I expected to be writing about a relatively mundane day of travel but the range of scenery I encountered en-route made it a great drive.
I had stayed in Sundance, WY last night because I wanted to visit Devil’s Tower National Monument and that was my first destination of the day. Since it is a single monolith I knew it would be a short, photogenic stop but, when you are this close, why not? The tower is considered sacred by the Native American tribes of the region and has historical significance in the expansion of the west as a beacon to pioneers on the westward trail. The exact process that formed the tower is not known but it is known to consist of igneous rock that intruded upwards through softer rocks and it rises about 1,300 feet above the plateau.
Sundance is a small town but it is unique among all US towns that I have ever stayed in that there was literally nowhere that served breakfast. Higbee’s Cafe, seen in the first frames of the video, fulfills this function only on weekdays. I, therefore, had to wait two hours and stop in Gillette to get my favorite meal of the day.
Once satisfied, I headed to Cody, Wyoming which is about 50 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone and found some delightful driving on the way. There were patches of red-rock desert, an area of winter wonderland where fresh snow was falling from the fir trees as I passed and a drive through a spectacular canyon. I do not have photos but the video shows it all and, along with a map, can be found here.
Tomorrow night I will be staying in a lodge in Yellowstone and doubt that I will have Internet access but, hopefully, I will have plenty to post on Tuesday.
Devil’s Tower was so distinctive within the landscape that it was used as a navigational beacon by pioneers traveling west.
A close-up of the tower followed by a view spoiled by a tourist.
What no breakfast??? Looking good Steve, I meant Devil’s Tower, obviously!
Ha Ha.
Looking good!
Happy memories of a 2014 day going from Cody to Gillette. I’ve had problems accessing the previous day’s video. Did you visit the Crazy Horse monument?
Thanks for telling me about the video problem, I pasted the wrong link. Hopefully it will work now.
I didn’t stop at Crazy Horse because, based on the photos I’d seen, there is precious little progress since I visited it in the mid 80s and again in the mid 90s.
Wikipedia dates the finishing of the face at 1998. I don’t know how that compared to when you were there. Mount Rushmore was everything I expected but Crazy Horse impressed me greatly as something with no government funding and just the eccentric vision of a single family.
Like you, I was impressed by the scale and vision of the Crazy Horse undertaking. It would be great if they could get the funding to progress faster.