest. Pull in at Medicine Wheel National Historic Monument to view the ancient circular stone-and-boulder outline--measuring 80 feet in diameter--and holding 28 rock "spokes" radiating from a central stone hub. Venture along the Cloud Peak Skyway to explore the southernmost route across the Bighorn National Forest.

Casper is the best base camp from which to take on the South Big Horn/Red Wall Scenic Backway, a 102-mile arc slicing through the southern tail of the Big Horn Mountains. Natrona County Roads 125, 110, 81, and 109 are all used to complete the gravelly route used primarily as a ranching trail for moving sheep and cattle to and from summer pastures. Blissful isolation also awaits adventuresome motorists moseying along the 64-mile Seminoe/Alcova Scenic Backway through the Seminoe Mountains southwest of Casper.

For information, contact Wyoming Division of Tourism, (800) 225-5996; www.wyomingtourism.org.

COPYRIGHT 2001 World Publishing, Co. (Illinois)
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group