{"id":24829,"date":"2019-12-05T08:10:34","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T15:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=24829"},"modified":"2020-01-13T12:19:52","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T19:19:52","slug":"shell-falls-bighorn-mountains-wyoming-6-30-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=24829","title":{"rendered":"Shell Falls, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming (6-30-19)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 2 of Day 5 of Lupe’s 1st 2019 Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming!<\/em><\/p>\n

The pleasant scenic drive through Tensleep Canyon brought Lupe down to the high prairies W of the Bighorns.\u00a0 At the village of Tensleep, SPHP turned NW on a paved secondary road.\u00a0 In the Nowood River valley, the Carolina Dog watched expectantly for cows, horses or antelope to bark at, but the region was so deserty she didn’t have much luck.<\/p>\n

The end of June late afternoon was warm, hitting 88\u00baF N of Manderson, but approaching Greybull, change was in the air.\u00a0 Greybull looked just as parched as ever, but true to form whenever Lupe arrives, a storm was brewing off to the NW.\u00a0 Shortly after reaching town, a minor cloudburst hit.\u00a0 No hail this time, but the brief intense rain cooled things off to 66\u00ba F in nothing flat.<\/p>\n

After picking up some fried chicken at the local grocery store, SPHP drove E out of town on Hwy 14.\u00a0 Soon Lupe was in Shell Canyon heading back up into the Bighorn Mountains.\u00a0 When Copman’s Tomb<\/strong> came into view, SPHP stopped at a pullout.<\/p>\n

\"\"
In the lower reaches of beautiful Shell Canyon<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A plaque with a sketch of the terrain to the N showed Elephant Head Rock at the S end of Sunlight Mesa, Pyramid Peak, and explained how Copman’s Tomb got its name.\u00a0 All of these features were easily identified from the pullout, although Elephant Head Rock bore no resemblance to an elephant’s head from this angle.<\/p>\n

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Plaque along Hwy 14 in lower Shell Canyon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Sunlight Mesa<\/strong> (Center) and Pyramid Peak<\/strong> (R). Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Copman’s Tomb<\/strong> (R). Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Copman’s Tomb was of special interest.\u00a0 The S end of the mountain is a sheer cliff overlooking Shell Falls 2,600 feet below.\u00a0 Last year Lupe had tried to get to Copman’s Tomb, which shouldn’t have been that hard, but Cedar Mountain<\/span><\/a> (9,813 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> was as close as she’d gotten before sketchy weather turned her back.<\/p>\n

The Shell Falls Interpretive Site was only a few miles farther up the canyon.\u00a0 Since it was Sunday evening, Lupe arrived to find the visitor center closed.\u00a0 In fact, no one at all was around.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Shell Falls is always worth stopping for. It’s right along Hwy 14!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Copman’s Tomb<\/strong> (L) beyond the closed visitor center. Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The interpretive site had many colorful displays, but Shell Falls was the big attraction.\u00a0 Naturally, Lupe went to see the falls first.\u00a0 A stairway led down to a fenced boardwalk that went to a terrific viewpoint.\u00a0 Shell Falls was roaring!\u00a0 Lupe had never seen it with such tremendous flow before!<\/p>\n

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First glimpse of the falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Loop on the boardwalk leading to the falls viewpoint. Copman’s Tomb<\/strong> on the L. Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Wow! Shell Falls is really roaring today!<\/em> At the viewpoint.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Shell Falls<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Shell Falls<\/strong> with a bit of help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Zoomed in even more.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Below the falls, Shell Creek churned frothily through a narrow canyon with vertical walls of granite.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Looking downstream.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More viewpoints overlooking Shell Creek were along a nature trail that started next to the visitor center.\u00a0 The falls weren’t visible along this short loop trail, but Copman’s Tomb was, and Elephant Head Rock at the lower S end of Sunlight Mesa looked worthy of its name from here.<\/p>\n

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Copman’s Tomb<\/strong>. Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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S end of Sunlight Mesa<\/strong> (R). Elephant Head Rock<\/strong> (Center). Photo looks WNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Elephant Head Rock<\/strong> (L) with help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having seen the natural wonders, Lupe allowed SPHP a few minutes to take a look at the colorful displays.\u00a0 Some were specifically about Shell Falls or Shell Canyon, while others were on more general topics.\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"One display entitled “Climb Into Bighorn Country” was exactly what Lupe intended to do next.\u00a0 Another showed the main roads of the N Bighorns, already mostly familiar territory to the American Dingo!\"\"\"\"At the Shell Falls Interpretive Site no access was available down to Shell Creek, but there was access only a little farther up Shell Canyon.\u00a0 Lupe’s next stop was a large gravel parking area on the R (S) just past MP 27.<\/p>\n

Loop had been here with Lanis on her very first Dingo Vacation ever way back in August, 2012.\u00a0 However, Shell Creek had been much lower then.\u00a0 The sunny rock shelves next to the creek which she had explored in 2012 were now inundated by the surging torrent.<\/p>\n

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By Shell Creek<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Looking downstream.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since Shell Creek was so dangerous now, SPHP wouldn’t let the Carolina Dog get too close.\u00a0 The tremendous flow was enormously impressive, but it was best to move on.\u00a0 It was getting late anyway.\u00a0 After driving the rest of the way up Shell Canyon, what little was left of the evening was spent at the start of USFS Road No. 216 about 2 miles W of Hwy 14 along USFS Road No 10.<\/p>\n

This was the exact same spot from which Lupe had started for Cedar Mountain and Copman’s Tomb last year.\u00a0 The Dolomites were visible just up the hill from here.\u00a0 Although the sun was down and light was fading, SPHP produced Lupe’s flying disc and threw it for her a number of times.\u00a0 A game of chase around the G6 ensued, which SPHP repeatedly lost to the American Dingo’s delight.<\/p>\n

The games ended as a chill dense fog swept in from over the pass to the W granting SPHP a reprieve from further humiliation.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP retreated to the G6 for chicken dinner and a good night’s snooze.\u00a0 (8:44 PM, 49\u00baF)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Lupe with her flying disc, Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming 6-30-19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Shell Falls, Porcupine Falls & Bald Mountain in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming (8-9-12)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The Dolomites, Giant Mushroom & Cedar Mountain, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming 6-10-18<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

W<\/em>ant more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose from Lupe’s 2019 Dingo Vacations to the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming Adventure Inde<\/strong>x<\/strong><\/a><\/span>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/span><\/strong><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 2 of Day 5 of Lupe’s 1st 2019 Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming! The pleasant scenic drive through Tensleep Canyon brought Lupe down to the high prairies W of the Bighorns.\u00a0 At the village of Tensleep, SPHP turned NW on a paved secondary road.\u00a0 In the Nowood River valley, the Carolina … Continue reading Shell Falls, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming (6-30-19)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1175],"tags":[105,185,106,1199,26,1197,104,432,275],"class_list":["post-24829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2019-bighorn-mountains","tag-american-dingo","tag-bighorn-mountains","tag-carolina-dog","tag-copmans-tomb","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-elephant-head-rock","tag-lupe","tag-shell-falls","tag-wyoming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_3812-scaled.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24829"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25430,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24829\/revisions\/25430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}