photo courtesy of panaramio.com
Dave Walsh, 15 Jan 16
Just before the Wind River changes its name, it exits one of the most beautiful canyons in the state. Travel through the canyon and it’s easy to be lost in the beauty and awed by the size. The River has exposed eons and eons of time in solid rock. The Canyon is only 12 miles long, that’s not a very impressive distance in the realm of canyons, but the sides of the canyon’s walls soar to over 2-thousand feet above the river. The canyon may not be long, but it is definitely deep, and all through it, you have the Wind River.
Fast and cold in many places, the Wind River is a great place to take a leisurely float in the hot summer sun. It also has stretches of class 3 and class 4 rapids, that’s fast enough to offer a real thrill to the whitewater fan. The river drops a total of about 200 feet as it journeys through the canyon. Nowadays, the railroad cuts along the sides of the canyon, and U.S. Highway 20 turns what was truly a dangerous trip in Lewis and Clark’s Day, into a lovely drive through incredible scenery.
The Wind River changes its name to the Bighorn River just north of the Canyon, but before it does, it has cut a beautiful gateway to the Bighorn Basin. The Wind River Canyon, another Wonder of Wyoming.