Zeke73SG

I was driving across the country by myself and for the first time, and this is where I spent the third and final night. The hotels were all booked and I was perplexed by this, but later found that Livingston is a major gateway into Yellowstone. I can’t remember where I stayed or where I ate the next morning, but I do remember that all of the waitresses were incredibly hot. It could have just been that I was going insane from being alone in the car for days.

We camped here on our cross-country trip. We had been in the Badlands the previous day. In Washington you can pretty much camp wherever you want inside the National Forests so I figured it was the same here. We probed for a camp site at the westernmost entrance to the forest, but the road was a bit rough for my car so we headed for the main entrance. The place was deserted and it was the middle of the night so we camped by a picnic table just below the lookout tower. The next morning we found the tower closed but we hopped the gate and climbed it anyway, seeing as there was virtually no chance we would ever go back. We made it to Raleigh two mornings later.

Currently, this place is being run by yellow jackets. Our dog was stung twice but that was his fault. We hiked up to King’s Pinnacle at nightfall and got caught in the rain, and then it rained all night so we left in the morning, but I would like to go back and hike up the other mountain.

There were lots of people there. You basically drive all the way up. Not much of an outdoors experience, though it would be if you could go to the very top. I suggest going on a weekday.

It was much more interesting than I thought it would be. After traveling across the country twice I expected to not be impressed by this geological oddity in northwestern North Carolina, but there is a lot to explore and it presents some serious dangers, the ingredients of adventure.

We arrived at Sage Creek Campground after nightfall and we were greeted on the road by numerous pairs of bison eyes shining in the dark. It took over 20 minutes to inch the car through, very slowly and carefully. We had big plans to backpack into the wilderness at Sage Creek or somewhere in the South Unit, but it rained all the first full day we were there and our gear got all muddy. We didn’t have the time or energy to backpack out, but we spent the next day (which was nice) exploring past the fossil trail, and then around the door, window, and notch trailheads before we had to move on. Backpacking in the Badlands is still on my list of things to do before I’m dead.

We went to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, Hot Springs State Park, and wandered around downtown. This was supposed to be the halfway point rest stop on our transcontinental journey and I had a great time. I would stay longer, but I’ve got to keep movin’ on.

This is my friend’s hometown and I spent the night here on the way to Craters of the Moon. I had my doubts when I had to enter a bar to get a motel room, but it turned out to be alright, and we got some pizza and played foosball down the street.

We were going to camp here, but seeing as we hate campgrounds we decided to move on. There are two seperate campgrounds in the park but they can’t seem to provide more than a handful of sites to people who don’t require electricity (I require a semi-flat pad of dirt). The dunes were deserted when we got there just before dusk, everyone was busy enjoying their RV’s. I wish we could have spent more time there, I am really into sand dunes and deserts.

This is one of those places that if you end up here, you probably didn’t have a choice. I hiked to the top of Pushtay on my one day off during my last visit here. Note: it is not technically allowed. If you love deserts (I do) then you will enjoy the views. The elevations, and therefore temperature, vary significantly. It’s very windy here so be prepared. Grab lunch at The Oasis if you have the opportunity.