Devils Tower, Buffalo and Riverton, Wyoming

Devils Tower, Buffalo and Riverton, Wyoming - July 11-13

Our next major scheduled stop is Grand Teton National Park, but it is too far for a one day drive. We had Devils Tower National Monument as a scheduled overnight stop, but decided to just make it a pass-thru on the way to Grand Teton NP, so we went by way of Devils Tower, Wyoming, with one night stops in both Buffalo, WY and Riverton, WY.

 We are glad we made that decision because there is not much at Devils Tower other than the tower rock. The weather in the Devils Tower vicinity when we got there was quite sinister with lightning storms, ominous skies and tornado warnings, so it sort of fit a reign of the devil…

We were glad to get away from this place….

The trip to the overnight stop in Buffalo was uneventful. More rolling Wyoming hills.

At the RV Park in Buffalo, I asked the manager how Buffalo got its name, expecting a story about millions of Buffalo that roamed the area, or that the Indians actually called the area Tatanka or something like that. Instead, he said “It’s a long story… but in reality they had a drawing among the inhabitants of the area when it was determined that an official name be adopted by the town’.  He said ‘You won’t believe this, but the winner was from Buffalo, NY, so ……....’ 

I told him I was really disappointed in that answer, that I was ready for a real romantic story, or an Indian tale or something, but he just looked at me and shrugged, and his assistant just stood there and smiled.

Sylvia and I decided that they had conjured up this story for weary travelers that show up on his doorstep asking stupid questions, just to shut us up. There really has to be a better story for the naming of the town, but we didn’t ask anyone else and we just went to bed.

July 12, 2011 – Buffalo, WY to Riverton, WY.

We took the scenic route from Buffalo toward Grand Teton N.P., passing through the Bighorn National Forest, stopping over in Riverton, WY for a night before moving on to Grand Teton N.P..

More rolling hills, this time with mountains in the background.

The flora changes a little bit also..

What is the name of those little fluffy balls (seed heads??) that grow from Dandelion, then break apart and blow in the wind, carrying their seeds to spread and germinate? Well in Bighorn Mountain country, they are giant size, and I assume since the wind blows pretty strongly all the time, they are a little more resistant to break off and fly away. It takes just about all your lung power to make them release.

There are lots of these kind of abandoned buildings out here.

On to Grand Teton National Park