A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 226 miles from Devils Tower, Wyoming to Medora, North Dakota.
Month: October 2023
Travel from Devils Tower, Wyoming to Medora, North Dakota
We drove our coach 226 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Devils Tower, Wyoming to Medora, North Dakota.
Here’s the map route, heading north:
An interactive map, with potential and actual stops marked:
There was a car show outside the campground (and people obliviously waking in front of our coach trying to exit):
Bye Devils Tower:
Hulett:
Highway:
Cows:
Entering Montana (just passing through):
A stop at Stoneville Saloon for lunch:
Interesting decor:
Notes on the ceiling:
Sawdust on the floor:
Fancy menu:
Simple burgers and fries:
MT-323:
Mountains:
Hey, trees:
MT-7:
Interesting rocks:
Looking down at Paladin:
Pause on the side of the road:
Sunflower field:
Wibaux:
Detour down a dirt road; not a fun thing in our coach:
Entering North Dakota:
Interesting rocks:
Exit to Medora:
Entering Medora Campground:
Approaching the office:
Office (staffed by foreign exchange people):
Shop:
Our coach outside the office:
Lots of bugs:
Our site:
Fixing windshield washer hose
The windshield washer fluid suddenly stopped working. Upon investigation, I discovered that the hose had become disconnected.
Here’s the washer fluid reservoir:
Hard to tell, but the disconnected hose is hanging down in the foreground:
Looking up inside the front cap, I can see a T-junction where the hose should go:
So I re-connected the hose, and used a small zip tie to hold it in place (and pushed the other two hoses fully onto the junction):
It’s working well again now.
Devils Tower National Monument
We visited Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. It was America’s first National Monument, but made famous by the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Passport stamp outside the visitor center:
Model:
Visitor center:
Trail info:
View from West Road:
There’s a prairie dog town on the way to the tower; these burrowing ground squirrels create massive underground colonies. We stopped on the way back:
A video of prairie dogs:
Devils Tower is unusual in that you pay on the way out, probably to avoid a line blocking the KOA campground and shops immediately outside:
On the next day, we went back to do a hike around the tower:
A peek of our coach in the KOA from the tower trail:
A timelapse video of hiking around Devils Tower:
Alpenglow view from West Road:
Such an iconic monument.
Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA Journey
We stayed at Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA Journey in Devils Tower, Wyoming. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A partial view of Devils Tower, from just outside the monument.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-08-16
- Check out: 2023-08-19
- 3 nights
Weather:
- Sunny
- High temps ranging between 87-95°F, lows around 56-73°F
- Wind gusts up to 33 MPH gusts
Noise:
- Negligible road noise
- No train noise
- Negligible neighbor noise
Site:
- #38, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
- Level front-to-back, a little unlevel side-to-side
- Gravel driveway about 75 feet long by about 10 feet wide
- Grass between sites about 20 feet wide
- No tree on this site, big trees elsewhere
- Picnic table on grass
- Next to the group fire pit
- Partial front view of Devils Tower
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, very conveniently located
- 80 PSI water, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 16 Mbps down,16 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
- Verizon: 13-25 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
- AT&T: 82 Mbps down, 2-6 Mbps up, 120 ms ping
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
- Starlink: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Closed swimming pool
- Mini-golf (free due to closed pool)
- Package delivery to office
- Onsite cafe
- Right outside Devils Tower entrance
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Not all “premium” sites have a good view
The only way to get closer to Devils Tower National Monument would be to stay inside the monument at the rustic first-come-first-serve campground. We booked a premium site online, assuming it would have a view of the tower from our site. Not so much. There were big trees in the way, so we only got a slight peep of the lower edge of the tower. For $100/night (with our KOA discount), I was expecting a front-row seat. From our scouting, the best sites for a good view are 100, 86-89. We were in site 38. Site 37 probably had a better view. The other downside of site 38 was that so many people walked through our site, thinking it was the pathway to the bathhouse. Hint: It’s not. The picnic table and the lack of a pathway are clues, people. The onsite diner was a nice perk, but I’m wary of any place with that many flies in the eating area. We camped at Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA Journey in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: You could get up early to get to the tower to beat the crowds, but going in the late afternoon/evening is just as good. Definitely go up the dirt road to Joiner Ridge trailhead and get a fantastic view of the tower at sunset lit up with alpenglow.
