Escape from Yellowstone

Leaving Yellowstone wasn't easy. No, really, it took us three tries. First, we arrived at the exit road five minutes after it closed last night and were forced to spend the night in the park. Then, this morning, we were almost to that same exit road when Kala realized that she had left her beloved pillow in the cabin. She offered to be brave and go on without the pillow (since we had driven twenty miles already), but Andy insisted on returning for it. Finally, pillow returned to its place in the car, we attempted once again to put the majesty of Yellowstone behind us. Third time's a charm.

As we traveled the stretch of highway between the hotel and the exit road for the fifth and final time, we spied a gathering of novice wildlife watchers standing in amazement at the sight of bison grazing alongside the road. Perhaps a bit jaded by having seeing these same bison, or some just like them, so many times before, we thought to ourselves, "been there, eaten that," and drove right past. Following a long delay caused by road construction, we were free! We sure are looking forward to going back, though.

Anxious to get to our next destination and eager to turn in early tonight, we decided to drive most of the day and allow for very few extravehicular activities. Fortunately, many of Wyoming's aesthetic treasures can be seen from the road.

As we crossed the plains of northern Wyoming, we were somewhat surprised to find a rather large and seemingly out-of-place collection of planes of northern Wyoming. Ok, so we don't know the actual origin of all of those airplanes, but, hey, it's a slow news day. This incongruous flock of grounded aircraft turned out to be part of the Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting in Greybull. We took a moment to admire this anomalous congregation of vehicles before moving on.

We didn't get far before spotting a sign directing us to the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite. Despite our resolve to keep our detours to a minimum today, we were compelled down the five miles of unpaved road to the site of these prehistoric impressions. The 167-million-year-old footprints and their accompanying explanations were fascinating, but what captured our interest and curiosity most was the great effort and care that had gone into building and maintaining this attraction which, by all appearances, is largely unknown and ignored. An official project of the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite consists of a freshly painted boardwalk featuring interpretive signage, well-maintained restroom facilities, and a picnic area built around the archaeological find, yet there was no evidence of more than perhaps three or four visitors to the site per day. Your tax dollars at work!

Back on the main highway, we continued through Bighorn National Forest, another example of the sweeping topographical diversity of our continent. The manifold colors, textures, and shapes we encountered on our passage through this region were reminiscent of an artist's workshop, paints and clay strewn about in a frenzy of creative fervor. We reluctantly resisted the temptation to pull over at every turnout and overlook both up and down the mountain, as we realized our unfortunate time restrictions. Regardless, we have yet to reach Devils Tower, which we had hoped to see last night.

We are stopped for tonight in Gillette, Wyoming, only a day and a half behind schedule. Tomorrow morning, Devils Tower for sure!