Day 22 - Rapid City SD to Buffalo, WY Naturally, you can't come to Rapid City without visiting the iconic American monument to four of the more important Presidents at mt Rushmore, so of course, that's what we did. We took lots and lots of photos while we were there, but multiple photos of the same carvings in the side of Mt Rushmore would just get boring. So, obviously, the answer is a photo of bobblehead presidents WTF!?
From there, we drove through the nearby hills and dropped in to the Crazy Horse monument which is still in the process of being carved out of the rock of another mountain about 10 miles away. Some might argue for or against the carving up of nature to create recognisable forms. Given the excessive number of 'spare' mountains in the western US, defacing (or should that be re-facing) a couple of mountains in the name of art, and out of respect for beloved persons from history shouldn't cause too much of a problem.
Crazy Horse, which I forgot to add into the previous post. From there, we headed west and then north through East Wyoming to Devils Tower (as seen in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind) It is a magical place - a plug of cured magma which had risen up through the Earth's crust in a volcano, cooled and the volcano exterior has eroded away over the past few millions of years. It was the first monument gazetted by the US government and I suggest a good choice.
While we were at Devils Tower, there were a half-dozen intrepid (another word for stupid if you ask me) people climbing what looked like sheer rock columns. We saw two of them get to the top and stand there, surveying the scene. A couple of others got about half way up and then abseiled back down. As we were leaving, just outside the main gate, pulled up on the side of the road was a pair of 37 Fords. Well, having owned a 37 myself (the one in my avatar), I figured I'd say G'day and have a look. I said Hi and asked if I could take a picture of the first car. I guessed wrong on which guy was the owner of the tudor and was told I had better ask "Him". When I went around to the other side, the guy was obviously having a very bad day, was sick and tired of people telling him they like his car, was having an argument with his missus or maybe just had a 'full-sack' because in spite of telling that I had had a 37 tudor humpback with a chopped roof, all I got were monosyllabic grunt and a strong impression my interest in his car was not wanted. Rather than offer some coaching on how to better treat strangers who were just attempting to engage in some light conversation, we just left and headed on to Buffalo in Wyoming for the night. A cruise through open rolling countryside and some I-90 got us there in short order. Buffalo is a cute town - downtown is full of old 100 odd year old buildings and has quite the charm about it.
Day 23 - Buffalo WY to Cody WY On our quest, one of the headline places we wanted to visit was Yellowstone National Park - a supposed wonderland of mountains, rivers and lakes, wildlife and volcanic hotspots. Being a cheap-arse, I didn't want to spring a few hundred dollars for a night staying in the park, so we decided to stop in Cody so we could use it as an early starting point the next day. That meant we only had a couple of hundred miles to go to get to Cody that day. In our motel in Buffalo was a brochure telling us the best way to get to Yellowstone was along US-16. Well, we were on it already, so we decided to follow their advice. Just out of Buffalo, the road starts its gentle climb up through the mountains to the west. The road is great and the scenery is beautiful. We took lots of photos of the often changing countryside. The trees were quite dense - mostly pines interspersed with Aspen or Birches. The road climbed from Buffalo at around 4250' to a pass at just under 9700' at a reasonably steady climb. The traffic was light, the road was good and all was good - we were soaking up the scenery and feeling good about our choice of route.
