2011 Trip - Day 90
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Saturday, July 16 - Devils Tower National Monument, WY - 180.6 miles, 15,002.0 for the trip
Hard to believe I've been on the road for thre months & 15,000 miles. Less than a month before I have to be back in Oswego.
Lots of pictures today! I'm at Devils Tower, WY at the KOA located at the entrance to the monument. I thought about staying at the campground in the monument, but it is 104°F in the shade & I want electricity to run the AC! Although the campground has WiFi, it is overloaded & times out trying to send these images to my website. Luckily, the Verizon signal is pretty good so I'm using that.
The last time I was here was in 1996 on our 60 day trip across the US with Don & Anne Guido. We were here in July that time & I seem to remember it was just as hot & we were in tents. I love the trailer!
Anyhow, I drove into the monument & took the Tower Trail with my 17-35mm lens. I shot an image every 45° or so going around the tower & posted a few here for anyone interested in seeing the view without doing the little over a mile loop. When I got back I switched to my 300mm lens with the 2X teleconverter to take some photos of a couple groups of climbers. I'll post a couple here; more at the Devils Tower page. The trail is really a walkway. It is completely paved; there were people with strollers & although some sections are a little steep, I suspect an athletic wheelchair user could make the trip. There are a bunch of "Speed Bumps" that are there to help drain rain water off the path, but the rest is smooth asphalt.
I was hoping there would be a Deli here in one of the campground grocery stores, but the pickings are very basic. I'll probably eat the rest of the cheese sausage for dinner and look for a store to replenish supplies for tomorrow. I don't want to get too far ahead - with the 100°F temperatures, the fridge is getting above 40°F, even with the additional cooling fans, particularly when I'm driving. Not sure why - at first I thought the wind was blowing out the gas flame, but I stopped a bunch of times today & the heater section was hot. The freezer is doing OK, but the lower section (it's a one door fridge) is getting too warm. I added a block of ice & that helped for today.
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Site 24, Devils Tower KOA |
In The Visitors Center |
In The Visitors Center |
Devils Tower |
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Devils Tower |
Devils Tower |
Devils Tower |
Devils Tower |
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Devils Tower |
Devils Tower |
Devils Tower Climbers |
Devils Tower Climbers |
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Devils Tower Prairie Dogs |
Devils Tower at Night |
It's now down to 91°F outside, 70°F in the trailer (the AC is way too big for the size of the trailer - I'm running on low & it still cools things off very fast). Time to make dinner...
Until tomorrow!
This page is maintained by: vermilye@oswego.edu
Last Update:
March 20, 2012