The Devil Went Down To...Wyoming.

One of our adventurous road trips took us to Wyoming. There we found Devils Tower. Devils Tower rises 1267 feet above the Belle Fourche River. There are many legends telling the story of how this tower was formed (depending on which tribe speaks of this site). As Crow Legend goes: Two young girls were playing around some big rocks. There were a lot of bears living around the rocks and one bear saw the two girls alone and wanted to eat them. The bear was just about to catch the girls when they saw him and began to run. The only safe spot they could find was at the top of one of the big rocks they had been playing around. The girls climbed the rock, but the bear was still coming after them. The Great Spirit, seeing the bear was about the catch the girls, caused the rock to begin growing up out of the ground. The bear kept trying to climb up the rock as it grew, but he just scratched the rock and fell to the ground. The marking on the rock are the 'claw marks' made by the bear as he tried to climb the rock. Legend says the girls are still on top of the rock.

Here are a few photos we took along the way.

Hey there little guy!

Red rocks near Devils Tower.

First site of Devils Tower over trees.

Side profile of Devils Tower.

Looking up!

Beautiful sunset from base of tower.

Battle of Bighorn

Devin and I took a journey over to Crow Agency, MT to view the Bighorn battlefield area and burial grounds. Here are a few pictures.

Enclosed burial ground of many people caught in the battle.

The stone with the black marker is where General Custer's body fell.

(But not where he is buried.)

Eternal view.

Beautiful tribute to fallen Native Americans.

(It was the least we could do.)

Custer National Park

We happened along Custer National Park. We were in search of the snow covered mountains...and found them!

Just seeing the top peaking through the clouds.

Must have been a fire...lots of dead trees!

I love these next pictures of the fog touching the mountain tips...I love fog :-)

Finally found some snow!

Why don't I live here?!

Where the deeeer and the antelope plaaaay!

Good view of the snow...finally!

A car of a different color...

Whelp, we've decided to paint the Subi. Yup! We were really bored and thought we'd get creative. Too many people are driving Subaru's these days so we had a brilliant idea to paint ours so that we would be sure to find it in a crowded parking lot. At first we thought...maybe we should just put a flag on the antenna...or...get some kayaks and throw them on top. But, no, this was definitely a better idea.
So, we thought...how can we paint it so that we are sure it stands out...but still isn't too 'showy' or 'flashy'. After hours of back and forth thoughts, here's what we created. Send us some feedback!

P.S. Picture may not actually be of OUR Subaru...

Black Otter Trail

One of our first trip out and about checking out our surroundings landed us at Black Otter Trail. We took a road leading up over the city, passed the airport and saw this amazing view. So...we checked it out!

Devin talking to Fisch about the view.

(Note: This was taken on a different day than the other pictures.)

Devin 'on top of the world' (or a rock...)

Ok...now you're just showing off!

Art

Cool roots on a tree.

One of my favorite pictures of Devin.

Hey there little fella!

And now for something COMPLETELY different! (Flowers)

 I didn't notice the bee until much later!!

 Favorite flower picture!

Pay no attention to the lady floating downstream...

Finding it necessary to explore our area completely (I mean how often are we going to be here in our lifetime), we wandered upon the Crow Reservation (Pryor). It was pretty desolate...if you could even say there was a town there. Many homes were worn down with piles of cars lining the yards. There was a school and a few other buildings (other than the houses), but otherwise, there was a road...a dirt one at that. And we traveled it...and found...more road. This was definitely getting back to basics...

Beautiful clouds...

And mountains...

These mountains are shaped like the others...

This is me...sitting in the Subaru...waiting to get washed away with the rest of the road. Bye!!!!

Not so ripe strawberries...

Devin and I found out that Billings was having a Strawberry Festival! We thought it would be a fun thing to check out, and also allow us to walk through the main strips of town and explore the various shops we have driven by. (It's always easier to browse the stores when the roads are bogged down with tons of traffic!)
Much to our dismay...the festival really didn't have anything to do with strawberries. Aside from a few local farmers, there weren't even any strawberries in site! It was still fun to peruse the shops, vendors, and of course drool over the BBQs and baked goods! We came across this one grill and had to take a picture! 

Wowza! Looks like you could cook a few people in that thing!!

Riverfront Park

We came across this small trail just outside of Billings. While you are wandering around the trail you almost feel like you are in a jungle...but you're not...so don't start swinging from the trees!

One of Devin's fishing spots.

Really big tree...really.

Bee on a Russian Olive Tree.

See now you would think these are mountains. 

Nope...it's a landfill!

Prickers!

Field along edge of one of the trails.

Oops!

All roads lead West

I finally got my new assignment! 3 months in Billings, MT! The wild, wild west. What an adventure! Okay...I've used far too many exclamation points. I'm sure there is a limit. 
So this blog is about our cross-country venture. Pretty much all highway travel, but watching the scenery change the further we got was incredible! (Oops...sorry couldn't help myself.)

My Mom sent us off with a guardian.

Poor Morey...one of many rollovers.

Cleveland...ROCKS! (Ohiooooooooo)

Devin and Morey need to stretch their legs. (Park outside of OH)

Wind Power...our future.

Big open sky country!

Chapel at a rest stop...in the middle of nowhere 

(in case you couldn't tell). (SD)

Devin catching up on his Bible reading. (SD)

Black Hills National Cemetery (SD)

Black Hills National Cemetery (SD)

Loooong train of coal (WY)

Snow on the mountains?! It's June!! (WY)

Morey was pretty excited about the snow!

Aaaaand Montana after about 3 days of travel.