Driving through Montana and Wyoming

U.S Road Trip 2013

Part Fourteen

We left northeastern Washington early on Monday morning. This was a driving day for D and a napping day for me. I was virtually narcoleptic on this trip much to my husband's dismay. 

On Montana we crossed the Clark's Fork River fifteen times, raced trains, crossed the Continental Divide, and saw the headwaters of the Missouri. We watched Montana go from this . . .

to this . . .

to this . . . 

to this, with a lot of beautiful rocky landscapes in-between. At one point I woke up as we were coming through a pass and it looked just like the rocks on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disneyland. 

Near the Wyoming border and just before the Crow Reservation we got out at a rest stop to enjoy the wonderfully warm prairie breeze and read the information signs about buffalo jumps and Lewis and Clark. Not all rest stops are created equal, in case you didn't know. We know. My favorite rest stops were clean, had running water and soap, and something informational.

Sometime around dinner we entered Wyoming and made it to  our campsite at Keyhole State Park at 9:30 p.m. D is not only an amazing driver, but he got good at setting up our tent in the dark.

We woke up to find a campsite frog and admire the reservoir before getting on the road for a long day of sight-seeing. Tuesday consisted of short spells of  travel, only hopping out of the car for quick walks to get closer looks, pick up postcards, and stamp our national parks passports. We shared the road with thousands of bikers, all participating in Sturgis, the biggest motorcycle rally in the United States. You won't be able to miss them in our photos. Every location had special motorcycle parking.

We started that day at Devils Tower National Monument. Touring multiple landforms in a short period of time familiarized us with geological terms. For example, Devils Tower started as an igneous intrusion but after erosion became a volcanic plug. Learn that and other smart-sounding things on your next road trip.

Climbers were scaling the visible face. We watched for awhile. It takes a little patience to observe climbers. One of the kids remarked that climbing seemed boring.

The Native American legend of how Devils Tower's origin became E's favorite thing to tell and retell to anyone who would listen. It involves seven sisters, their brother who turns into a giant bear, and a growing, talking tree stump that helps the girls escape from danger. Just ask E and he'll take you through it again.

The rest of this beautiful driving day is detailed in the photo-heavy post that follows about our South Dakota days.