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where were we?

Last night, I was talking to Kate about how I could not believe that it was almost Thanksgiving, how much I hate winter, and how I wish it were still summer. Which brought me to thoughts of my roadtrip. I believe I left you in the middle of Wyoming. Kate has almost caught up to me in her posting, so I better step it up.

We drove across Wyoming to Devil's Tower. En route, we stopped somewhere in the middle of the state at a park that claimed to have the largest mineral hot spring in the world. After all we had seen at Yellowstone, I was rather skeptical. And we quickly found out, with good reason.














That's supposed to be a picture of the painting on the side of the hill pointing to the spring. Really, it was pitiful. I'm not sure who did the measuring, but it wasn't very big and it wasn't particularly hot. It did have the familiar stench of sulfur, however. It was not a long stop. The most exciting part was walking over the cattle grate in anticipation of seeing buffalo roaming on the plains. Alas, it was not to be.














Upon reaching Devil's Tower, I had my first ever glimpse of prairie dogs. Kate had been perfectly gleeful with anticipation and this time, we were not disappointed. Devil's Tower has one of the few extant prairie dog towns in the country. I learned all about the difference between the white-tailed and black-tailed varieties. They truly are fascinating creatures and watching them dart in and out of their holes and turn their heads to survey the land was mesmerizing.














That night, we stayed at a KOA campground where we showered for the first time in 5 days. Quite possibly the best shower I've ever had. We threw the frisbee around a bit and played cards in the dark. It was also the first night of camping outside of bear country and it was so nice to be able to leave a bottle of water and the stove sitting out on the picnic table overnight! The sky was clear and we spent quite awhile stargazing. Picking out constellastions= not my talent. I did manage to find more than I've ever found before.

The next morning, we drove up to Devil's Tower to hike around the base. There is fascinating mythology surrounding the origin of the tower. A pair of climbers were descending from the top of the tower and we stopped to watch them for awhile. The remnants of the ladder first used to climb the tower over a hundred years ago are also visible.














After spending the morning at the tower, we headed to Mount Rushmore. Our visit there, though short, will require its own post...

Labels: travel

posted by CP @ 6:44 PM 0 thoughts