That big rock is called Devil’s Tower and it is a National Monument located in the north eastern corner of Wyoming.

For years, practically since I first saw the movie, I have been dying to see this thing up close. So when my wife was planning our route for our recent vacation, I practically insisted that she include Devil’s Tower in our plans.

If you are in the area… go see it. If you are not in the area and planning a vacation route… rent the movie, it’s much more impressive. Actually, the highlight of this little side trip was the cattle drive we encountered about a half an hour before reaching the Tower. As we were driving down the road, we suddenly saw a couple 100 cows being driven toward us (on the same road) by a number of cowboys and cowgirls. It happened to be Sunday so we, being easterners, figured this was a weekend family outing of some sort. Looked like fun to me.

We had to stop and pull over to the shoulder of the road to wait and allow the herd to pass. Seems that cows and buffalo have first dibs on the roads in that part of the country.

Following our half-hour visit to Devil’s Tower, we headed for Cody, Wyo. This would be our entry to Yellowstone National Park. The drive to Cody was long but filled with great sights. After lunch in the town of Buffalo, Wyoming, we drove Highway 16 west through the Powder River Pass and down along Ten Sleep Canyon. What a fantastic ride that was.

The canyon is huge and absolutely breathtaking. It was a worthy build-up for the next day’s experiences.

We spent the night in Cody and went to a rodeo. It was my wife’s first rodeo and I’m not sure what was more fun for me, watching her enjoy the show or watching her nose curl up when met by certain odors surrounding the arena. Both were a treat. Unfortunately, our schedule did not allow us time to visit the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. We were told it was a must and it looked very impressive from the outside, but we were sort of single-minded at this point and wanted to get on to Yellowstone ASAP.

So, the following morning, bright and early, we were off to Yellowstone. This was a biggy! On my Yip/Yawn scale, it got top billing off the scale. For the next three days, your senses are bombarded with beauty. There is a postcard picture at every turn. It is impossible to adequately describe everything in this park. In total square miles, it is small when compared to the Adirondack State Park. But, it is so packed with diverse sites it strains your neck to take them all in. Mountains and pastures and waterfalls and lakes and geysers and hot springs streams and rivers and more mountains and wildlife. When measured on a scale of everything to be seen, the low point is Old Faithful. Oh sure, it’s there and you have to go see it even if you have to wait the full 90 minutes for it to spout, but when compared to everything else in the park, it’s a bit of a yawner.

We took a side trip from Yellowstone to the Grand Teton National Park. Absolutely beautiful mountain range. You drive for about 40 miles along the mountain range, turn around and drive back. The sights are fantastic, but you sort of get the feeling it’s a “look but don’t touch” place to go. You’re sort of allowed to take in the beauty of the mountains, and there is no doubt of their beauty, but you can’t drive into them to get a real feel for them. You have to keep your distance on this one and only road. Sort of like a parade passing in review.

But then we went back into Yellowstone to complete our tour there. On our last full day, we drove north to spend the night in the Mammoth Hot Springs Village area. Along the way, we had two experiences that are now imprinted in our memories.

First one was being trapped in the middle of a buffalo herd migration.  As we were driving along, all the cars in front of us came to a stop and we noticed that no cars were coming from the opposite direction. We sat there for a few minutes before, off in the distance, we heard a bull horn sounding voice. Sure enough, a ranger patrol car appears coming toward us inching his way up the road and the ranger was saying “stay in your car, a buffalo herd of about 300 is coming up the road.” Soon, we found ourselves surrounded by animals of all sizes. It seems they just felt it was time to move from one pasture to another and that the road was the shortest route for them to get there.

An hour later, very near the high point of the road beyond Tower Falls, we came upon a number of cars pulled off the road and we heard someone say “bear”. So, we found a place to pull over and sure enough, a grizzly bear was strolling along on the hillside above us. I have never seen a grizzly in the wild before that moment and hope I never see one that is upset with me.  It was huge! What a sight and what a magnificent animal. My wife and I where thrilled to have seen this majestic animal in its own environment. What a sight!

I’m out of space for this week.  But, I think you can tell that there is more to tell than I have room to fit the words. So, I guess I’ll have to tell you more next week. Until then, see you outdoors!