After cresting the pass, heading down the other side, we came across a nice lake where a couple of guys were fishing before finding ourselves driving down what felt like a small Grand Canyon. The cliff walls on either side were very steep and US-16 winds its way down the northern side of the canyon. The views were spectacular - the larger vistas as well as the closer views of the rock faces. After getting to what felt like the bottom, we had plenty of time on our hands and enjoyed the views so much, we decided to take a side road to see if there were more views available from a different perspective. We turned off onto Wy-434 which quickly turned from a small, tight single lane road into a goat track. Being intrepid travellers ourselves, and driving a rental car, we kept going. Soon, it was obvious that the road led up the south side of the canyon we had just driven down. Near the start, a small sign indicated that US-16 was 8 miles away, so I figured it must go through back to where we had been. Also, being a gazetted state road, I believed it must be 1. passable, and 2. not too 'life-threatening'. We continued along, doing around 20 most of the way. Apart from some dust, the going wasn't too bad (well, compared to some of the roads back home anyway). About half way, we got to a gate. When I first saw it, I figured we would have to turn around and go back but then thought 'hang on, this is a state road'. I looked at the gate again and the sign said 'Please close the gate', so I despatched Mrs DB to gate opening and closing duties while I drove through (it's an Aussie tradition that whoever is riding shotgun does the gate duties (I just made that up)). She laughed (not a good laugh) and I'm still getting over the bruises - haha! Truly, the views up to 'other side' were well worth driving on a dusty track. The road didn't get better, but it didn't get worse either. There were a couple of very small camping areas which had a tent in each, a few cows (the reason for the gate, no doubt) and because we had to drive so slow, you really got to feel part of the wild nature. You can hear the serenity. If anyone is going along US-16, I can thoroughly recommend taking this little detour - it is not 'show-car friendly' but if you don't mind getting a few stone chips or (better still) if you're driving someone else's rental car, then have at it. Down through the other side, you pass 10 Sleep Creek and on into Worland.
After Worland, the brochure suggested we follow the Wy-431, which takes us via a back road through 'Painted Desert'. It took a little finding but after a few miles, we did find it and headed along the road. For most of the first 10 - 20 miles, it is fairly poor farmland (well, compared to Iowa anyway) before finally just becoming open scrubland. The painted desert was more like a very small area of Badlands. The rock faces were a little steeper, suggesting slightly harder rock or more intermittent rain events and the extent was much smaller than the previous Badlands we had visited. If there were a league ladder of Badlands, this one wouldn't make the play-offs, but it was worth the small detour. From there, we headed into Meeteetse, a very small town which had timber sidewalks. We called into the local Cowboy Saloon for some ,lunch and a couple of drinks before heading into Cody for the night. It wasn't a 'big' day, but we really enjoyed the sights we saw and the diversity of the journey.
Oh this thread is first rate! Brought back a lot of solo cross-country bicycle memories. Thank you both!
Some suggestions for you. This summer my wife and I took a trip to Texas. Looking for a new route in Utah we found highway 12 from Brice Canyon to Capitol Reef through Escalante and the Grand Staircase. A beautiful drive and well worth a detour. Another pleasant surprise was McElmo Canyon, partly gravel but good, south of Cortez, CO near Four Corners connecting with 191 between Blanding and Bluff Utah. You can't go wrong for scenery in Utah. Here is a link to some pictures. https://picasaweb.google.com/sixpics/TexsTrip2015?authkey=Gv1sRgCNCknYOSosi1Xg#
Thanks Six Ball, we'll be in that area in a few weeks and will take your advice. We always appreciate advice. We're heading towards Denver tomorrow and then east through Nebraska and into southern Iowa. Hope others can help us with suggestions along the way. Thanks again.
If you're going to be in the neighborhood of Blanding, Utah I'd suggest a short side trip to Moki Dugway and Gooseneck State Park near Mexican Hat, Utah. Depending on your route it could be a short trip of only a few minutes. Natural Bridges National Monument isn't far, either.
Hi atch, we will definitely be heading down to the SE corner of Utah. We're up the north end at the moment, (Wendover last night) but heading east along the I-80 corridor through Denver, Omaha and southern Iowa before heading back west again. Than ks a lot for the tip, much appreciated.
Day 24 - Cody WY to Idaho Falls ID via Yellowstone We started early in the morning, as we knew we had a lot to see and a long way to go. Heading up the highway to Yellowstone, we passed Cody's large reservoir and started climbing towards the East Entrance to Yellowstone. We continued the climb after passing the entrance and soon after Sylvan Pass at 8530', as we were approaching Yellowstone Lake, we came across the first of the bison we would see. Naturally, everyone stopped their cars to observe them wandering about - just like they owned the place - well, I kinda guess they do in one way. On past Yellowstone Lake, we saw a few vents of steam coming up from the ground at random spots, we headed north and came across Mud Volcano. Again, like everyone, we stopped to look around and take plenty of photos. It was surprising the variety of volcanic vents in such a tight cluster - hot water pools that oozed while others bubbled away, hot water pools that belched forth great waves of water as well as mud pool that plopped. The smell was quite noticeable - rotten egg smell - it was like the Earth had farted - a lot!
