Day 26 - July 07, 2015

This photo was made on US 14 just east of Cody, WY.

It begins to change going east.

And, is very pretty as we travelled through The Bighorn National Forest.

Overlooking Highway 14 from whence we came....

At the other end of the mountain range, 20 miles west of Sheridan.

And, later along our route, the high desert (7,500' elevation) becomes

prarie again.

July 07, 2015.  Overnight in Deadwood, South Dakota (Pop. 1,200).  Headed east.

Last night we left Yellowstone on US Hwy 14, which took us to Cody, Wyoming.  This morning we were again on Hwy 14, headed east.  The temperature at the time of our departure was in the mid-60's, and it was overcast.

We did not get into any rain until after lunch.  The overcast/clouds were typical for the western states in that the clouds appeared to be high in the sky, not 500-1,000 feet above the ground as we often see west of the Mississippi.  And when it rained today the rain came in small drops (mostly) and it was not a heavy rain.  However, the rain was heavy enough that we stopped and put  on our rain gear for the duration of our ride into Deadwood.  At times the rain was hard enough that it made forward visibility difficult.  Consider that our motorcycles do not have any way to disperese the water from the windshields.

As we traveled through Big Horn Nationaa Forest (This is before we got into the rain.) we followed US 14 as it continued to gain elevation.  The elevation in Cody was/is approximagely 5,000 feet.  As we rode eastward we climbed to a little over 9,000', and then when we descended into Sheridan the elevation was down to 3,700', which is one of the lowest elevations in the entire state.

Wyoming is a big state, ranking 10th in area.  But, Wyoming the least populated of all the states, and second to Alaska for the lowest density of population.  The western two thirds of the state is mostly mountains, and the rest is high plains.  Over half of the land in the state is owned either by the Federal Government (48%) or the State Government (6%).

While traveling across Wyoming today, from west to east, I noticed that at many locations there were signs with lights across the roadway indicating that if the lights were flashing the road ahead was closed.  This was true for the interstate on which we traveled (I-90) too.  No lights today.  I assume this to be a winter/snow issue.

Our travels today were uneventful, and was not as lengthy as yesterday.

Another good day.