So I made it safe and sound to Yellowstone late yesterday night, camped out over night and woke up to snow. Needless to say, it was pretty cold. But for the trip recount. From Gurley, Alabama to Yellowstone, Wyoming: around 30 hours of driving, 6 states, 15 mountain dews, and a pound of beef jerkey. Nothing of real interest until I hit South Dakota where I drove through and hiked a little in the Badlands. If The Hills Had Eyes had yet another sequel, I imagine that it would take place in the Badlands. It's creepy but it's still a very interesting place to see, and well worth the visit, however, for those interested, I wouldn't make it the destination of your trip. Visit it along the way to something else. The reason being is that I don't see it taking up more than one day in exploration. And I now know from personal experience why they say not to hike in the Badlands right after a rain. Everything turns into mud. So I only hiked a little. From there I hit up Custer State Park where I saw my first ever American Bison, or buffalo, whatever you would like to call it. It was a nice drive through. I could probably spend a little time there but again, not a final destination. From there the Black Hills. And sooner or later I happen on a little sign that says Devil's Tower: this way. So I went this way. I originally wanted to make it to Yellowstone a little early however I knew I would regret not going to Devil's Tower since there's no telling if I could ever visit there again. So I did it. And it was extremely worth it. Let me just tell you that there is nothing in the surrounding areas of the Devil's Tower to even hint that such a thing is around. It's pretty ridiculous. If you don't know what the Devil's Tower looks like, well you're in luck. There's a picture below. But don't look now. Keep reading. I thought the drive through South Dakota was one of the most incredible drives I've done, and then I got into Wyoming, even more incredible. The views were always changing from great scenery to great scenery but much different from each other. Bighorn National Forest was well worth the drive over their mountains, or at least half worth it. I couldn't see a thing going over the mountains, but coming down the mountains was gorgeous, although I was tense the whole time due to the steepness and curvyness of the road. My brakes were smoking afterwards. So I stopped, let them cool down a bit, and took a hike down a roadside path to a canyon river. And then onward through Wyoming, more plains in which I saw a storm from afar, more mountains and more scenery which I can't describe which is why I took pictures. Eventually I arrived at the gates of Yellowstone. Hooray! But no, the gates did not open until 8 pm due to avalanche risks, and was further delayed until 10 pm due to an actual avalanche that needed cleaned up. But fear not, I'm here. I'm safe. In all of this though, there was something odd. I'm not entirely sure I like the greater, bigger mountains of the west more than the humble, homey mountains of North Alabama and of the Appalachians in general. I always assumed that the high peaks and rugged, bare terrain appealed to me more. They do appeal to me. But maybe it's simply because grew up with the green humble mountains that they appeal so much to me. If I had to say one or the other, I would lean to the green humble mountains.
The Badlands - South Dakota
The Devil's Tower - Wyoming
Shoshone National Forest - Wyoming
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