Wyoming, Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial

As previously mentioned, we left Yellowstone via the East Gate in the Shoshone Park area. The spectacular landscape of the Shoshone Forest and Shoshone River continued to hold our attention with the river and mountains seeming to change colours with every turn of the road. Soon we were in very rocky country - magnificent outcrops resembling old European castle turrets stood out among the trees.

Shoshone country

This was a very differently beautiful part of the country and brought to mind the old Wild West movies that were a popular genre in the 1950s and 60s.

Love these Rocks !

Then the scenery changed again and we were driving through a valley - the Shoshone River valley - with more snow capped mountains contrasting against a very blue sky.

Shoshone Valley, Wyoming

Soon we came to a muddy looking lake. This was actually the reservoir for Buffalo Bill Dam. We stopped here for a while to fulfill the family tradition of examining every dam we come across. Not being that interested in the dam construction myself, I took the opportunity to take some photos while standing still.

Bufflo Bill Reservoir

Buffalo Bill Dam is not far from Cody, the self proclaimed 'Rodeo Capital of the World" and it was here that we stopped for lunch. Cody really had a well branded Wild West feel about it and deservedly so. It was founded by William 'Buffalo Bill" Cody who seems to have been quite a character! He came to Cody - not named that then - after life as a soldier in the Civil War and established himself by providing Buffalo meat to the railroad company - some 4000 plus beasts in eight months thereby earning the nickname " Buffalo Bill". The fact that "buffalo" meat was actually bison meat and that I  have myself, looked one of those beasts in the eye indicates that he was one strong and brave man! Aparently he actually defended this nickname by killing 69 more bison to his opponent's 48. He then cashed in on his reputation by getting up Wild West roadshows which were popular not only in the United States but also overseas. No wonder the town is named after him!

Air Museum, Grey Bull

Our plan was to head for Sheridan, arriving in the afternoon so that we would have time to relax and stay there for the night. Driving was easy with very little other traffic on the road with interesting things to see. Now we were in farming country, mixed with horses, un farmed patches where elk stood and looked at us as we sped by. A thunder and lightening storm in the mountains some distance ahead added some drama to the drive.

Wild Flowers and Thunderstorm, Big Horn Range, Wyoming

 From Grey Bull we headed for the Big Horn Range which we had to cross to get to Sheridan. This was an interesting road, winding up in a series of U bends, the river gushing furiously sometimes close to the road as it fell noisily down the mountain. The canyon was quite narrow but widened in places to reveal yellow wild flowers growing on grassy strips.

Big Horn Mountain Pass

We were very near the top of the pass and looking forward to arriving in Sheridan within the hour when we met a roadblock where a  road crew was clearing a slip and fixing up the road. They advised us that the road would be open again "sometime tomorrow" and that we should either camp nearby or head back to Grey Bull and take the other Pass across the Range to Gillette. Back we went to Grey Bull getting another chance to enjoy the Canyon. By now it was late afternoon and the deer had come out of hiding and were feeding near the road. We encountered many of them all along the road until nightfall, often startling them. Happily we managed to avoid one which decided to run across the road in front of our car.

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Back at Grey Bull, we took the road through Basin and Ten Sleep and crossed the Big Horn Range as night came over. Although this was a much higher Pass than the first one and had snow quite deep alongside the road, it was not so windy. It would be a very busy place in winter months with several ski fields near the top.

Big Horn Range

Near Ten Sleep, Wyoming

Rainbow as we come down into Gillette

Fortunately we missed the might of the storm although there were some mighty big rain drops preventing me from taking photos through the window as the car sped along. At Buffalo - 4500 ft above sea level - we stopped for dinner at the Bozeman Trail Steakhouse where we dined under a huge stuffed moose, a bison and a wall full of antlers. The Wild West lives on ! This resturant had copies of an interesting book written by a local person for sale so I have that as a souvenier of both our Wild West Dining Experience and also a Wyoming memory. It's called "Wyoming Whistle Stop"  by James Ballard and has a mixture of hunourous short, short stories, jokes and annecdotes as well as a couple of recipies. The black and white pictures are fun too.

The next morning, after a comfortable night in a hotel, we set off for Devil's Tower. This is an amazing rock, the remains of volcanic cone and according to the literature, it used to be much higher but has eroded over the millenienums.

Devil's Tower National Monument

The photo below was taken inside the Park as we drove around the base.

Devil's Tower

One of the Indian names for this was Bear's Lodge but it was renamed by Col. Richard Dodge in 1875. Bear Lodge seems an appropriate name for it as there is  what we would call a 'dreaming time" story about how it came into existence that involves a bear. I just love such stories so . . .

Seven sisters and their brother were playing together where the Tower is today when the brother began to behave oddly, running on his hands and feet and becoming dumb. Fur appeared on his body and he changed into a bear and promptly chased after his sisters, threatening to atack them. Terrified they jumped onto the stump of a tree [ some stories say a rock ] which began to rise into the air, taking them up as the bear tried to grab them. The tree/rock went up and up until it reached the sky whereupon the sisters were transformed into stars of the Big Dipper.

Moral: Don't annoy your brother!

Devil's Tower

The rocks heaped around the area are testament to recent erosion.

The Tower is a popular rock climbing venue.

Information board at the foot of the Tower

Prarie Dog

There are hundreds of these Prarie dogs but they are really rodents. They look cute but they can do a lot of damage should someone foolishly get too close and feed them.

Four Presidents at Mt Rushmore

From the Devil's Tower monument we went to South Dakota to see the mountain carvings of the four Presidents. From left to right we have: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln. It was raining quite heavily while we were there and the rock face was wet and dark making it difficult to photograph. When we stopped at Grey Bull I was talking to the lady in the gas station. She was excited to hear that we intended visiting this place as one of her great uncles had worked on the carvings and she said that she had always wanted to see them for herself but never had the chance. I wished that I had asked his name as there was a plaque with the sculptors' names that I could have photgraphed and sent her.

Crazy Horse Memorial

Although it was getting dark when we left Mt Rushmore, we decided that we needed to get a glimpse of the other side of American history and take a look at the Crazy Horse Memorial not far away. This is the world's largest mountain carving dedicated to an Indian Chief who was stabbed in the back by an American soldier while under a flag of truce. He was born in this area around 1842 and had defended his people and didn't trust the treaties and promises of the newcomers, the Americans, who came for the land and its treasures.
This carving was started in 1948 and won't be finished anytime soon but the original sculptor, one Korczak, drew detailed plans knowing that the Memorial could not be finished in his lifetime. his model of the finished work is in the Visitors' Centre. The present Trustees have refused funding from both the State and Federal Governments, so this is raised by entrance fees. We were happy to contribute although we were so short of time that we didn't get past the carpark. I would love to return to spend time in the visitors' centre where there are displays relating to Indian culture and history. Next time !

Southern Wyoming

When I was young I read a book set in Wyoming and after that I associated Wyoming with horses. There was so much more to it than horses! As we drove back to Denver I began to note the names of the ranches we had passed in Wyoming: Lone Elk Ranch, Last Chance Ranch, Four Bison Ranch, Walking Bull Ranch, No Name Ranch, Poor Me Ranch. . . . There must be a story in every name!

Wyoming. A beautiful State, and not only at Yellowstone, but all over.