We pulled into WY this morning and our first stop was the Buffalo Jump, a sink hold where the Indians used to run the buffalo. They were able to trap and kill many buffalo here before they had horses so that they could store up meat for survival. We traveled on a few miles further to Sundance (home of the Sundance Kid) and took this exit because it would lead us to Devils Tower. As we went through town, we spotted about five wild turkeys in a yard, so we stopped in the middle of the road to get a picture. The turkeys began to wander, and since there was NO ONE around Nathan started to put the van in reverse to get a better shot. That was about the time Officer Friendly showed up in the oncoming lane and did a U turn up behind us. Fortunately, Nathan got the car back in drive before he saw the reverse lights. He walked up to the window and asked us what the problem was. He was not really too amused and explained that we had stopped right in the lane of traffic
(WHAT TRAFFIC!!) and that if we wanted pictures of the wildlife we needed to pull to the side next time. He was at least friendly enough to not give a ticket, just a very stern look which is good 'cause Nathan said he was not coming back to contest a ticket. We have also noticed that the first several exits here in eastern WY have cattle guards at the on and off ramps. Guess they want to keep all their livestock from traveling
"busy" I90! :)
Nathan's new motto for vacations is "If you don't go, you don't know". We were figuring on skipping Devils Tower since everything around was shrouded in clouds and snow. (http://www.nps.gov/deto/) We figured this formation - that stands 5112' above sea level- would be lost, but we decided to give it a try anyway. We have also learned that things change here in a flash. We would occasionally catch an unclouded glimpse of the tower, holler for the camera, and literally within seconds it would be covered again. As we approached it, only the lower portion was exposed. As we drove further up a little more appeared. We were able to enjoy more wildlife on the way up to the visitor's station. Taylor has finally quit counting now that he has reached 100 on the deer. (We have seen both mule and white tailed.) We found another field of prairie dogs and were even privileged enough to see a porcupine (Quite a treat since they are nocturnal animals!). Once at the base of Devils Tower, we visited with some very nice rangers. The boys were able to participate in a Junior Ranger program and got busy searching for clues and answers to their worksheets. We hiked 1.3 miles around the base of the tower in a light falling snow and were thrilled to occasionally catch a glimpse of the entire thing. Nathan even taught the boys a new trick. He called all three of them over near a young ponderosa pine to have a look at something. Once they were all gathered, he gave a nice bump to the tree sending an avalanche of snow on to each of them. They were quite shocked but enjoyed finding more opportunities to ambush their brothers further down the trail! :) As for the Tower, to quote a local commercial, "It's worth the drive!" Once back to the visitor's center, the boys earned their badges and one of the rangers told us we had made her season when she saw the back of our van packed with the two tumbleweeds. She said she wished she had had a camera to capture that. She even offered to let the boys come by her house and gather even more. They figure we will be the only ones in Memphis with tumbleweeds in our yard! :)
The snow finally let up after we left Devils Tower, and the skies were looking so pretty out in front of us, as we pulled in tonight to Sheridan there were some large clouds in front of us again, but it is dry here and we'll just have to see what the morning brings. We decided to go ahead and stop because we were getting so tired, and out here, if you find a place with a hotel, you'd better not pass it up. I watched the odometer and know that I went nearly 20 miles at one point before I saw another structure. So far east WY has been lots of rolling hills and ranch land. There are no street lights, no homes near the road, no stores. This land is still the wild frontier.
(WHAT TRAFFIC!!) and that if we wanted pictures of the wildlife we needed to pull to the side next time. He was at least friendly enough to not give a ticket, just a very stern look which is good 'cause Nathan said he was not coming back to contest a ticket. We have also noticed that the first several exits here in eastern WY have cattle guards at the on and off ramps. Guess they want to keep all their livestock from traveling
"busy" I90! :)
Nathan's new motto for vacations is "If you don't go, you don't know". We were figuring on skipping Devils Tower since everything around was shrouded in clouds and snow. (http://www.nps.gov/deto/) We figured this formation - that stands 5112' above sea level- would be lost, but we decided to give it a try anyway. We have also learned that things change here in a flash. We would occasionally catch an unclouded glimpse of the tower, holler for the camera, and literally within seconds it would be covered again. As we approached it, only the lower portion was exposed. As we drove further up a little more appeared. We were able to enjoy more wildlife on the way up to the visitor's station. Taylor has finally quit counting now that he has reached 100 on the deer. (We have seen both mule and white tailed.) We found another field of prairie dogs and were even privileged enough to see a porcupine (Quite a treat since they are nocturnal animals!). Once at the base of Devils Tower, we visited with some very nice rangers. The boys were able to participate in a Junior Ranger program and got busy searching for clues and answers to their worksheets. We hiked 1.3 miles around the base of the tower in a light falling snow and were thrilled to occasionally catch a glimpse of the entire thing. Nathan even taught the boys a new trick. He called all three of them over near a young ponderosa pine to have a look at something. Once they were all gathered, he gave a nice bump to the tree sending an avalanche of snow on to each of them. They were quite shocked but enjoyed finding more opportunities to ambush their brothers further down the trail! :) As for the Tower, to quote a local commercial, "It's worth the drive!" Once back to the visitor's center, the boys earned their badges and one of the rangers told us we had made her season when she saw the back of our van packed with the two tumbleweeds. She said she wished she had had a camera to capture that. She even offered to let the boys come by her house and gather even more. They figure we will be the only ones in Memphis with tumbleweeds in our yard! :)
The snow finally let up after we left Devils Tower, and the skies were looking so pretty out in front of us, as we pulled in tonight to Sheridan there were some large clouds in front of us again, but it is dry here and we'll just have to see what the morning brings. We decided to go ahead and stop because we were getting so tired, and out here, if you find a place with a hotel, you'd better not pass it up. I watched the odometer and know that I went nearly 20 miles at one point before I saw another structure. So far east WY has been lots of rolling hills and ranch land. There are no street lights, no homes near the road, no stores. This land is still the wild frontier.
No comments:
Post a Comment