Day 14- Rapid City, SD to Powder Mountain Pass

I keep this notepad beside me on the front seat of the truck so when I think of something to tell you, I jot it down. Today was a busy note taking day. I forgot to mention a couple of days ago when we moved into Mountain time somewhere after we passed Murdo on Rte I-90. Now, I’m two hours earlier for my Boston Red Sox home games. Today we drove through huge areas of forest fire damage, some fairly recent and others old enough so the trees have sprouted new growth. Still, the dead, limbless snags look very strange all along the ridge line. I understand how important fire is in the grand scheme of things, nature using one of her many weapons to revitalize the soil, renew the undergrowth and in some cases even helping some trees to distribute their seeds. So there’s no misunderstanding, I am not in favor of arson started fires that endanger lives and destroy property. As we pass by the sleepy town of Sturgis, SD , I am reminded that it is not always this way. For those of you who are not familiar with the name, it’s a gathering of motorcycle people that makes Laconia Bike week look like a Sunday Church Social. We stop at the first Welcome Center after we enter the state of Wyoming and I can’t help but notice there are cattle grates across the bottom of the ramp, at the entrance to the rest area and across the beginning of the on ramp when we return to the highway. It wasn’t just that exit either, it was all of them. I guess you have to understand the kind of country we are in. It’s cattle country and cattle are only as responsible as their fences and the amount of grass they have on their side of that fence. That being said, a fair number of horses have been known to push their boundaries, as well. A cattle grate is disconcerting to cross for even us humans. The spaces between the metal slats can be as much as 4-6 inches. Put a foot wrong and this little lady’s size 6 is wedged in there. A hoofed animal won’t cross them even if they’re tail is on fire.

I catch my first glimpse of Devil’s Tower when we still have about 30 miles to travel. The road descends and twists so much the sightings are brief until the last turn and there it is straight in front of me. I had no idea this 1200+ ft monolith was up on it’s own plateau making it jut up into the sky even higher. The temperature is more than 90 and I make the decision not to do the 1.2 mile trek around the base of the rock. This means I have just as good a view from right where I am and don’t have to spend the money to drive in. What I’ll miss is a photo or two from the other side. Some of you may not be familiar with Devil’s Tower. It was made famous and brought to my attention when it was featured in the Spielberg movie, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. In the movie, I truly thought the thing was manmade. It just looks so unusual. I’ve read the material is from a “volcanic upwelling of plastic material” etc. Just someone tell me what that means, please? Eventually, far off in the distance, I catch a glimpse of a high snow covered mountain range. I wonder out loud if it’s the Rockies or the Tetons. Carl doesn’t know. In due time I will find it isn’t either one, it’s the Bighorn Mountain range and we have to cross them before we can get to Cody, WY. After taking on additional gas ( we’re going to carry 10 spare gallons in the back of the truck ) and topping off the tank, we head out of Buffalo. Carl spots a bull moose right off the bat but there’s no place to pull over. There are places further up and we pull into a few of them and top out in Powder Mt Pass, 9666 ft above sea level. We have pulled off the road in a very large parking area for the night. There isn’t a soul around although we do hear road noise from time to time. I thought I was going to have a beautiful sunset opportunity up here but the clouds rolled in and it’s begun to rain. Maybe tomorrow, we’ll get sunrise photos. 2798 total miles traveled to date.