Heading further north, the road runs alongside Yellowstone River, heading north. Grazing both sides of the road and river were about 100 bison, just minding their own business, while lots of people stopped to take lots of photos. Here's one; After there, we stopped off at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and wandered along the trail to view the Falls Wow.
Heading further north around the north loop, we passed Tower-Roosevelt and views along the Lamar Valley - also spectacular. and then on to Mammoth Hot Springs where hot water has spilled for ages from the ground carrying minerals that settle out forming stepped ponds and other forms of wonder.
Next we headed down the western side of the loop road. By now, there was lots of traffic and with nowhere to pass, the lowest level of skill and lack of confidence kept everyone to around 30 mph - it took forever to get to the Geyser Basins. Driving past the Lower Geyser Basin, we spotted our first 'gusher' We continued on to the Upper Geyser Basin to see Old Faithful. We got there and found out it would be almost another hour until Old Faithful was expected to spout forth next. We looked around and listened to one of the Park Rangers speak about the geyser field. That filled in a little while and then I looked inside the Visitor's Centre which killed another half hour or so. While in there, an announcement that the beehive geyser, which only spouts every third day, had erupted (oooh, that's probably not the right word). Everyone rushed out to see. About 10 minutes before Old Faithful was due to spout, I headed back out. There was quite a crowd there to see. Lots of benches have been provided - these were full and as many people standing behind. We all waited expectantly, seeing small spout a couple of feet high as tempters to what was expected, but it wouldn't happen. We all waited and waited and about 15 minutes later than predicted, Old Faithful blew a load of boiling water and steam into the sky. Pretty impressive jet of water. She might be Old Faithful, but maybe not Old Reliable.
Great pictures! You've seen more of my country than I have. Mesa Verde is worth the climb. There is a lot of the Lincoln Highway in the places you are traveling. It was the first coast to coast route that was marked some of it was paved. https://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/map/
By now it was getting later in the afternoon. Having felt we had seen lots of Yellowstone, we wanted to see the Artists Pots which we had left until last if we felt we had time. Heading back up north, passing Biscuit Basin, we took a couple of pics of water gushing into the aptly named Firehole River Then on past the western exit to West Yellowstone, to the Artists Pots We left around 5.30 with still a fair way to go - the better part of 2 hour drive to Idaho Falls. Heading out of the park, it started to rain - quite hard. After about 15 miles, a warning light came up on the dash - the renter has a tyre pressure sensor and warning light, as well as a nifty pressure read-out for each tyre. The left rear had dropped about 50 kPa (about 7psi) - something to check when we get a chance. I continued on, suspecting we had got a slow leak and it wouldn't be a problem. Another 5 miles down the road, there was a service station, so I thought I'd check again, and it had dropped another 40 kPa (around 6psi), so it had dropped quite a bit in a short time and I knew we had a problem. When I pulled up at the servo, as I got out of the car, you could hear air gushing from the tyre - damn! That obviously meant changing the tyre. Pull out the manual and find out how to get the spare out and where to put the jack. A couple of locals offered assistance if we needed, which we very much appreciated but I had it under control. When I pulled the wheel off, the puncture was immediately obvious - a large piece of brass about 1/4" diameter with a small hole running through had gone straight through the tread. The space-saver spare was only rated for 50 mph and I didn't feel like testing its LSR potential, so after chucking everything back in the car, we spent the next couple of hours driving into Idaho Falls in rain all the way. We arrived around 9pm. The motel had no internet, so we couldn't work out where to go to get the tyre fixed.
