Welcome to the Ranch in Wyoming!

We left our last stay in Colorado, and headed further north up I-25 until we saw that big "Welcome to Wyoming" sign.

We just crossed into this new state, and we took the first exit to our next campground--Terry Bison Ranch Resort. We had to take a picture of the billboard advertising the ranch, with the bison herd hanging out under the sign right on cue. And we love that big Wyoming sky with those puffy white clouds overhead.

We rolled under the old arched rock entry way, and we were officially transported from Colorado into the Wyoming ranch country.

If we should accidentally miss all the real bison in the pasture, there was even a metal bison by one of the cafes on the property. 

Terry Bison Ranch is a bit of a dude ranch for city folk to come and enjoy the animals. Since we were raised on a farm (Denisa) and a ranch (Mark), we don't consider ourselves city dudes. But Denisa does enjoy seeing the animals. So she was off on a camera safari to see what this ranch is raising. She found that they have the usual ranch livestock like horses. In fact, they have them saddled and ready for trail rides now.

The horses range from big guys that pull wagons, to absurdly small ponies. This mis-matched pair was going out for exercise one evening.

They also have several mares with young colts, and donkeys, and a few alpaca. Denisa climbed up on the cat walk, where she could get a bird's eye view down into the pens.

Denisa was monitoring this nanny goat because she was sure we were going to have twin goats born any moment. Nanny's sides were so full they were about to split, and her udder was literally dragging on the ground.

Besides the usual farm animals, they also had a pen of camels.

They were far removed from the rest of the animals, and it was quite a walk to find them. We saw a sign closer to the barn that cautioned visitors that the camels might bite or spit. Perhaps they weren't being very friendly to guests so they got moved to the far pasture for a reason?

Another thing they are raising at Terry Bison Ranch is cotton. Not field cotton, but the white fluffy stuff that falls out of cottonwood trees. It looked like a blizzard when we walked by the red stables, and you can even see the fluffy white specks in the air in the picture below.

Down at the bird houses, the guys were out visiting.

The peacocks have the run of the ranch, and Denisa was trying to get a picture of these beautifully colored birds out in the sunlight.

When you look at the details of a peacock's feathers, we have to think that this is another of God's wonders.

The bigger birds had their own pens, and this ostrich seemed to enjoy Mark's company.

When it started prancing and fanning its wings, we wondered if it was performing some sort of mating ritual. Maybe the ostrich was enjoying Mark's company too much.

Throughout the ranch, we found places to take pictures. Denisa is a sucker for a picture riding an ostrich.

They also rent ATVs to ride around the ranch, but the most popular tourist attraction on the Terry Bison Ranch is the train ride. For $18 per person, you can ride this train to the pasture, where you can feed the bison. It's a dangerous ride, however, since most of the trains fall victim to a band of evil cowboys that try to rob the passengers.

Some of those ornery cowboys can play guitars and sing, and we found them down at the camp fire two of the evenings during our stay.

Dancing on an uneven grassy surface is tough, but we found a way. It was good to be in cowboy country again where they play good two-step music!

Our campsite was out back in the section with only water and electric hook-ups, which made it more affordable at this little touristy ranch. But we think our views of the surrounding pastureland were better than the full-hook-up sites in the middle of the campground. Our opinion of Terry Bison Ranch was a bit tainted, however, because they overcharged us for our camping site. We were told our site would be $35 (plus tax) when we made the reservation, and then we were charged $42 (plus tax) when we arrived. This is an expensive stop, especially during the Cheyenne Frontier Days at the end of July when their prices soar to $125 per night.

We're glad that we'll be gone before the festivities makes everything more expensive. But for now, we're enjoying some time on the ranch in Wyoming, where the bison roam.