Friday, August 26, 2011

Day Seven

Hi all! As I write, Peter has passed out, and I am nearly asleep myself. It means a lot to have you all reading and commenting because it keeps us blogging when all we really want is to crash! This record is for us, too, as it will help us remember so much that we would no doubt otherwise forget. Even now, we could not remember the name of the KOA we were at just last night! Today's blog starts there, though. Here I am at our campsite in South Dakota, reading Pete's blog in the dark. And yes, that's Pete's Fat Tire on the table.

We set out to see Devil's Tower in Wyoming this morning. Stopped in Newcastle, Wyoming, for breakfast. Cute little town and good breakfast. Back on the road, we passed an area that was the largest burn area in US history (I think!), Hell's Canyon. We got out and looked around...

...and then we were driving again. Lunch at Dewey's Place in Moorcroft consisted of a beer each to quench our thirst. That's it. The patrons were smoking in the bar--remember those days? Well, it still stinks! I got started on a few postcards while Pete checked out the firearms for sale and then we got out of there. We were pretty much only thirsty anyway. Apparently the burned out mountain sucked all the juice out of us! At last, we arrived at Devil's Tower. We saw it coming for miles, and walked the trail around its base. There were some climbers today, but we weren't among them. The tower is part of a volcano formation and is the first national monument, named so by Teddy Roosevelt. It's pretty cool to see, both from a distance and close up. Look closely and you'll see me in one of these for scale.

Then it was time to head for Yellowstone. On our way, we ran into something completely unexpected and were blown away by Bighorn National Forest. We knew pictures wouldn't capture the beauty or the vast grandness, but we took a few (ok, way more than a few) anyway. Every turn brought another unbelievably beautiful view and we stopped several times each mile. The road itself was a treat with tight curves and switchbacks (and me constantly asking Peter if he was watching the road while I took shot after shot). We even found a magnificent waterfall and gorge. The weather started out wet and then the sun appeared, giving us some dramatic cloud shots. As we came out of the hills near the end of the park road, we passed a huge truck straining up the incline with a big load, the smell of burning rubber following. He was barely moving and actually came to a complete stop as we passed. We felt bad for the driver but couldn't fathom why he' d be there with that load. Maybe for some of the road repairs that were in progress.

Some random shots of interest taken along the way today...

And this last shot of the sunset lighting up the rain in the mountains as we entered Cody, Wyoming, and found our KOA for the night. Dinner in Cody at Proud Cuts Saloon. Pete tried a Trout Slayer and I had an Alaskan Amber Ale. Both good, though Pete's missing his Baxter Stowaway. And yes, we had some food with this meal...a couple of steaks. After all, we're in cowboy country.

Thanks again for following along. We're seven days and about 3,000 miles into our journey and we already feel like we're running out of time! But we truly want to slow down and do some fishing tomorrow in Yellowstone. Wish us luck!

5 comments:

  1. OH MY WORD!! What an unexpected FLOOD of memories came to me when I saw Devils Tower!! I suddenly began to panic wondering just where all my cross country pictures where! Not that I remember being there but I know I was because I was the one behind the lens!!! ^O^ I think they may all be in the garage and heaven knows what shape they're in after ten years in a box out there!! We climbed part of it because we had all three kids with us so we only went as far as their little legs would carry them, but they had a blast there!! We kept looking for the BIG FLYING SAUCER!!! ^O^

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  2. P.S. Whats up with your time signiture? Is it on YOUR time?? I just realized I'm up very late/ealry and its 3:30 a.m. now but my comment says it was posted at 12:30! NOW I'm going to hit the sack!! Good day,fair skies and smooth tracks be ahead for you!! LUM

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  3. Amazing photos. Devil's Tower reminds me of mashed potatoes...Thanks for sharing all! Please have a beer for me, but not on me, LOL.

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  4. hello everyone! pete just asked to me to let anyone reading this blog to know that he and my mom are in yellowstone at the moment. they will be out of service area for a few days so their blog will not be updated for a short time. no worries, just no internet access. thank you!

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  5. Thanks, Sara! Glad to know all is well.

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