Including a trip to the top of Pikes Peak September 9 - 20, 2013
First posted Sep 30, 2013 Last update Oct 5, 2016
After leaving Grand Teton, we went north into Yellowstone National Park where we staid for 4 nights, touring the park each day.
Old Faithful Inn and Geyser
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Falls.
Mammoth Hot Springs
The moon rise over Lake Yellowstone
We left Yellowstone through the north east entrance which leads through the Beartooth Wilderness. This is just about the only US highway that actually goes through a wilderness area, because the highway was there before being declared a wilderness area. As such, it is one of the only places in the US where the average tourist can see the wonder of a wilderness area without having to hike into it.
Devils Tower, South Dakota is the remainders of a volcanic plug or intrusion. It formed millions of years ago underneath miles of rock which has now worn away leaving the harder plug exposed. The first full day we were there we took a hike around the entire tower but it was raining lightly so I didn't take the camera. We packed up to leave on the 28th, (last photo) and of course th weather was beautiful then.
Mount Rushmore and it's new memorial. The last photo is the new cafeteria. Watch Alfred Hickcock's North By Northwest to see the older facility.
In the evenings the park presents a film on the presidents, ending in a flag lowering ceremony and the night lighting of the monument. They ask vets to come down to the stage and help lower the flag. Tom was in the group jus to our left of the stage opening just our right of the fellow in the orange shirt.
On September 30, we visited Wind Cave National Park, the nation's 7th oldest National Park.
A new telephone installed in the trailer. This is a Western Electric Card Dialer phone from the late 1960's and is fully functional. This was a type of automatic dialer phone we had before the invention of memory dialing. You punched out holes in the cards, put one in the slot, then it would dial the number for you. This set also has a connection for a headphone and can be used with up to 5 phone lines.
Lunch time along the route for today.
An evening thunderstorm offered Frank the oputunity to do some time exposures.
