Wyoming/South Dakota

I'm afraid I neglected to include pix and narrative for the part of our trip between Yellowstone National Park and St. Paul, Minnesota, so this post is out of order. I suppose I don't necessarily need to write about our trip in chronological order, and these posts are certainly well after the fact, but I don't want to confuse any of my readers.

Anyway... after we left Yellowstone, we drove to a small town in Wyoming, called Gillette for the night. The first half of the day was spent driving through the northeast part of YNP, which was incredibly beautiful, then, after having lunch at an old A&W Drive-in in Cody, Wyoming, we found ourselves cruising through the Bighorn National Forest. The vistas were amazing!

(Click on photos to enlarge, then hit back button to return.)

Self Portrait

The following day, at my cousin's suggestion, we drove through an area of the Black Hills of South Dakota, called Spearfish Canyon, on our way to Mt. Rushmore. The canyon was gorgeous and there was plenty of fall color -- more than we found in New England!

Bridal Veil Falls

Going through the Black Hills requires a stop at the Mt. Rushmore National Monument. I especially enjoyed the information center, where we learned about the complicated process used to carve these huge sculptures out of the granite mountain.

Plaque at South Dakota Rest Stop