On week 5 of the trip we started working our way back west.
Our first stop was Devils Tower National Monument, made famous by the movie ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. We downloaded and watched the movie in our campsite, where we could see Devils Tower in one direction, and the NEOWISE comet in the other direction. Devils Tower is really cool! Definitely check it out if you are in the area. The movie was not as good as I remembered it. We did have some fun sculpting mash potatoes tho.
We next went over the pass in Bighorn National Forest to check out the Native American Medicine Wheel, and spent one night at a wide spot in the road with an incredible view. (See photo below).
From there we worked our way to Custer Gallatin National Forest near Red Lodge, MT. We found a nice camping spot along Rock Creek, very near the trailhead for Basin Creek Lake. On the last morning there we woke up to find a moose in our campsite!
The highlight of this part of the trip was a drive up over Beartooth pass, and a hike out past Island Lake. Wow! Amazing scenery. This road is very popular with motorcyclists, and there were probably more motorcycles than cars.
I also recommend the Red Lodge Ales brew pub in Red Lodge. 😉
Then on to Bozeman for a dinner with my Aunt and Uncle. Bozeman seems to be booming, with lots of construction everywhere. Then on to Darby, MT.
Full set of photos are here.
