Leaving the Black Hills, Devils Tower, Arriving in Yellowstone

After grabbing a hotel for the night to avoid freezing to death, we knew climbing Harney Peak was out of the question.  So to fill the morning we decided to take Needles Highway to see the supposed crown jewel of the Black Hills, Sylvan Lake.  Alas, Needles Highway was closed and we suddenly found ourselves hours ahead of schedule.  So we headed north out of the Black Hills and discovered Pactola Reservoir. 

 Now I haven't seen Sylvan Lake so I can't be sure which is better but Pactola Reservoir would be hard to beat in beauty. 

As we drove to I-90, thick fog made visibility very low and we had 2000 feet of elevation to descend on winding mountain roads.  We made it to the interstate but there were portions of the road were the fog took visibility down to 0.  It is slightly disconcerting to be driving 70 miles an hour and suddenly cannot see anything at all.  Luckily it was short lived but fog and snow were a problem the whole day.  As we arrived at Devils Tower, with "Mars, Bringer of War" blasting on the stereo,  we discovered the top 1/3 of the tower was obscured by thick fog.

 There wasn't any snow in the area so we did the hike that circled the monument.  Unfortunately, about halfway through the bitterly cold hike, fog completely obscured the tower to the point that we could not even tell it was there.  We warmed up in the visitor center and got my souvenir shot glass and headed left down the road.  Oh, did I say left?  I meant right.  16 miles down the road we arrive in a town I didn't recognize from my directions and we realize we are going north, not south towards I-90.  34 miles later we again saw Devils Tower and to our pleasant surprise, the fog had cleared and the tower was perfectly visible.

 It was getting late at this point so while we didn't go all the way back to the base it was nice to get some clear pictures of it after all.

We got into Sheridan, WY right before a winter storm came through and dumped 6 inches of snow on the area.  I-90 was mostly clear the whole way to Gardiner but the storm closed the scenic byway through the Big Horn Mountains I had been looking forward to taking.  That had been the only thing on our itinerary for the day, so we slept in and headed straight for the North Entrance of Yellowstone.  Seeing the Rocky Mountains outside Livingston, MT was truly amazing.  I've seen the Rocky Mountains four times before but each time I see them I am blown away at their sheer size and presence.   Even though we had yet to do anything in them they definitely blew the Black Hills out of the water.  We arrived in Gardiner around dinner and got a discount and upgrade at the Super 8 for being there to work in the park.  Though we didn't get to do a lot of the things we had planned on the trip to Yellowstone due to an unusually cold April (even for South Dakota and Wyoming) it was an amazing journey and I'm glad we took the time to see some beautiful and interesting places along the way.