Thermopolis has been one of those places that is so unusual that we are willing to overlook all kinds of inconveniences to have the chance to explore it. The campground we are in is a tiny wedge of land between the highway and the train tracks, and directly on the final approach course to Thermopolis’s airport. Last night, the BNSF freight trains were so heavy and long and close that we could actually feel the Airstream moving with the shaking earth. We know now exactly what a 3.5-4.0 Richter scale earthquake will feel like in the Airstream.

Heavy trucks with jake brakes farting down the hill come by occasionally, and once in a while someone flies about 800 feet overhead in or out of the airport. The smell of sulphur from the campground’s private hot mineral water pools wafts past the trailer. I don’t actually mind it in small doses, but it irritates Eleanor and so we try to capture some clear air when we can and then close the windows.

But the smell of sulphur is part of the territory when you are near natural hot springs. This water contains 27 minerals, they say, and the bulk of it is sulphur, calcium, sodium, carbon dioxide, chlorine, and magnesium. Healthy, say some. Stinky, for sure. It bubbles out of the ground at about 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 C) and then cools as it runs across the ground forming fields and cliffs of mineral deposits, before ending up in the river.

The state park is worth a visit, especially since it’s free and right in the center of town. The “state baths” are also free, or you can drop $10 to splash into the water at one of the water slides next door. Walkways bring you through the mineral-coated plains where the water naturally flows, much like the walkways through the geysers of Yellowstone.

One nice feature of the state park is a springy suspension bridge over the river chasm. This terrified Emma for about 30 seconds, and then she began to realize the fun of making the thing sway and bounce. Here she is trying to get the bridge going with her mighty vertical leap of about three inches.

Emma and I did try a swim in the campground’s hot pools. They run about 93 degrees, +/- 5 degrees depending on where you are. The water feels great. We were hoping the bottom would be natural, and possibly filled with interesting things to see, so we brought the snorkel gear. We were expecting something like Balmorhea State Park in Texas, but it turned out to be a rather ordinary swimming pool, although gigantic. The water felt very very good …

Our other stop today was the Wyoming Dinosaur Museum.   If there’s any place they know dinos, it’s Wyoming.   Right down the road from the museum they are digging away and finding new skeletons and other fossils routinely.   The museum is a must-see for fossil and dino lovers.

It is Friday evening and Eleanor hoped there’d be some action in town, but it was dead. We walked around and noted some architecture, a few statues, a couple of open shops, and not much else. Eleanor was secretly harboring a wish for an old-fashioned soda fountain in town. No such luck. But we did see this cowboy trotting through town, heading (as all good cowboys should) west, into the sunset.