Saturday, August 25, 2007
Grand "Tetons" , Quakes, Devils & getting "Bad" in S.D.
Today, we found ourselves getting bad in the Badlands National Park....(Don't we look BAD ????)
IN Custer State Park, blocking the road were wild Burros.... here are a couple checking out Ilea and our car.
A Big Horn Sheep right by the roadside in Custer State Park.
Taking a ride in the Black Hills, SD, we went thru Custer State Park. This is Needles Highway - note the narrow tunnel (glad we did not take the RV!)
Mount Rushmore, S.D., while the faces were impressive, they were not as large as we thought they would be.
It seemed to be appropriate to eye up a new and exciting face on the rocks of Rushmore.
There were 100's of these prairie dogs around Devils Tower.
Had to leave Wyoming, go into Montana, and re-enter Wyoming on route to South Dakota - destination, Mount Rushmore and vicinity...... NOTE sign shows cowboy and also DEVILS TOWER (locatied in WY.)
After realizing that Devils Tower was sort of on the way to Mt Rushmore, we were literally 'on the fence' as to whether we should sinfully negotiate, and deviate our trip in the direction of said evil grounds.......
Could not resist the temptation - here we are at the Devil's Tower. This is the FIRST designated US NATIONAL MONUMENT! Legend had it that one kid in a family of many turned into a bear, chased his siblings onto this big tree stump, and the stump magically rose to the sky (with kids on top) saving the kids; the bear tried its best to claw at them (reason why the sides of the tower have what appears to be scratch marks!)
Bill does the daily offering to the tower ....
This is a shot from the top of RT 212 which leaves Yellowstone Park in the North east corner .... photo does not capture the scene AT ALL. This road climbs and climbs, with hairpin turns and drop-offs the edge of the road that rival ANYTHING we have ever seen ( and - as you may know, we have seen quite a few extreme roads.) It was the drive of a lifetime!
The day we left Yellowstone, we encountered this coyote only a 100 ft off the road... viewed him snacking on rodents.
At the entrance to Yellowstone, this is the closest and best shot we got of a grizzly.... after this shot, he swam across river toward us!
A day trip south of Yellowstone takes us to the Grand "Tetons" National park.... FYI- French Canadian fur trappers named these mountains TETONS which in French mean BREASTS ( fellows must have missed their women while hunting!) Pic shows Tetons, and Jenny Lake.
Site where the 1959 quake destroyed one of many houses and resorts near Yellowstone.
Did some kayaking in Hebgen Lake near Yellowstone...a gorgeous day- saw eagles, river otter. This is the vicinity of a huge 1959 earthquake which wreaked havoc, and created another nearby lake "Earthquake Lake."
Attempting to re-enact the 1959 earthquake, Bill utilizes an outhouse, and successfully "ends" the life of a toilet!
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Good for people to know.
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