White Knuckles in the Bighorn Mountains

Day 37 Cody WY to Spearfish SD
345 miles

Today could have been forgettable, except for a 58 mile section of highway (I use the term loosely) that went up across and over some mountains.

We left Cody, stopped at the WalMart (Sunday mornings are WAY better than Sunday afternoons at WalMart!) for a few things and then hit the road. We stayed on the same highway that travels right through Cody, US 14/16/20 east toward a small town, Ranchester, a little north of Sheridan where we wanted to pick I90. There isn't any real easy way to get back to I90 from Cody. The road was two lane but, in good condition and heck, we were practically the only vehicle on it anyway!

We'd checked with the Mountain Directory (a book that rates highway grades for large vehicles) and knew that we'd have to traverse the Bighorn Mountains, and there was going to be quite a hairy grade to get over. The peak is at Granite Pass, at 9300 foot elevation.

After riding for a couple of hours of boring roads...lots of pronghorn sheep and cows, things changed fast.

We got to a tiny town called Shell and entered a narrow,rocky (like soaring cliffs overhead) canyon. Then we started to climb. Jim decided we needed to unhook the Jeep, after he looked almost directly overhead and saw the road above us. He leaned over the dashboard, pointed up and said, "Oh shit, that's the road up there."

That meant a sharp switchback and steep climb, and sheer rocky cliffs....and this was only mile #1. Yikes!

So we unhooked, and I was very relieved driving a nice, small, 4 wheel drive vehicle over the mountain instead of looking over the edge and hoping the transmission and brakes and tires will all function properly and we won't go flying over a 1,000 granite cliff! Yeah, I do that. Plus it does make it easier on the RV without pulling the Jeep up a steep 18 mile hill.

The climb up was fairly easy, we were on the inside edge...but you know that on the way down you have to be on the outside edge. We traveled on a ridge across the top for quite a while in the Bighorn National Park. In fact, I almost forgot that we hadn't come down off the mountain yet, until I saw the elevation 9300 feet sign There was a lot of snow up there and I noticed some clouds gathering. I thought ALL I needed at this point was to have a blinding snowstorm!

We finally arrived at the point where we started to descend. I have no idea what was over the edge of the guardrail...I just knew I couldn't see the bottom and I wasn't taking my eyes off the road for more than a second. I did, however, read the sign that said 'Next 9 miles down hill' and another saying the same thing, only 11 more miles...so 18 miles down hill.

When I did take a quick peek the view was phenomenal. At one point I pulled into a turnout and Jim following was sure that I was going to tell him that I couldn't go any further. Heck no, I'd rather be in the Jeep any day than the RV on a mountain. I was kind of nervous at that point because there were a few places with no guardrails and I was waaaaaay over the yellow line into the OTHER lane, just be be sure....I mean, one mistake and you're going into an abyss! I didn't mind the straight sections, but those outside curves where you're hanging off the mountain are a little hairy. I did manage to squeeze off one shot while I was driving, but didn't want to push my luck.

The view of the valley below stretched for miles, it was like looking out of a plane. At one point on a switchback I noticed some severe guardrail damage, where someone had hit the guardrail HARD and hopefully didn't go over it because it was a long way down.

I was about 5 minutes ahead of Jim when we got down and it took me a while to find a spot big enough for the RV and Jeep so we could re-hook. And that was a good thing because I think it took that long for me to pry my fingers off the steering wheel!

Had lunch in the Rv in Sheridan, then began the long, last leg of the day. This area has ranches and farms. I've never seen so many deer in my life, or cattle. This afternoon I saw black cows, horses, brown cows, mules, and black cows with white faces...I'll have to look them up wild turkey and little baby calves. Gonna feel bad about veal parmesean sandwiches for a while...

Finally we crossed into South Dakota and got a campground in Spearfish. Had a quick dinner and headed into Deadwood, an old mining town with casinos in every building. Lost a grand total of $13, very fast, I might add. We only stayed about an hour and headed back. Sunday night, off season and we don't drink...

Tomorrow we're going to see *The Heads* near Rapid City and then take that looooong drive across South Dakota.