Attractions and other places we visit.
We visited the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
The park is split into the North and South Units. The North Unit is a bit more remote and less popular, but in our opinion more scenic. This post is about the North Unit; see tomorrow’s post for the South Unit.
Here’s a map:
An interactive map:
The entrance:
Info signs:
The Visitor Center is just a modular building:
Heading into the park:
Bison:
A viewpoint:
Nice rustic scenery.
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.
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:
We did a scenic drive loop from Cody, Wyoming to the Bighorn mountains, with a detour into Montana:
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area:
45th parallel:
Shell Falls:
Butterfly:
A nice drive.
We visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming — five museums in one, on western topics.
Map in the foyer:
Natural history museum:
Library:
Gallery of gunfighters:
Buffalo Bill museum:
AR:
Plains Indian museum:
Buffalo Bill’s house:
Bald eagle:
Art museum:
Gift store:
Some interesting exhibits.
We visited the Buffalo Bill Dam, west of Cody, Wyoming.
Three tunnels to get there:
The Buffalo Bill reservoir:
Exhibits in the parking lot:
Drift wood:
Visitor center:
Exhibits:
Scenic drive routes:
The dam:
We took a drive along the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway in northwest Wyoming.
Here’s an interactive map of our route:
Info sign:
Interesting rocks:
A screenshot of my map, showing lots of switchbacks:
Switchback gravel road:
A picnic spot by a river, which was rather flooded:
Flume trail:
Cooke City:
We did an old west cookout and wagon ride while in Yellowstone.
Horse riders, and wagon riders waiting:
Wagon ride:
Horse riders:
Horses and wagons:
A wagon used for bathroom handwashing:
Cowboy coffee:
Buffet:
More cowboy coffee:
Horses and wagons:
Chuckwagon:
Music:
Wagon ride back:
Taking the horses back:
A fun experience.
Some video footage of the Canyon area of Yellowstone National Park, from our visit in 2023. See the accompanying blog post for lots of photos.
The Canyon area of Yellowstone National Park includes a village of shops and lodges, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and Hayden Valley:
Canyon Visitor Education Center:
We saw these stickers, and (later) bought the Grand Teton and Yellowstone ones for the back of our truck canopy:
Otter Creek picnic area:
We found our initials carved on the table — no, we didn’t do that:
Reversing GIF of a bison having a dust bath:
Chittenden Bridge view of Yellowstone River:
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone:
Bison in Hayden Valley:
Bison on the road:
Mud Volcano area:
Bison on the road:
Check out the video from this area, including some cute otters.