Summer - 2021 NP Wanderlodge Trip - West & South to Wyoming

South Dakota was a whirlwind, so so much to see & do. Time to see Wyoming, so we head west to Devils Tower on I-90 and Hwy 14. Made popular by the movie - "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss. The KOA located at the Monument entrance plays the movie nightly in the shadows of the monument . . . nice!

Devils Tower WY 7.17-18.2021

Our first views were on Hwy 14 and then Hwy 24. Very visible for at least 30 miles from the monument in the rolling hill landscape.

Devils Tower rises 1,267 feet (386 m) above the Belle Fourche River. A sacred place to over 20 Native American tribes, the Tower is also known as Bear Lodge. Devils Tower was designated as America's first national monument in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. [ 1 ]

1) No fuel purchased

2) 99 miles driven today; 2,429 miles traveled so far from home. We are heading west to Devils Tower.

3) Devils Tower View CG is as it says, a great view of Devils Tower. After the rest area before the descent to the entrance to Devils Tower Monument, the campground is on the right with a fab view of the rock formation. We are here 2 nights; $94 total, $47 per night.30/ 50 amp service, Restaurant and overlook to Campstool Canyon. We have a 130 black water and 130 gray water tank and 130 fresh water. So we are good for about a week with out adding water or dumping (Everglades Jan-2021 we camped a week with only electricity)

4) Found a fabulous meal in Hulett at the Golf Course, "77 Steakhouse." Located on a hill overlooking a distant Devils Tower. Steaks, beautiful bar and nice décor.

South then West to Riverton -7.19.2021

Driving to Riverton, Route determined via RV Trip Wizard . . . WY 24 - WY14 @ Moorcroft we got on I-90 to Buffalo then south on I-25 to Casper and right on WY 26. Along the way the wildlife parade continues, totally in love with all the antelope, Big Horn Sheep, Bison we have seen and prospect of what is to come.

14 miles north of our turn to Riverton the Bird started to lose power, we have seen this before with a clogged raycor. We travel with extra filters, so after Danny replaces it, off we go. Mind you we have a large ladder bungeed to our roof ladder, which was somewhat difficult to remove and replace to get access to the engine. We had two more "power loss incidents" on WY26, before we reached our Wind River camp ground in Riverton. We were exhausted and just ready to rest.

Just so happened Riverton had a "Bluebird certified" diesel shop that would come to us on Thursday, so we will visit Tetons tomorrow.

1) No fuel purchased

2) 358 miles driven RT to Tetons 7.20.2021; 364 miles driven RT to Yellowstone 7.24.2021; 2,787 miles traveled so far from home. Gas purchased in Dubois $54.23 We headed south & west to Riverton, WY.

3) Wind River CG is located on the SE area of Riverton. We were here 10 nights (planned 5); $470.00 total, $47.00 per night. Full hook-ups; 30/ 50 amp service, large pull through spots.

4) Multiple restaurants; Walmart and Walgreens located within 5 miles, for WY this is good. Very few larger towns with multiservice options. With this CG we scored big, due to our hiccup with the raycor. The CG was able to extend us 5 days in the same site, there was a certified mechanic within 5 miles; and access to both Tetons and Yellowstone. We had already planned to drive in, as CG outside the parks are limited to 40' rigs. We had Ms Ellen's selections about as much as restaurant meals. But did find a few good ones. Perretti's; Rusty Truck. Local eateries with good food. Additionally discovered Murdock's, Farm Supply. Our big meal after a long day to Yellowstone was McDonalds, only thing open at 1030 PM when we got back to Riverton. . . . Nothing after leaving Cody.

So we head to the Tetons, a beautiful clear day, Temps forecast high 90's in Riverton, is much cooler driving via Dubois to Tetons. The changes in the landscape from Riverton to Dubois is so diverse.

At the Togwotee Pass we see people pulled over taking pix, so we stop and see a Grizzly momma and cub at the overlook.

And then the Tetons come into view . . . Glorious

Bison in the foreground, and Tetons in the background.

