Road Trip!

[dbear61]

Hope everybody had a great 4th of July!

More from my road trip. Still day 1 in Yellowstone.

Bison along roadside:




Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River




DBear

[dbear61]

Yellowstone Day 2 Drive and Steamboat Geyser in Norris Basin:




Norris Basin:




Mammoth Hot Springs Upper Terrace:






White Elephant Back Terrace:




Elk around Mammoth Hot Springs. Whenever elk appeared close to roads, trails or any place where there were people,
Rangers and/or Park Security quickly arrived to cordon off the area or get and keep people away. I was to experience this first hand the following morning.






DBear

[evo-r]

Amazing pictures...

[dbear61]

This is Yellowstone Day 3. We're going up to Dunraven Pass from the South and doubling back because the north end the route was under construction. There was no way I was going to drive 12 miles on a gravel/dirt road with the Boxster.

The total drive for the day was only 160 miles, but we spent the afternoon in Cody, WY. I won't post much from Cody, but we did go to the "Old Trail Town", Buffalo Bill Center and the Cody Rodeo.

Drive:


Driving South from Mammoth Springs, we come to a traffic jam. Cars are stopped, then inch forward, then stop again. After creeping for a quarter mile in 15 minutes, we find out the cause: a small herd of Bison had been strolling down the middle of the road, and finally decided to move off to the field. Note the calf amongst them.




This is at the Canyon Village. After 11 years in California and a Summer only in WI, this was the closest Boxster had ever been to snow. I thought, "This is parking lot snowbanks left due to a late spring thaw. What a novel picture this would make."

On this trip, it would get even closer.




In the Canyon grocery store, we find the gourmet cheese display. If the Boxster had a third trunk, I would have brought a few cases from Wisconsin and turned a profit. Then we proceeded up the road to Dunraven Pass.




On the drive North, I have to come to a sudden stop. Bison vs. Boxster was a tense couple of minutes. This creature was taller than the Boxster, and probably weighed almost as much.






View from Dunraven Pass road:




Before leaving Yellowstone, we drove along Lake Yellowstone to capture this view of the mountains to the East:





My next post will be the remainder of the drive leaving Yellowstone and going to Cody.

DBear

[dbear61]

These pictures are from the Yellowstone East Entrance road/ USH 14-16-20 to Cody, WY. My daughter took these, mostly from inside the car. I think it's neat that she got some part of the car into almost every shot.




















DBear

[dbear61]

First night in Cody, we stayed at the Skyline Motor Inn. You can see the brake dust is building up on the front wheels. Almost 3,500 miles logged, and the most challenging roads await us.




Monday June 3. I planned this day specifically for these two highways. AWESOME!!!! If you ever have a chance to get in this part of the country, a day driving this cannot be missed. I would, however, recommend you do this between late June and late September. You'll see why our timing made the drive rather harrowing.

[dbear61]

This continues from the first part of Monday, June 3 drive on Chief Joseph Highway. We are now going on the Beartooth highway, which is even more AWESOME than Chief Joseph.




This is what it looks like from above:




It's getting cold, probably in the low 50's or high 40's here. But we're determined to complete the drive.




Okay, temps are dropping, we're seeing more snow, and the anticipation for what lies ahead is colder and possibly snowfall.




As we get closer to Beartooth pass, we're reminded of how high we are:




This is "Top of the World" store and motel. They tell us the road just opened for the season the previous weekend, but snow is still possible.





You can see Boxster in the "harsh" conditions:



We enter into freezing and snowing conditions. We are in the clouds and snow.




And still more snow and colder temps ahead:




Getting through the worst and back to "normal" will be in the next post.

DBear

[fundriver]

It makes me dream of a road trip across the USA!

What a country!

[dbear61]

Here's the last part of the drive that day. We were in the clouds, it was snowing, and people were skiing.








Finally out of the worst, on the way down.




More twisties ahead.





Civilization is not far away, but I don't think it's here:




We stayed at the Irma Hotel in Cody that night. Very cool.

[BruceH]

Great pictures! You are a brave man with a coffee in the cup holder!

[dbear61]

Tuesday June 2, another travel day. 500 miles: Cody, WY to Lead, SD with detours to Little Bighorn and Devils Tower.




This is the Western end of Bighorn Nat'l Park in WY.




And this is on the Eastern side.




Bighorn Battlefield




Somewhere in Southern Montana:







Devils Tower:






Just before the WY-SD border, we encounter the smallest town on the trip. And the important thing is, they have a tavern!



DBear

[dbear61]

We spent Wednesday June 3 in the Lead/Deadwood area. Thursday was a day spent in the Black Hills.




Crazy Horse. When I was there in 1966, it was just a mountain with a flat ridge where the arm is now. My daughter had a typical, Gen-Y, "I want it now," reaction: "Almost 50 years, and this is all they have to show for it?"




Wildlife Drive from Wind Cave going North:










Next up is the drive to Mt. Rushmore.

DBear

[mcomet]

Very nice. I literally just got back from Yellowstone ... Amazing place! Next time I go to WY I really want to take the P-Car. I only saw a Cayenne out there, and a 993 in Jackson. I did see a 997 and Lotus Evora out by Sinks Canyon east a ways... looks like you had a blast, would be a great trip!

[dbear61]

Okay, for anybody still paying attention, here come the final posts. First up is Mt. Rushmore, approaching from the Southeast.

[dbear61]

This was the drive to Mt. Rushmore:






A close-up of the above route:



DBear

[BruceH]

Of course we are still paying attention! Thanks for the post!

[dbear61]

We stayed for the night show at Mt. Rushmore:




We happened to be there on D-Day, June 6. The Park Ranger asked all active and retired US Military service people and Coast Guard to join him on stage. Each person announced their name, branch of service and status. Then came the ceremony to lower and fold the flag.








The audience gave them a standing ovation.

After Mt. Rushmore, we drove to Hill City to spend the night.

DBear

[dbear61]

Second to last day, we will be going from Hill City, SD to Sioux Falls, SD. Only 400 miles, but we stopped at Mt. Rushmore again, and detoured through The Badlands.



No drive through SD is complete without stopping at Wall Drug.




The drive through The Badlands:













At the Pioneer Auto Museum in Murdo, SD:






That vehicle isn't Porsche Rainforest Green, it's John Deere Farm Implement Green.

DBear

[dbear61]

Final day of our trip, day 17. Sioux Falls, SD to Milwaukee, WI. After everything we'd seen in the previous 16 days, there was absolutely nothing worth photographing in this final leg.




Total distance was 5,213 miles. Fuel consumption varied from a low of 24 MPG to a high of 28.5 MPG with an average of 26.5 MPG.

Thanks for following! Hope you get inspired to visit these areas, too. The driving is great, and the scenery/history is even better!

DBear