After reading an article on the bulletin board at the Buffalo KOA, we were intrigued about a drive described as “not to be missed”. Since we’re not often in this part of the country, we decided to take the drive. Before we left, though, we took the extra precaution to clarify with the campground proprietor that the road, while dirt, was navigable by a sedan. “No problem!” she said. “RVs can do it.” Encouraged, off we went.
Well, I must say, that I have never seen an RV that can take the rocks, ruts and bounces we took down the Crazy Woman Canyon Road. I have new respect for the Impala after this drive—15 miles of rocky, rutted dirt that runs into a canyon that is spectacular with steep rock walls on both sides of the one way road. For most of the road, only one car can pass. If another car comes along the other way, one of you has to back up (over rocks and ruts, mind you) to the nearest turnout. And there weren’t many turnouts.
To be fair, only the first 8-9 miles or so are rough going. (Our top speed through that stretch was maybe 5 mph tops.) The rest is reasonably navigable. As a matter of fact, the last part of the route takes you through high plains, with views to the horizon. We saw a mother and baby antelope grazing not too far in the distance. But one major issue I haven’t mentioned is the wind. We had read that although the day would be sunny, we should expect winds gusting 35 to perhaps 50 mph. And boy, did the forecast deliver. It was even hard to stand up in some places out in the open.
After this adventure, it was again time to stock up on groceries. We stopped in Gillette, WY and discovered a boom in building there. The road construction had traffic tied up, and the wind (it was still gusting) was blowing dust in clouds. We hastily made our purchases at Walmart, and left for Devils Tower, about 2 hours northeast of Gillette.
Driving Wyoming roads is amazing. Like many places in the Midwest, the Wyoming plains are rolling hills with no trees or bushes at all. You can, as I’ve noted before, see to the horizon all around you. We were wondering how the kids out in the middle of nowhere get schooled?
Arrived at Devils Tower by 2 pm. Settled into our KOA cabin which directly faces the tower. (One cute sidebar: The campgound shows the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind every night.) Then we drove the ½ mile up the road to the National Monument. We learned there that Devils Tower was not created by rock upthrust through the earth’s surface. It was created under ground. The ground essentially eroded around it. That's about a mile of erosion. One other little tidbit: when Congress wrote legislation making it the first National Monument, it incorrectly spelled Devils without an apostrophe. That’s why it is spelled “Devils”, and not “Devil’s”.
We took the little 1.3 mile trail around the monument, the decided to do a bit more exploring, and took the Red Beds trail (3 miles). The Red Beds trail was lovely, taking us along the edge of a hill with fabulous valley views, through iron-stained bluffs and into a broad prairie.
By this time, it was getting late, and we returned to the campground for dinner. Tomorrow we head for the Badlands.
See photos of the day here.
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