Wind River that joins the Snake river just north of Jackson, WY

I had looked forward to seeing & eating lunch in Jackson. Memories of the quaint town, town square and fun we had exploring Jackson, sleigh rides at the Grainiery & Snowmobiling in Yellowstone. This was quickly erased with the crowds we encountered and difficulty finding parking and when a spot was found the aggressive nature of the folks there; We turned around and headed to welcome center for T-shirts and ride back to Riverton.

By the afternoon the smoke has cleared some

Road back to Riverton. Such beautiful site here!

So many Pronghorn Antelope!

What a fabulous day!

Miles covered today - 323 miles

CG b'fast - 7.22.2021

Love our griddle! B'fast 7.21.2021

The temp is heating up here, of course one of our new Dometic Air conditioners has decided it does not want to cool. Great! Reaching 101 tomorrow. Will tarp the front windshield tomorrow to help deflect afternoon heat.

Supper tonight is Italian, suggested by a fellow campground guest. Food was yummo.

Supper at Perrett's Pizza, Pasta, Calzones. A nice bottle of Chianti with supper. Be warned bottles bough cannot leave restaurant, so plan to drink or leave for a server.

The technician is coming tomorrow, hopefully will get an answer for the loss of power, fuel system? transmission?

Well the technician came and jumped the raycor, no air leak, put the raycor back in the fuel system . . . air bubbling in raycor, so diagnosed the problem as a hole in our Raycor. Danny called Coachcraft by Macdonald and they could get overnight what we needed (the company would not direct ship to us) and then ship to us overnight. The part would arrive in Georgia on Monday 26th, he would ship to us to arrive Tuesday 27nd. We were to move on to on Saturday the 24th to Cody, WY, so I revised our reservation to stay 5 days here and canceled Cody.

So we will head to Yellowstone tomorrow, 7.24.2021 for the day . . has been 11 years since we were there.

Moose loose in the high desert on the road back to Dubois! Thrilled!

The Snake river was perfect for reflection of Tetons in the river, but smoke from fires in Montana obscure the mountains even though a beautiful clear day.

The clear water in Jackson Lake just makes the pebbles sparkle

Driving 364 miles today to cover all but one section of the "figure 8" road of the Yellowstone double loop road.

We enter through the West Thumb entrance around 8AM, head to Old Faithful first. We cross a bridge and there to our left is Lewis falls, first of many waterfalls in the park.

Arrived at the West Thumb entrance, used our Senior pass to enter the park, have saved $$$ with this $20 investment 2 years ago,

So far savings for us:

Mammoth Cave - $0 drive park - fee to enter cave

Badlands - $30 per car

Rushmore - $0 - $5 parking

Wine Cave -$0 to drive park

Tetons - $35

Yellowstone - $35

Lewis Falls

We arrive within 15 minutes of the eruption, then drown north through the geyser basin.

After our Old Faithful eruption, did a bit of shopping in the Lodge gift shop and grabbed soda and enjoyed sitting on the Lodge porch people watching. Got our passport stamps and then headed north to the geyser basin and "morning glory pool"

Morning Glory Pool

Then on to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone with Upper Falls, Lower Falls and Crystal Falls, a beautiful cascade over solid rock created by the outfall of Cascade Creek into the canyon.

Crystal Falls to left

Upper Falls below

Canyon

Lower Falls

On to the Northern section with Mammoth Springs, the beautiful tiered formations and Elk roaming the roads & streams. Last we exited the park at the north Gate in Montana, made pictures and headed south again. The upper east look was closed for construction, so we retraced our steps until we could hear to Fishing Bridge to find our way to Cody.

Long day with much seen, time to head back toward Riverton.

Cody, WY home to the Cody Rodeo, we had tickets and intended to spend an evening her, but driving 141 miles in the dark, along with no pets allowed, we decided next time . .

Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway begins in the town of Shoshoni at milepost 100. Following U.S. 20 north through Wind River Canyon and the Wind River Indian Reservation, the route ends just north of the city of Thermopolis at milepost 134. Without stopping, the total drive time is about 40 minutes. A train track runs across the river from the the Scenic Byway, a two way road. No passing lanes or pull offs.

A few last pix of Yellowstone