Let me tell you. In addition to the better known attractions, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, there’s Devil’s Tower, the Bighorn National Recreation Area, and a return visit to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Great weather this time of the year – warm days, cool nights and low humidity.

We left Michigan in late August, spending three nights on the road before arriving near Gillette, WY via I-90 with Devil’s Tower National Monument located about 50 miles to the north.

It hasn’t been high on our list to visit, but found it more impressive than we thought. The Tower can be seen from quite a distance since it is 867 feet tall and a base circumference of about one mile.

It is believed that the name – Devil’s Tower” is actually a misinterpretation of the name given by the Native American Tribes of “Bear Lodge” for the many grizzly and black bears that lived in the area. Several attempts to rename the Monument have failed since it takes an act of congress to approve.

The 1.8 mile Tower Trail is a moderate walk that loops around the Tower among a huge boulder field. The time of day and sun angle changes the color with the late afternoon projecting a yellow/orange/golden tone. The geological explanation of the formation is “molten rock forced upward from deep within the earth” millions of years ago.

We continued west on I-90 to WY state roads 16/789 to the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area for several nights in Greybull, WY. The vast 120,000+ acre area straddles MT/WY with the Bighorn Mountain Range, Bighorn River and Yellowtail Dam and Reservoir.

We took the recommendation of the park manager and drove a loop that covered 150 miles (WY State Roads 310, 14A and 14).

With very little traffic and no crowds, it was easy to view the Bighorn Canyon scenic overlooks (3rd largest canyon in the US) , Shell Falls, and observed moose along the side of the road.

There are numerous drive, hikes, and disbursed/dry camping options in the area. Wind River Canyon is another point of interest as well as the Town of Thermopolis to the south that has natural hot springs pools.

A little further southwest to Grand Teton National Park was next, with a much anticipated stay at Colter Bay inside the park.

The RV section of Colter Bay Campground has full hookups which was great, but no cell or internet service in much of the park. I have to admit I missed cell/internet service more than I expected, but survived.

We enjoyed the drives through the park, visits to Teton Village, Jackson Hole, including an aerial tram ride, and a Jenny Lake boat ride to hiking trails on the other side of the lake.

The majestic Teton mountains were obscured at times by smoke from a nearby wildfire, but still stunning.

From our base at Colter Bay, we took a day trip north to Yellowstone National Park It’s hard to resist since the south entrance is only 50 miles north of Teton NP. However, Yellowstone is so massive, we decided to spend the day in the southern loop that includes the geyser basin, Yellowstone Canyon and lower falls since we spent time here in 2020. Always a treat to visit!

For our final stop in Wyoming we headed south from Jackson Hole on highways 89/189/414 to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area located south of I-80 and the town of Green River.

This is a return visit for us, but this time we stayed at the southern end on the WY/UT boarder at Lucerne Campground managed by the US Forestry Service. A very nice campground with electric hook up only, but you can’t beat the views and spacious sites.

This is a beautiful, sprawling area that we find so interesting. The scenic views along the Green River canyons are spectacular with the river flowing to the Flaming Gorge Dam creating the large, 9 mile long, reservoir. A good place for bike riding, watching the Pronghorn Antelope, and admiring the vistas. Lots of marked disbursed/dry camping sites available along the reservoir.

Some travel notes: Our new towing system is working great. The flat tow is much easier to deal with on the road, easier to hookup and unhook and no more crawling on the ground to hook up the tow dolly.

With our delay leaving Michigan, we traveled west on I-94 around Chicago to I-80. Since it was Saturday, the traffic was ok, but I-94 around Chicago – what a mess! Worst road we have traveled. Looks like they have started a massive road project that will likely take years. We will avoid in the future!

We stayed at a KOA Campground near Mitchell, SD. KOA’s are good for a convenient overnight stay as was this one. This well maintained park impressed by having storm shelters available throughout the park, something we have not seen before. With storms in the forecast that night it was nice to know the shelters were there.

Our time in Wyoming has impressed us and would like to return again. Leaving Wyoming, we will be spending some time around Moab UT, then on to western and southern Colorado for the next few weeks.