Along the road to Devils Tower

The east entrance road out of Yellowstone turned out to be a very windy, scenic road. At 45 MPH, we could enjoy the breathtaking vistas, climbing our way up out of the caldera into the mountains, the narrow two-lane road hugging the side of the mountain with sheer drops to a canyon below. 

Leaving this steaming, venting landscape

We were driving along yet another dotted (scenic) route on the map, Route 14, on our way to Sheridan. On the other side, the scenery continued its scenic fascination, interesting rock formations dominating the landscape, until we approached the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and drove through a series of tunnels through the mountains. 

Strange rock formations along the Shoshone River

Buffalo Bill Reservoir

The first long tunnel

A couple more shorter tunnels

The series of tunnels under the Rattlesnake Mountains are more than a mile in total length. On the other side, the landscape appeared to suddenly change and become dry and arid, reminding me of a similar terrain in eastern Washington once we cross the Cascade Range to the leeward, dry side.

From Cody to Greybull, we found ourselves driving through open prairie grasslands that are mostly ranches. Several times we noticed pronghorn deer in the fields among the cattle.

Past Greybull, we continued on Route 14 along yet another scenic section known as the Bighorn Scenic Byway. We couldn't imagine that we would be seeing even more spectacular rock formations as we climbed our way ever higher along the twisting, winding road that seemed to continue to climb for miles.

What climbs up eventually crests and we reached Granite Pass at 9,033 feet elevation. As soon as we crossed the mountain meadow at the top of the range, we began the steep 10-mile 8% hairpin grade into the valley on the other side. A couple of trucks were complying with the 20 MPH posted speed limit.  We were in 3rd gear with the Pac brake on at 30 MPH.  I used to think that crossing the pass into Pismo Beach was steep! 

At Sheridan, we first stopped for fuel before making our way to Peter D's RV Park for the night. It had been a long 260-mile day, through incredible scenery of the Rockies and then the Bighorn Mountains.

I was more than ready for a cup of tea! 

Peter D's was a great overnight stop. The owner is funny and very friendly, and his wife shares the bounty of her vegetable patch with guests. I came away from the office with a couple of squashes. 

A Eurovan Camper pulled in alongside us, bringing back fond memories of our travels in our '97 Eurovan.  We  traveled 44,000 miles during the 5 years we had ours. Compared to Alpine, it sure looks tiny and compact.

The next morning we drove the final 160 miles to Devils Tower under gray, drippy skies, and often foggy conditions. The route took us along I-90, past prairie grassland and rolling hills. I caught glimpses of cattle ranches, and quite often there were also pronghorn deer in the fields, lying down on this damp day.

Alexander McCall Smith entertained us along the way with his tales of Precious and Grace from the No1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

At Moorcroft, we turned north on Route 14 for the final 30 miles to the park, passing Keyhole Reservoir, and once again driving through interesting topography of rocky ridges and red rock walls that began to appear seemingly out of nowhere.

On the final approach to the park, we could see the monolith up ahead through the low clouds.

Here we would stay for the next three nights to discover what this strange monolith is all about.