By late afternoon I am back through SD to Devil’s Tower, WY. Coming in the back way on Route 24, I have underestimated the gas stations I would find and as I get to the national park campsite, my low fuel light comes on. The late afternoon light on the monument is brilliant so I ignore the warning and drive up to the trail instead of going for gas. The most impressive thing about the formation of Devil’s Tower is the shape and size of the columns. Massive pieces that have broken off during the formation litter the trail and the resulting structure is made up of hexagonal columns which remained because of the structural strength of the hexagon. The sunset hike around the perimeter is beautiful but halfway around I notice that I am the only one left on the trail. I get a little skittish being in bear country at twilight (no one to outrun except the bear) so I quicken my pace to finish the trail and head back to the campsite.In the morning I stop down the road to buy $12 worth of gas at $4.41 per gallon becoming the most I have ever paid for gas. I head southwest to Casper where I am to meet up with Roger, noticing along the way that I have lost my convex mirror on the passenger side. I figure I have some extra time so I will have someone look at the persistent wheel squeak which has gotten progressively louder. Once in Casper I find out it will be 3 days until anyone can look at the RV. I check out 3 campgrounds and all of them look just awful. Casper is dry and industrial looking – I decide to move further west to find a more pleasant place to camp. A county park at Pathfinder Dam has a small RV campground and that night Roger and Cat rolled in for a late dinner.
August 19, 2008
I had been talking to Rita Cirillo for a few days about meeting up with her in WY. Rita is a painter from CO who loves to paint in the Tetons. We meet up inside the park in the afternoon and go down to Colter Bay to try to capture the light on the peaks. Rita is happy to stay in the RV rather than in a tent, even if Boo decides walk on her head. The following day we head to Jackson to get the brakes looked at. Holly becomes famous on several tourist home videos by barking at a stuffed bison outside a store in downtown Jackson. After spending an afternoon there, the mechanic finds nothing, charges me $150 and we head back to camp, this time staying at Signal Mtn. Rita heads home in the morning and we head on to Yellowstone.
August 21, 2008
We plan to stay 3 days in Yellowstone which I have heard is not nearly enough. We reserve a campsite at Canyon Village and spend the day exploring the road from the South Entrance, through West Thumb, past Lake Yellowstone and up to the Canyon. We make many stops at the geyser basins and take the hike down the trail at the Lower Falls. The canyon and falls are magnificent and well worth the 500 ft climb. The geyser basins have their own surreal beauty.
We arrive at our campsite and cook dinner. Holly is enjoying the cool weather and is full of energy during her run. The following day we head north to Tower Falls and climb part of the way up Mt Washburn after questionably driving up the narrow dirt access road. After another night at Canyon we head over to the Norris Geyser Basin, and find a campsite before going south to the upper and lower geyser basins and Old Faithful. We make numerous stops along the way but decide to take a pass on the swimming at Firehole Canyon. The geysers and hot springs are amazing – it is like watching the earth breathe. Roger and I wish we could come back in 10,000 years and see what happens if the caldera erupts. Our campground is on the edge of a beautiful meadow that should be full of elk but so far the only wildlife we have seen are bison. We planned to go to Norris Geyser Basin before sunrise, but laziness does in our plans and after a more leisurely morning we head off to Mammoth Hot Springs. While the main area featured on all the brochures has become inactive, there are plenty of new springs forming. Again we see beautiful meadows with elk droppings but no elk. By early afternoon it is time to head north to Montana.
