Gooseberry Badlands Recreation Area, Wyoming (7-14-20)

Part 1 of Day 5 of Lupe’s 2nd summer of 2020 Dingo Vacation to Wyoming & Utah!

Towns were usually dullsville in Lupe’s opinion, but as SPHP drove into Worland, her eyes grew in amazement.  Whoa!  What on earth?  Now that was something worth barking at!

Go back!  Go back, SPHP!  Did you see that?  Unbelievable, it was gigantic, enormous!  Cowzilla is right here in Worland!

Cowzilla?  Hah!  Looper, that wasn’t Cowzilla, it’s a mammoth.  You want to go back and see it?

Of course!  It was incredible!  Turn around before it gets away!

Although there was no danger of the mammoth sauntering off anytime soon, SPHP obeyed.  At the Washakie Museum, the Carolina Dog was more than a bit disappointed when a few cursory sniffs revealed that the mammoth wasn’t real.  Still, the mammoth was an impressive sight.

The mammoth incident settled, SPHP fueled up the G6, made a quick stop at the grocery store, then drove S out of Worland on Hwy No. 432.  The road eventually curved W, crossed a bridge over the Bighorn River, and almost immediately came to an intersection.

Today was the first time Lupe had been W of the Bighorns in 2020, and this junction presented a couple of options.  S to Thermopolis, or W to Meeteetse?  SPHP decided to take Hwy 431, going W along the N side of the wide, shallow Gooseberry Creek valley.  The valley was fairly arid looking, all grassland with hardly a tree in sight, but cattle roaming the area made the American Dingo happy.

Lupe and SPHP had never been on Hwy 431 before.  After 20 minutes or so, both were surprised when an opening in the hills on the N side of the highway revealed an impressive display of classic badlands territory.  Worth checking out!  SPHP turned the G6 around, and went back so Loop could get out and have a look.

Badlands fit right into the high plains desert theme of Wyoming W of the Bighorns, but this was a particularly nice example.

Another mile W on Hwy 431, and a sign appeared.

Gooseberry Badlands Recreation Area!  Never heard of it before.  We’ve got time, Loop.  Shall see what’s here?

Fine with me, SPHP, as long as there isn’t any cactus.

Heh.  Can’t guarantee you that, Looper.  Cactus and badlands more or less go paw in paw.

That’s what I’m afraid of, SPHP!  Cactus spines in my paws!  I notice you don’t go running around barepaw.

Beyond the sign, SPHP turned N off Hwy 431 into a huge gravel parking area.  Except for one other vehicle, the whole place was deserted.  Over along the N side were several displays, all overlooking another even more extensive badlands region.  Not a soul in sight.

SPHP had a look at the displays, which were about the geology, ancient ecology, and modern day wildlife of the Gooseberry Badlands.

A trail mentioned in a couple of the plaques could be seen heading off into the badlands.  Nearby, a box atop a metal pole held a registry.  This box, stationed at the top of a flight of stairs leading down to a sidewalk and viewing bench, was the start of the Gooseberry Badlands trail.

As usual, you’re in luck, Loopster!  There’s a trail here!  Want to explore it?  Shouldn’t have any problem with cactus, if we just stick to the trail.

In that case, count me in, SPHP, but maybe you should bring some water?  Not a cloud in the sky, and it’s the middle of July.  How long is this trail, anyway?

How long?  No idea.  Doesn’t seem to be any information around other than that the trail exists.  We can always turn back, if it gets to be too much, but yeah, bringing some water is definitely a good idea.

10:55 AM, 71ºF – SPHP went back to the G6 to grab the blue water bottle and a bowl, before signing Lupe in at the registry.  The Carolina Dog then trotted down the steps leading to the sidewalk.  From the viewing bench area, Lupe already enjoyed a sweeping panorama of the rugged, arid beauty of the Gooseberry Badlands.

Off to the L, the sidewalk led to a long boardwalk stairway that curved down into the upper SW portion of the Gooseberry Badlands basin.

At the end of the boardwalk, a gravel pathway quickly led to a junction.  Apparently, the Gooseberry Badlands trail made a loop.  Loopster could either go straight, staying up on relatively high ground, or descend into the lower portions of the drainage basin by turning R.

Didn’t really matter which way Loop did the loop, but some cool-looking stuff was straight ahead, so Lupe went that way, putting her on course to explore the trail in a clockwise direction.  It was quickly evident that the dreaded cacti were plentiful, but as anticipated, cactus issues were easily avoided by staying strictly on the trail.

The loop first took the American Dingo along the upper edge of a dry wash, then past a wildly eroded ridge.

The trail continued past the wild ridge winding along the upper edge of a number of dry washes.  Often there was no gravel path in this region; Lupe just sniffed along the hard, baked ground.  Brown fiberglass wands marked the route at frequent intervals.  Most of these wands had only little white arrows, but some were numbered in ascending order.

Horizontal pink, gray, white, and yellow layers produced a beautifully striped effect throughout the strangely eroded badlands.  Around every corner, Lupe came to fresh examples of eye-catching pinnacles, pillars, and mounds.

After about 0.5 mile, Lupe came to a series of steps leading roughly 100 vertical feet down into the lowlands of the maze of gullies.

At the bottom, the trail turned sharply back toward the start.  Lupe now got to see the Gooseberry Badlands from a different perspective, often pausing briefly to examine some of the more interesting formations.

By the time Lupe got back to the intersection at the start of the loop, she had come to 12 numbered wands, and several times that many wands with arrows.  Yet the Gooseberry Badlands loop couldn’t have been any more than a mile long, and had been a relaxing, easy trek.

Although these badlands didn’t cover a large region, the scenery had been stunning.  Even at a leisurely pace, the American Dingo was back at the G6 in just under an hour.  (End 11:54 AM, 72ºF)

The Gooseberry Badlands were fun, SPHP!  I’m glad we stopped.  Never know what kind of adventure might be around the next curve in Wyoming!

True enough!  This did sort of turn out to be an unexpected treat, didn’t it, Loop?  Well worthwhile!

Hwy No. 431 ended at junction only a few miles farther W.  SPHP turned NW on No. 120 heading for Meeteetse.  Lupe’s next Wyoming adventure was going to be much more challenging.  Really had been nice to spend a pleasant hour on a beautiful July day exploring the fabulous and entirely unanticipated Gooseberry Badlands.

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