A short trip up the South Fork of the Shoshone River

We had two extra days before our show setup in Cody, so we decided to explore some new territory, the South Fork of the Shoshone River. Setting out with our flyrods, cameras, binoculars, a picnic lunch and a Wyoming Highway map we felt good. What I forgot to do was to download the Onx hunt map of the river. That would have told us the land status of the area. Driving into Cody we turned right onto Highway 291, (the first part of the expedition was along Cedar Mountain. It was south of us, and it is an area where we purchased rock from a local miner. He has a Variscite claim, and we had bought three pounds at a hundred dollars a pound. Having sold only a few pieces we hoped our exploration would help us with a new story to tell, (It did). After all we don’t sell just jewelry, we sell stories and that’s the key to our success. At first the highway followed alongside the south shore of Buffalo Bill Reservoir, but it turned south and became a road marked as Southfork Road /6WX, leaving Cedar Mountain behind. To our southeast was Carter Mountain and to the north was Sheep Mountain.

Passing public access roads to the mountain and because rain threatened, we decided to pass on the dirt roads, (which were dried muddy ruts, (not good for a low clearance car).

At one point we passed a rockslide that had covered the road but had been cleared and rebuilt. A little further we saw a Historic Marker that told the story of Castle Rock.

It was first discovered and named Castle Rock by John Colter. He was the first white mountain man to explore the area, explore Yellowstone and the Tetons.

It’s one example of a erosional remnant that forms many spires on both sides of the mountains to the northwest.

The water in the river was stained and muddy as a small tributary was pouring mud filled water into the main river. So much for any fly fishing. We also passed signs warning that grizzly bears inhabited the area from April till November, but we never saw any. Small herds of antelopes and several sandhill cranes posed unconcerned by our presence, (it wasn’t hunting season).

The road crossed the river and we decided to turn around. We were close to where the road changed to gravel and then degraded to a four-wheel drive road. If we had our four-wheel drive truck with much higher clearance, we would have continued but I am cautious on first trips on unknown roads.Next was an area called the Ishwood Hills, pictured above. Just over the Mountain was Yellowstone National Park, an area called the Thoroughfare. It is so remote that when in it you are the farthest from any road you can be, when in the lower forty-eight states.

Finally turning around, and it was an uneventful but scenic drive back to our campsite. Now we had new stories to tell. We promise our customers, and all who stop to look at our handmade jewelry that we can tell the story of every stone, (although a few can be a very short tale). Clear skies