Shortly after we entered the state, it became a vast, arid, barren terrain, almost desert-like in places. It was hard scrabble, sandy soil, with nothing growing, where even the sagebrush struggled in places. Only in a few areas, where there was a river source for irrigation, was any attempt at small lot farming attempted. I have seen terrain similar to this (south Okanagan, Fraser Canyon stretches, etc) but nothing that matches the vastness of Wyoming. It certainly looks like a hard life to make a go of things.
We had plans to stop at the Little Big Horn memorial in southern Montana, only a little out of the way, but decided against it. To get the most of this visit, you Need to spend time there and listen to the Ranger talks. We did not have the time and it would have been impossible with Koda, so we decided to pass. From what I have read and heard, it is well worth a visit.
From our location, to get to Yellowstone, we needed to pass through Big Horn National Forest, which is actually a small mountain range in north central Wyoming. It rises up like an island in the middle of nowhere. A steep climb leads to forests and open cattle range lands, followed by a long descent through granite mountain peaks.
Once out of this range, we entered even more desolate lands.
We came through a lovely little town, called Cody, named after Buffalo Bill (Cody). This was the entrance to the eastern access to Yellowstone and the climb up to the park was again through barren mountain rock subject to significant erosion.
Once in Yellowstone National Park, there were no more noticeable mountains and the park seems to be made up of lakes and forest and pastures - very different from Banff. One thing that you notice is the impact of forest fires over the years - more recent damage, or large tracts of new growth where a fire once went through.
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