Day 25 - Idaho Falls ID to Wendover UT First most important thing of the day was to get the tyre repaired. I was worried that the size of the piece of brass penetrating the tread may be too great or have caused too much damage to the tyre and we would have to buy another tyre - matching the OEM tyre on the renter was likely to be expensive, but not as expensive as the rental company would charge if we didn't match it. Anyway, we picked a name out of the local yellow pages. When we got there, it turned out to be owned by the local Ford dealer. Naturally, their customer service was smooth. The guy who assisted us looked at the piece of brass and thought it would be touch and go whether the tyre could be fixed but they would give it a try. I was worried I would end up with a bill for a couple of hundred dollars but knew there was nothing we could do about it. After about 20 minutes, the guy came back with the piece that had penetrated the tread - it was about 4 inches long and about 3/8" diameter. It looked like a pencil type tyre pressure gauge. There was no obvious event I recalled where I would have run it over, but it was undoubtedly well and truly plugged in there. The guy came back another 10 minutes later and said the car was ready, and that they had been able to fix the tyre and we didn't need to replace it. They had put the spare back and everything. The guy folded up a piece of paper and handed it to me - I asked him how much did we owe? Imagine my surprise when he said there was no charge. I actually argued and said "No, there must be a charge - you have spent half an hour on it plus some materials". I was hoping maybe $30, and would have been happy with $50. He assured me that there was no charge, that they offered free tyre repair and rotations to their customers. Again, I explained that we would not be able to be their customers, as we were moving along but he would not accept any money. Naturally, I thanked him profusely and readily agreed to put a glowing review on their website (which I duly did that night). After leaving Idaho Falls with a very positive frame of mind after worrying about being ripped off but ending up getting an unexpected gift, we headed west-north-west. When planning our trip, I noticed on a map a place called Atomic City not too far from Idaho Falls and near another attractively named National Park called Craters of the Moon. We left Idaho Falls in some rain, but it improved as we moved westwards. With the GPS set to quickest time, we were directed down an unmade road. Atomic City turned out to be not as grand as its name might have suggested. The place was very rundown and looked way past its prime - that is, except for a near new Fire Station. A large complex of buildings behind high security fences - there were a number of newish looking vehicles suggesting it was fully operational.
Just down the road was INL - Idaho Nuclear Laboratories (or something similar). We found out that they had made the nuclear powered batteries used on the recent (in the news) satellite to Pluto. It turns out they have been developing nuclear power plants for warships since after WW2. They have a museum that is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We were about to drive down the road and just have a look, but there is plenty of security around, plus warning signs - US Government warning signs, and being visitors to your country, we didn't want to risk not being welcome here - they don't take kindly to visitors not playing by their rules. Back in their early days, they developed and produced an electricity generating atomic power plant, and in order to test it, they powered up the nearby town of Arco - the first town in the world to be powered by electricity.
Thanks again Six Ball - I'd looked up the Lincoln Highway before we flew over but couldn't find a decent link to give me any information. Your help is very timely - we will be heading through Nebraska and southern Iowa in just a few days and will be able to cruise along it. Cheers.
Thanks Flowmeister - sometimes it's a bit difficult to do regular updates due to time and internet availability - I'm only a couple of days behind right now and hope to keep updating regularly. I'll try to keep it a bit brief but with enough info and pics to show the interesting places we've been. Cheers.
On our Texas trip this summer we had a flat outside of Santa Fe. Two New Mexico State Troopers showed up and insisted on changing the tire for us. We found a great tire shop in Albuquerque where they took out a piece of aluminum that looked like part of a folding knife handle. He patched it just fine. My wife called the state police to thank the officers. We heard later that the both received some recognition. If you go through Beaver Crossing, Nebraska would you please take a picture? My wife's grandmother was born there in the late 1800s. I always like the name and the image it invokes.
Hi Six Ball, Cool story about the NM constabulary. We are planning on going near Beaver Crossing - I'll see what we can do about taking a couple of pics for you. Cheers.
Thanks seadog, It's proving to be a bit difficult to keep the updates up to date between driving, sightseeing, eating and sleeping but that's only excuses................... I do intend to keep providing updates. Tonight I'll try to catch up a couple of days. ..................... until then..................................
The Jalopy Journal
