Sourdough Creek Road off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, Wyoming

Driving Scenic US-16 from Buffalo, Wyoming to Ten Sleep over Powder River Pass is what 95% of tourist with limited time will experience. However, if you really want to see the beauty and diversity of this area turn off on some of the Forest Service side roads scattered along US-16. We drove FS(Forest Service)-23 known locally as Sourdough Road. It leads from US-16 to a FS-Campground (Sourdough Campground) and a Trail Head.

Aspen trees along Sourdough Creek off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, Wyoming

The groves of Aspen on Sourdough Creek Road are awesome. We can only imagine how beautiful they are in the fall. We are driving this road in in August.

Quaking aspen regularly reproduce via a process called suckering.

An individual stem (or tree) can send out roots that send up other erect stems (from all aboveground appearances the new stems look just like individual trees).

So, what you see as an aspen grove is in reality one aspen organism with multiple stems or tree trunks.

The process is repeated until a whole stand, of what appear to be individual trees, forms.

This collection of multiple stems are actually one, single, genetic individual organism.

Sourdough Creek off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, Wyoming

We drove Sourdough Creek road in our Saturn. The road conditions were not the least bit intimidating. We stopped by the Forest Service office in Buffalo, Wyoming and they advised us on the forest service road off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains.

Sourdough Road is also FR-23 that runs from US-16 to Sourdough Campground and Trail Head.

Sourdough Creek off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, Wyoming

Historically Sourdough drainage represents part of more than 100 years of timbering tradition.

Beginning with military and civilian intrusion from Ft. McKinney in 1878, sawmills dotted the Big Horn Range, providing much needed building material for settlements.

Work horses, moveable camp houses and broad axes were part of the daily scene during the 1929's when Sourdough to Tie Hack was the site of important activity connected to the rail road tie industry. The demand for ties brought as many as 200 tie hackers at a time to the Sourdough drainage.

Ties were cut in the winter and piled until spring when flumes carried the ties to Sourdough Creek. Water from this reservoir was added to the already full creek to float the ties to Clear Creek to meet the railroad east of Buffalo.

Active timbering continued along Sourdough into the 1970's with various companies supporting dozens of families. Today willows fill the creek banks where ties were once stacked, and only remnants of the busy timber history remains.

Aspen grove off Sourdough Road (FR-23) off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, Wyoming

These pictures of the Aspen groves along Sourdough Creek Road just don't do them justice. We were driving this road midday and the lighting was not perfect. We can only imagine how awesome they are in the fall.

Aspen grove off Sourdough Road (FR-23) off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, Wyoming

Quaking Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America, being found from Canada to central Mexico.

It propagates itself primarily through root sprouts, and extensive clonal colonies are common. Each colony is its own clone, and all trees in the clone have identical characteristics and share a single root structure.

That is a bunch of scientific jargon that says the aspen trees you see in this picture are all ONE Tree. Each tree shares the same root system, they are clones.

A clone may turn color earlier or later in the fall than its neighboring aspen clones. Fall colors are usually bright tones of yellow.

As all trees in a given colony are part of the same organism, colony, named Pando, is considered the heaviest and oldest living organism at six million kilograms and approximately 80,000 years old. Aspens do produce seeds, but seldom grow from them. Pollination is inhibited by the fact that aspens are either male or female, and large stands are clones of the same sex.

Keep this in mind the next time you see a grove of aspen. They are all the same living organism, they just look like individual trees.

Sourdough Road (FR-23) off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, Wyoming

The views are eclectic on Soughdough road. At times the road is lined with Spruce Trees and awesome views of the Big Horn Mountains. Need I say more! We just soaked in the view!

Sourdough Road was a good gravel road.

Wildflowers along Sourdough Road (FR-23) off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, WY

The beauty of a scenic drive like this one on Sourdough is the the wildflowers.

Remnants of the lumbering industry along Sourdough Road (FR-23) off US-16 in the Big Horn Mountains west of Buffalo, Wyoming

According to a kiosk this is remnants of the reservoir dam used to float logs/ties to Clear Creek and down into Buffalo during the time the RR was logging this area for cross ties.

Ties were cut in the winter and piled until spring when flumes carried the ties to Sourdough Creek. Water from this reservoir was added to the already full creek to float the ties to Clear Creek to meet the railroad east of Buffalo.

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