We're well in to our month long stay in Buffalo, WY. This charming small town sits on the edge of the Bighorn Mountain Range at an elevation of 4,646 and about 5,000 people call it home. Downtown boasts nicely restored buildings dating to the late 1800's with several beautiful murals depicting the Wyoming lifestyle gracing their walls.
 |
| The rolling green hills these horses are frolicking on spread for hundreds of miles to the East of town. |
 |
| Bronze of an angry rancher... |
 |
| ...catching a sheep thief in action. |
 |
Longmire Weekend was celebrated our first weekend in town.
Craig Johnson, on the float, has written a series of novels set in the Buffalo area that has been made into a Netflix series. |
 |
Sheep ranching was big business in WY at the turn of the century and sheepherders wagons
like this one are seen all over town. |
 |
| Cozy! |
To add some variety to our daily exercise, Hans negotiated a very good deal for us on a one month membership at the local YMCA. We've been able to play pickleball again and take a few exercise classes on the days we don't feel like driving up to the mountains to hike.
 |
| Pickleball with the locals! |
One of our favorite things about Buffalo is the Clear Creek Trail System. It's 17 miles long, much of it along beautiful Clear Creek (that lives up to its name), with several distinct sections. Trail maps are available at the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce.
There's the town section that is convenient and includes a bit of Main Street and the local City Park. There's the meadow/pasture section that has wide open views to the Bighorn Mountains as well as the sweet sounds of Clear Creek and opportunities for bird and wildlife watching. There's the forest section, our favorite, that runs for about four miles among ponderosa pine and cottonwood trees on natural trail surface. And there's the Heritage Park section that gives us a nice four mile round trip walk from our RV park with both prairie and wetlands views.
 |
| Clear Creek Trail: pastures on one side, Clear Creek on the other, Bighorn Mountain views to the West. |
 |
| A unique looking bovine seen along the trail. |
 |
When we first started walking Clear Creek Trail these flowers were bursting in bloom everywhere!
I can't find them online...does anyone know what they are called? |
 |
| Peek-a-boo! |
 |
| The forested section of the trail is almost four miles long. |
 |
Built in 1914, this was Buffalo's second power plant.
H. P. Rothwell, a German immigrant who financed the plant, indulged his love of European architecture. |
Buffalo gets a lot of RV traffic being along highway 16, said to be the easiest and most direct route to Yellowstone from the East, so there are several RV parks to choose from. We are very happy with our choice,
Deer Park RV Park, where we've got a nice big site and views of wildlife right from our yard.
 |
| We have a site in the long term section of the park, with lots of space between rigs. |
 |
This is our view in the other direction.
Every day we see pronghorn, deer, turkey and horses in this meadow which separates us from I-90 by at least a quarter mile. |
 |
| We see about 7 or 8 pronghorn every day in the meadow. |
More to come from Buffalo, WY...stay tuned!
Looks like you've discovered a really cute little place there. That's some hat on the bovine. I am having a terrible time comment on posts and even getting them to come up with our poor internet connection in the National Park so I'm not sure if you already told what Longmire Week-end was that they are celebrating. Very nice murals and sculpture and I love the sheep herder's wagon. Looks like an early RV to me.
ReplyDeleteThe Longmire Weekend is based on a series of books set in this area written by Craig Johnson and subsequently made into a Netflix series.
DeleteYep, I love the Bighorn Mtns. This is part of Wyoming that you never hear about but it equally scenic. And, yes, it's full of antelope!
ReplyDeleteExactly why we decided to come here...beautiful but lightly used! I just love the pronghorns! Those faces! Those white butts! :-)
DeleteBeautiful! We will have to remember to visit this pretty little town and the surrounding area. I love that sheepherders wagon, looks to me it would suit us just fine.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone tell that cow/bovine that it's horns are on upside down! :-p
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
Small town friendliness, not too crowded with tourists!
Deletenot sure of the specifics on your flowers but they sure look like they are one of the milkweeds
ReplyDeleteYES! Thank you!
DeleteLooks like you've found another great little spot. We're enjoying your last year's area in Sequim :-) I thought the author just had the float, but a whole weekend is a pretty big deal! Love the trail by the creek - especially in that lovely forest. Can't wait to see what else you find.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, Sequim was a great place to stay! We really, really love the PNW!
DeleteVery nice way to spend the month! It's fun getting to know a place when you spend several weeks there.
ReplyDeleteThose murals are quite showy...and I love the sheep herders wagon. Cozy indeed and cute!
I looked in both my wildflower books ( Colorado & Arizona) and didn't find your wildflower name. Sorry...
The Clear Creek trail offers a lot of variety. It's so convienient and pretty!
We try to spend a month somewhere (other than San Diego) a couple of times a year...love the depth and slower pace of the longer stays!
DeleteIt's really nice to stay in an area for a month. You have time to relax and discover what is around you. Great idea to join the Y for some change up activities:) I'm sure you were glad to get back on the Pickleball court:) I like these towns that embrace their heritage with murals and statues. Looks like a neat town! If you go to Google Images and type in milkweed, you'll see your plant. I thought it was milkweed, as well.
ReplyDeleteIt really is great to add some variety to our workouts...and the locals in the classes are a wealth of info on the area!
DeleteMilkweed it is!
Nothing better than the locals for info:)
ReplyDeleteI am thinking we are going to have to relearn pickleball. Although we brought our paddles with us, we have been out in the forest too much to even think about a court. Would love to play inside someday. Wyoming is a state that we have not spent much time in but has always been on our list. Enjoy your time there.
ReplyDeleteIt can be difficult to find places to play as we travel, especially free or low cost. It had been many months and we picked it up again pretty quickly. The nice thing is that the folks playing in Buffalo were not super advanced/competitive players...we've run into that before and some of those folks can be pretty intimidating if you aren't a really good player!
DeleteI do love the pronghorn butts, so cute. That is some cow!
ReplyDeleteWe also love to settle in somewhere for a month (or even more sometimes) -- it allows us to really get a sense of "place" and to feel like locals, even temporarily. You guys do a stellar job of choosing beautiful places! You're going to pry us away from the Pacific Northwest yet…..
ReplyDeleteWY is on our route next year, and again we could be following on your footsteps. Those are milkweeds and butterflies love them.
ReplyDelete