The campground map:
Interactive map:
Our site, with a partial view of the tower:
A group fire pit was next to our site, which they lit each night, though nobody used it:
Sun setting behind Devils Tower:
Gift store:
Onsite cafe, always a nice option, though it was rather inundated with flies:
They offered “hayrides”, hay not included:
Across the road is the Devils Tower Trading Post:
We went there for dinner another night, and grabbed some questionable hot dogs (that we think gave us some mild food poisoning):
Post office:
Mini golf:
The mini golf was free, as the boot-shaped swimming pool was unavailable:
Carts:
Other sites:
Site 100 would be an excellent choice for a side view of the tower:
Sites 86-89 would have a decent front view, too:
Dog park:
Playground:
Bathrooms:
Cabins:
Lots of tent sites:
Teepees:
A badly angled peek inside a teepee:
Interesting rocks and stream:
Meadow and tower:
Video: Buffalo to Devils Tower motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 130 miles from Buffalo, Wyoming to Devils Tower, Wyoming.
Travel from Buffalo to Devils Tower, Wyoming
We drove our coach 130 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Buffalo to Devils Tower, Wyoming.
Here’s the map route, heading east:
An interactive map, with planned and actual stops marked:
A GIF of retracting the big front driver-side slide-out:
Leaving the RV park:
I-90 off into the distance:
A rest stop (not initially planned, but needed due to battling wind while driving):
Onward on I-90:
One of several narrow bridges due to roadworks:
Coal power plant:
Paladin asleep in his safe space next to the passenger chair:
A stop for diesel at the Sinclair Coffee Cup Fuel Stop:
Our coach parked with trucks; we ran the generator so the ACs could be on, it being rather hot:
We went inside to grab some lunch:
We got some sandwiches, chips, and icees, which we took back to our coach to eat:
Apparently Wyoming gets bids from farmers to mow the verges of highways; a great resource for them, and great for the state:
Interesting rocks:
Approaching Devils Tower:
Our destination the KOA right outside the entrance of the monument:
Our coach parked while checking in:
Check-in kiosk:
Devils Tower:
Crazy Woman Canyon
A scenic drive though the interestingly named Crazy Woman Canyon:
A timelapse video of the drive through the canyon:
After that, we had a picnic dinner at Tie Hack Reservoir:
Then walked to the dam:
Some interesting rocks on the return leg:
Buffalo KOA Journey
We stayed at Buffalo KOA Journey in Buffalo, Wyoming. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Our second visit to this very nice KOA, again staying in the new Clear Creek Loop section.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-08-13
- Check out: 2023-08-16
- 3 nights
Weather:
- Sunny
- High temps ranging between 72-90°F, lows around 49-59°F
- Some wind on arrival day, up to 20 MPH gusts, otherwise negligible
Noise:
- Some faint road noise
- No train noise
- Negligible neighbor noise
Site:
- #82, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
- A little unlevel, not too bad
- Gravel driveway about 60 feet long by about 12 feet wide
- Grass and rocks between sites about 15 feet wide
- Young trees
- Concrete patio with table and chairs
- Fire pit
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, very inconveniently located
- 60 PSI water, very inconveniently located
- Good sewer connection, somewhat conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe plus 1 3-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 30 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
- Campground Wi-Fi: 6 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 15 ms ping
- Verizon: 22 Mbps down, 22 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
- AT&T: 105 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Swimming pool
- Package delivery to office
- Path by creek
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Newer section is lovely
This was our second stay here, and we enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Once again, our site was in the newer creekside portion, and it’s still very nice. There is minor road noise, but pretty faint. The sites are level, and hookups are all good. We’ll definitely stay here again on our next trip through the area and try one of the back-in sites along the creek itself. We camped at Buffalo KOA Journey in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Crazy Woman Canyon is a fantastic drive. Tie Hack picnic area was a great spot to enjoy a bite to eat afterward.
The campground map:
Interactive map:
Our site:
Utilities:
Decoration:
Bridge:
Dog run:
Creek:
Video of the creek:
Group fire pit:
A path from the creek area, and other sites:
Four different Tiffin motorhome models; our Allegro Bus, a Phaeton, an Allegro Open Road, and an Allegro Red:
A nice KOA; our second stay here, and we’ll definitely stay here again in the future. If we were to stay here more than a few nights, one of the back-in sites in the Clear Creek loop would be delightful.
Video: Cody to Buffalo, Wyoming motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 179 miles from Cody, Wyoming to Buffalo, Wyoming.