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1998 West Vacation, Part 5

September 8 through 19

Part 1 Background and Planning Nebraska Courthouse and Jail Rocks
Chimney Rock NHS		 Scotts Bluff NM
Wyoming/Colorado Dinosaur NM - Canyon   - Dinosaur Quarry Golden Spike NHS Thiokol, Utah
Part 2 US-26 / Snake River Grand Teton NP Yellowstone NP-Day 1, Part 1 Yellowstone NP-Day 1, Part 2 Yellowstone NP-Day 2, Part 1
Part 3 Yellowstone NP-Day 2, Part 2 Yellowstone NP-Day 2, Part 3 Yellowstone NP-Day 2, Part 4 Yellowstone NP-Day 3, Part 1
Part 4 Yellowstone NP-Day 3, Part 2 Yellowstone NP-Day 3, Part 3 Yellowstone NP-Day 3, Part 4 Yellowstone NP-Day 4
Part 5 Bighorn Canyon NRA Devils Tower NM Custer State Park Badlands NP

Cody, Wyoming - September 15 & 16

2006 pnw slideshow 5
My 1998 West Vacation - 11 days, 4315 miles. Days 8-11, Yellowstone National Park to Home.

Cody, WY
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Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area - September 16

We were told by a local that the best way to get to I-90 from Cody was to take Alternate US-14. It was newly repaved, and some of the views from Alt-14 were inspiring. And it was true. I'm sure US-14 from Cody to I-90 is nice road. I should drive it one day.

I was back in this area in 2006 coming out of Yellowstone again, and didn't take US-14 again.

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
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Devils Tower National Monument - September 17

Devils Tower NM
Admit it, when you saw this picture, you thought "Close Encounters". Devils Tower National Monument."
Had I actually realized Devils Tower was so close to the Black Hills, I would have visited it in 1996. But there you are. (It was only after my 1996 trip did I start acquiring the resources to do proper Road Trips.)

After reviewing the video tape and photos I had of Devils Tower, I realized I had more pictures of prairie dogs than I did of the monument. How discouraging.

I vowed to go back and correct that situation. I was supposed to do it in 2001, but didn't get around to it until 2006. Me, Jo and a thousand bikers. But I digress, and that's another page.

Devils Tower National Monument
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Custer State Park, South Dakota - September 17

If Yellowstone is my favorite National Park, Custer is my favorite State Park. We did all the usual things: Drove Needles Highway and took pictures of the Bighorn Sheep and the Needles Eye and said hello to the burros. And of course, Jo would find a cat to pet.

I think it's also the last time I slept in a tent. I'm getting to old to do that stuff...

There are more pictures in my 1996 and 2006 road trips.

Custer State Park
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Badlands National Park - September 18

Near here is where the culmination of the Ghost Dance occurred, where once again faith and beliefs were no match against bullets and cannon fire. It was the last hope the Native Americans had before their way of life was changed completely.

It's right off of I-90, so I tend to stop in whenever I'm out near the Northwest. We did it a little differently, taking the back roads to the West side to the park.

More pictures can be found in my 1996 trip and some nice panoramics in my 2006 trip.

Badlands National Park
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By the end of the trip, I was more convinced than ever that the West was a place I wanted to see again. The wonders of Yellowstone, the promise of returning to the Tetons, and other portions of the Rocky Mountain Chain were wonders to be investigated. That would happen in 2001, but it was to be a trip of mixed emotions and events.

Keane's 1998 West Trip:
Days: 11
Miles: 4315 miles
Miles/Day: 392 miles/day
Gas (Gallons): 156.06
Cost (gas): $181.33
Miles/Gallon: 27.64
Cost (lodging): $674.95

End 1998 West Vacation - Part 5 of 5.

Jump to: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Revisions:
  • 08/5/2013 - Rewrite and update to v3.11
  • 08/31/2014 - Update to v3.2
  • September 2022 - Upgrade to v5.0.
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