7/17/2014 Togwotee Pass, Continental Divide, Devils Tower, Wyoming



Togwotee Pass, Continental Divide Wyoming

July 16 we left the northwest corner of Wyoming and the Teton's heading southeast on Rt 26 towards Casper.  First have to get through Togwotee Pass and the Continental Divide again at an elevation of 9,594 feet.  Of course what goes up must come down, so we spent the next 9 miles between 2 and 6 percent grade.  7% is the steepest grade allowed on US Interstate highways and we have seen plenty of that in these Rockies.  Thank goodness the truck has a feature called "tow haul" which uses the engine to slow down on steep downhills otherwise we would burn up the brakes pretty quickly.

When the kids were in high school we took a ski vacation to Jackson Hole and came to Togwotee Pass to dogsled.  Zoe was driving the sled that Jack was riding in.  Long story short, in the middle of the wilderness, Zoe let go of the sled while trying to untie it and the dogs took off bat-outta-hell.  Zoe falls off and Jack realizing he was about to die, leaped over the back of the sled, landed on the rails and stopped it before it flipped over and dragged him to who knows where.  The guide driving our sled, saw this stunt and was ready to hire him on the spot!   Jack then instructed Zoe to get in the sled and he drove it the rest of the way. 



Gassing up in Dubois, WY - 4,000 mile mark on the trip

After seeing a black bear in Togwotee Pass, we stopped for gas in the small town of Dubois, WY.  The geology changes dramatically in these parts as you can see by the beautiful red hills behind the gas station.  A big group of families was also here when we arrived and many were dressed like early settlers.  They said they were on their way to a "pioneer experience" where they were going to live like they did in the 1800's .  When John got back from the restroom I told him this and he said "really, if they really wanted to experience living like a pioneer, then why did they clobber the line to the bathroom." 

We camped in the middle of nowhere (which much of Wyoming is) in the oil fields of Wright, Wyoming.  Camp area was called Sage Brush RV which sounds nice but it was a very sketchy.  Very small with lots of run down trailers and campers.  Looked like workers from the oil fields lived there.  However, when we go to the park owner's home/office to sign in, we see a shiny Mercedes and Cadillac in his garage.
 

Devil's Tower 5 miles away

July 17 - after heading north from Casper yesterday up Route 387, we head to 90 east and stop at Devils Tower in the northeast corner of  Wyoming.  Remember the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"?  This is it!  But it's not hollow, that was movie magic.  The exposed part of this ancient volcano core stands almost 1,000 feet high and 1,000 feet in diameter at it's base.   To get an idea of how huge this really is look at the close up photo and note that those Ponderosa Pines growing ON THE ROCK are 100 feet tall!  We saw climbers on a ledge which in the close up picture is the dark spot on the left side about 2/3's from the bottom and 1/4 in from the left.  The American Indians called this place Bear Lodge.