Wyoming and Devils Tower

I have photos for this, too, but will have to wait.

You have really entered the west when you enter Wyoming, and its welcome sign is different, as is the west.  Our goal yesterday was Devils Tower, an amazing monolith that climbs 875 feet above the plain, which is already nearly 5000 feet above sea level.  It juts up as you approach, and can be seen from 100 miles away.  If you saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it was the object of obsession in that movie.

It is such an amazing sight, that when Teddy Roosevelt came upon it in the 1800's, he made it the nations' first National Monument.  (yes, the first national park was Yellowstone, but this was the first monument.)

You will see in the photos that unfortunately  it was hazy, and the clouds were gathering, and I had a very gray sky to shoot against.  (photoshop anyone???)  And we drove on, and into rain.  It cleared for a while when we reached Casper, thankfully, as we stayed here last night, and were able to hook up and stay dry.  Then the clouds let loose for real!  It has rained much of the night, and we both expected flooding when we got up this morning, but it apparently drains very well.  The big puddle that gathered next to the coach last night is about the same size!

Casper is the second largest town in Wyoming, and host to one of the only three enclosed shopping malls in the entire state, with 90 stores, and a theatre that has second run movies.   As you can imagine, we are not going there!!  Actually, the thing I would like to see here is the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.  The Gold Rush trails, Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail all went through here, and it tells the stories.

We turned south from Devil's tower instead of continuing on the northern route through Montana.  We were concerned about passes with the crazy spring, and sure enough, one of our fellow travelers told us they went to Glacier Park  and had to turn around because of snow.  So we head in the direction of Salt Lake City today, and then make the diagonal up toward Portland.  A little out of our way, but better safe than sorry.