The (Literal) High Point of Our Trip

We set eastward out of Cody this morning ... which is all about Buffalo Bill Cody (who Gracie met)....



and headed towards South Dakota and the Black Hills. As expected, the countryside changed to a more flat and desert-like landscape at first.

West of the town of Ten Sleeps WY, however, things changed dramatically as we started through Big Horn National Forest. We gained elevation from 4,500-ish and passed first through red canyons and then high meadows and pine forests, eventually going through Powder River Pass at 9,666 feet --- the highest point we’ve driven through since leaving home. (Sorry for the lack of pictures from our ascent - blame it on operator error!)


Forty or so miles later we were back in deserts and plains in the town of Buffalo, WY.


Outside of Gillette WY, we saw a huge coal mining facility adjacent to a huge, huge coal pit (strip mining) and a coal-laden train.....




P.S. We did not take the detour off of I-90 to Devil’s Tower (a round trip of about 50 miles), but could see it in the distance as we passed about 20 miles south of it.