Driving Home

October 12, 2015

It took me 3 days to drive from Sundance, Wyoming to Oakland, Oregon.

October 13, 2015

Devil's Tower is the only mandatory tourist stop on the drive home. I've never seen it before and this is a rare opportunity. Devil's Tower National Monument is 20 miles north of my route.

I arrived well before the visitor center opens at 10 AM and hiked the 1.5 mile paved trail loop around the tower. Most of the trail is forested. Elevation is above 4000 feet on the northwest edge of the Black Hills.

Devil's Tower is a popular rock climbing destination that is sacred to native Americans. The two uses aren't especially compatible. The National Park Service tries their best to accommodate everybody. Signs warn that you can be arrested for tampering with prayer flags.

The west side of the tower has the most symmetrical pattern.

The sunny east side looks a bit jumbled up close. This side looks best from a distance as shown in the first photo.

The Sioux name is Mateo Teepee, which means Grizzly Bear Lodge.Photo of a painting in the visitor center.

On the way out of the park I stopped briefly at the visitor center, then stopped to look at the Belle Fourche river and impressive red cliffs. The park has a long trail through the red cliffs, but I don't have time for that. The river is very small.

Belle Fourche river at the entrance to Devil's Tower National Monument.

Back on I-90 in Moorcroft, I continued west across northern Wyoming. I've never been this route before. It was my first time to see the Big Horn mountains.

I-90 approaching the Big Horn mountains in north central Wyoming.

At the town of Buffalo I-90 turns northwest to go around the mountains and into Montana. After lunch in Buffalo I turned onto US 16 west which crosses the Big Horn mountains. Lots of climbing. No services. It would be a challenging route to do on a bike.

After crossing the Big Horn mountains I turned south onto US 20 to Thermopolis. Another route I've never seen. It's quite scenic, following the Wind River upstream. First in a wide valley near Thermopolis, and then in a steep canyon south of Shoshoni. It would be a fun route to do on a bike.

I stopped for 45 minutes at Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis. It has several commercial swimming pools fed by the hot spring. Also a free swimming pool required by a treaty with the local Indian tribe. The park also has two motels, each with a spring-fed warm swimming pool.

The temperature was 85F (29C), so I wasn't eager to soak in hot water. I walked the boardwalk and trails around the big mineral terrace. Most of the terrace is dry now because nearly all the flow is diverted to swimming pools.

Looking across the Wind river at the big hot spring in Thermopolis.

Walkways on the hot spring terrace. Most of the hot water is now diverted into swimming pools.

Wind river canyon south of Thermopolis. I didn't expect this.

Once out of the canyon I turned right onto US 26 which goes northwest, still following the Wind river upstream. High elevation. Just as it was getting dark I got a room at Stagecoach Inn in Dubois. Dinner 100 feet away at the Cowboy Cafe.

Dubois is on a section of the TransAmerica bike route that I've never seen.

October 14, 2015

I left Dubois at 7:20 AM without eating breakfast. It was nice to see the Tetons in the early morning sunlight. Temperature was 40F (4C) at the overlooks. Progress was maddeningly slow with the low speed limit in the national park followed by an even lower speed limit near Jackson. Breakfast was at McDonald's in Jackson at 9 AM.

Traffic was very slow going south of Jackson with road construction and many slow trucks. At Hoback Junction I turned left instead of right to see a "new" hot spring. The 20 mile detour took an hour to drive because the last 9 miles is potholed gravel. It was easy to find the waterfall and easy to locate the hot spring downstream from the waterfall. Not quite so easy to wade the creek. The deepest part was about 1.5 feet deep, moving very fast. The bed is mostly big smooth algae-covered rocks, not much gravel. Camera sealed in a Ziploc bag in case I fall.

The hot spring pool was just right. About 102F (39C) in morning shade. I soaked for about an hour as sunlight gradually spread across the creek and the hot pool. Sunshine would make the pool a bit warmer in the afternoon. Only a fraction of the hot flow goes through the pool. It's easy to adjust the flow as needed. The water is clear, but getting in stirs up silt. Moderately sulfury.

Happy feet at Granite Creek Falls hot spring.

It took an hour to get back to Hoback Junction, where I continued west on US 20 towards Idaho Falls. I biked a portion of the route in 2013. Now I'm in Idaho, still following the Snake river downstream.

I stopped for lunch in Idaho Falls. Stopped at dozens of traffic lights getting through the city.

If I was in a hurry I would take I-15 along the Snake river from Idaho Falls to Boise. Instead, I stayed on US 20 west to Arco. The highway goes through miles of grassy desert, much of which belongs to Idaho National Laboratory. It's a nuclear laboratory that designs the small nuclear reactors used in military ships and submarines. The scientists mostly live in Idaho Falls and Pocatello, and commute long distance by bus to the remote laboratory.

After the national laboratory is Craters of the Moon National Monument. I camped, hiked, and biked there in 2008 but don't have time to stop now. It's definitely worth a short detour if you've never seen it.

Craters of the Moon in Idaho. Miles and miles of lava.

Instead I stopped for a short soak at Wild Rose hot spring. 10 miles east of Carey, only 200 feet from the highway. Literally on the edge of a 20 mile wide lava field. Water temperature was a perfect 102F (39C).

Wild Rose hot spring is on the edge of the big lava field.

It had been dark for half an hour when I arrived in Mountain Home, Idaho. Got a room at the very stylish Mountain Home Inn. Dinner at the coffee shop next door. It was a long day. The first hot spring detour took 3 hours.

October 15, 2015

On October 15 I drove from Mountain Home, Idaho to my home in Oakland, Oregon. I-84 west through Boise to Ontario, Oregon. Then US 20 west to Burns and Bend. Then across the Cascade range to Eugene.

I stopped at Pilot Butte in Bend, but didn't take any pictures because I was looking into the sun at the Cascades. I drove through several miles of dense smoke near Santiam Pass.

In the Cascades I took a half mile detour to soak at Deer Creek warm spring. A good place to sit and contemplate being back home in the green Pacific Northwest.

Deer Creek warm spring in central Oregon. Body temperature in the cave, a bit cooler out of the cave.

I got home at 7 PM just as it was getting dark. It took 4 days to drive home because of the Harney Peak hike and stops at Devil's Tower and 3 hot springs.

I returned the rental car the following morning in Roseburg. That was much more convenient for me than returning a rental car in Eugene.

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