Washington to South Dakota
Samantha and I left later then we had originally planned (Sept 16th), because we wanted to be well rested for all the driving and sight seeing. We made it all the way to Missola, Montana - where we had dinner, and a stroll through Walmart so Sammy could buy so craft equiptment to keep her busy during the long drives. We camped outside Missola at Beavertail park, we arrived late and left early hence avoiding any fees.
***
(Sept 17th) Montana was much cooler that either one of us expected. I guess we should have checked a weather report before we left. The original plan was to head for Glacier NP but looking at the map and our loose schedual it did not fit in, so we headed for Yellowstone!!! Samantha and I have both already been there but I had never been to this part of the park. Spectacular!! The place is kind of creepy with all the dead trees and steam. But the best part is you can always blame the smell on nature. It wasn't me - it was the ground.
We also saw Old Faithful erupt - pretty cool.
As we headed out of the park we were treated to one of the most senic drives of all times. The road to Cody, Wy is lined with bison, lakes, and mountains. The resevoir between Yellowstone and Cody was beatiful. I think the grayness made everything look a bit more dramatic, but boy was it chillier that expected - about 40 degrees.
The plan was to climb Devil's Tower tomorrow but we were still on the other side of WY and it was starting to get late. We were both tired from the long day of driving and looking, but we need to make some ground so we pushed on. We headed over the Big Horn mountains to Sheridan and then further west toward the Tower. Unfortunetly, as I metioned it was cold out and there was some weather about - we started up the pass and it started to snow. This slowed us down but was enjoyable nonetheless. We made it to Buffalo WY by 11 and got a hotel so we would have a chance to get a good night sleep before our big climb.
As much as I was enjoying myself there was has not been enought time to sleep and relax. I was hoping to catch up on sleep this week but then I realized how big this country and that relaxing sleeping time was traded for driving time.
***
We woke up around 9 (Sept. 18th), still a couple hours from Devils Tower, but we were in no rush because the weather out the window was ominous. The weather report was cloudy and rainy with a high of 59 and high winds. Great climbing weather! I though this was the desert, it dosen't rain in the desert!
We got to the Tower the top was in a cloud and it was cold. The Rangers said that no one was climbing today and that the wind were suppose to pick up even more. We took the hike around the Tower and saw the intended climbing route. I was very disappointed - as this is one of the things I was most looking forward to doing on our road trip.
Oh, well it will have to wait for the next road trip.
We ended our day early in Sturgis. We were both tired and a little cranky so we got another hotel and took a nap and had some jucie to get ready for more fun tomorrow.
***
(Sept 17th) Montana was much cooler that either one of us expected. I guess we should have checked a weather report before we left. The original plan was to head for Glacier NP but looking at the map and our loose schedual it did not fit in, so we headed for Yellowstone!!! Samantha and I have both already been there but I had never been to this part of the park. Spectacular!! The place is kind of creepy with all the dead trees and steam. But the best part is you can always blame the smell on nature. It wasn't me - it was the ground.
We also saw Old Faithful erupt - pretty cool.
As we headed out of the park we were treated to one of the most senic drives of all times. The road to Cody, Wy is lined with bison, lakes, and mountains. The resevoir between Yellowstone and Cody was beatiful. I think the grayness made everything look a bit more dramatic, but boy was it chillier that expected - about 40 degrees.
The plan was to climb Devil's Tower tomorrow but we were still on the other side of WY and it was starting to get late. We were both tired from the long day of driving and looking, but we need to make some ground so we pushed on. We headed over the Big Horn mountains to Sheridan and then further west toward the Tower. Unfortunetly, as I metioned it was cold out and there was some weather about - we started up the pass and it started to snow. This slowed us down but was enjoyable nonetheless. We made it to Buffalo WY by 11 and got a hotel so we would have a chance to get a good night sleep before our big climb.
As much as I was enjoying myself there was has not been enought time to sleep and relax. I was hoping to catch up on sleep this week but then I realized how big this country and that relaxing sleeping time was traded for driving time.
***
We woke up around 9 (Sept. 18th), still a couple hours from Devils Tower, but we were in no rush because the weather out the window was ominous. The weather report was cloudy and rainy with a high of 59 and high winds. Great climbing weather! I though this was the desert, it dosen't rain in the desert!
We got to the Tower the top was in a cloud and it was cold. The Rangers said that no one was climbing today and that the wind were suppose to pick up even more. We took the hike around the Tower and saw the intended climbing route. I was very disappointed - as this is one of the things I was most looking forward to doing on our road trip.
Oh, well it will have to wait for the next road trip.
We ended our day early in Sturgis. We were both tired and a little cranky so we got another hotel and took a nap and had some jucie to get ready for more fun tomorrow.
posted by gregggemin at 7:04 PM
1 Comments:
I went on almost that same trip when I was a teenager back in the 80's. I loved Yellowstone and Devil's Tower. All I could think of there was Close encounters of the Third Kind. Great photos!
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