June 3, 2021 - Day Thirteen, Flight Two
Grand Tetons, Devils Tower, Belle Fourche, SD
I took off from Driggs-Reed airport and headed south, then east, to get around the southern end of the Grand Teton range.
   
I'm now heading east, following the Teton Pass Highway about to go through Teton Pass.
   
Looking south.
   
Almost to Teton Pass, elevation 8,431.
   
Looking north.  Grand Teton mountain stands out at center.
   
Over Teton Pass now, looking east to the valley ahead.
   
Turning northeast.
   
Looking at the huge Jackson Hole Mountain Ski Resort.
   
Looking down at Teton Village.
   
Those look like seriously steep ski runs to me!
   
Looking west at Jackson Hole Airport (KJAC).  The town of Jackson Hole is south of the airport but I didn't take a picture of it for some reason.
   
Looking west up Granite Canyon.
   
Some big rocks to the west.
   
A good look at Grand Teton Mountain, elevation 13,770 feet.
   
Looking north.
   
Looking southeast down the big valley with the airport at right.
   
A classic shot of the Grand Teton range with the flat valley in front of it.
   
A closer look.
   
Looking north.
   
That's Jenny Lake at the base of the Grand Tetons.
   
Looking southwest.
   
Looking up Cascade Canyon to the right (west).
   
All too soon, it was time to leave the Grand Tetons; I turned east.
   
Looking north.
   
Looking north again at a 11,280 foot range.
   
About to pass through Togwotee Pass, 9,658 feet elevation.
   
Cruising around some high elevation.
   
 
   
I emerged from Togwotee Pass into an open big valley.
   
Leaving the mountains for high desert.
   
Pretty colors.
   
 
   
Passing by Dubois Municipal Airport (KDUB), Wyoming, heading southeast.
   
Following the Wind River east-southeast.
   
Some big 13,000 foot mountains to the southwest.
   
Looking north.
   
Still following the Wind River east-southeast.
   
 Passing to the south of a long, colorful escarpment.
   
Coming out of the mountains.
   
The Wind River Reservation to the north.
   
One mountain in denial.  Give it up, man, this is flatlands now.
   
Wind River.
   
 
   
I pass Boysen Reservoir which runs north to south.  Looking south.
   
Looking at the north end of Boysen Reservoir.
   
It gets pretty dry after leaving Boysen Reservoir.  I'm now heading due east towards the Black Hills.
   
Some color to the north.
   
Now heading east-northeast.  A dirt road is a pleasant site in sparsely populated Wyoming.
   
A canyon cuts through the land.
   
The ground is dropping beneath me as I stay up high to take advantage of the decent groundspeed.  It's good to go fast in remote areas like this.
   
Flying over high grasslands.
   
 
   
 
   
Another big canyon.
   
 
   
Pretty.
   
 
   
Snow-covered mountains in the distance:  the Bighorn Mountains and the Bighorn National Forest.
   
Insterstate 25 snakes off to the north.
   
Salt Creek snakes off to the north.
   
A lot of nothing to the south.
   
Flying over an oil field.
   
Looking north at the good-sized -- for Wyoming -- town of Gillette.   A good-sized airport -- Northeast Wyoming Regional Airport (KGCC) is on the north side of town.  They have a courtesy cart -- this might not be a bad place to overnight.  But not for me today.
 
From Wikipedia:  Gillette is centrally located in an area involved with the development of vast quantities of American coal, oil, and coalbed methane gas. The city calls itself the "Energy Capital of the Nation"; Wyoming provides nearly 35% of the nation's coal.  However, a decline in coal use in the U.S. has led to a decline in the local economy.
   
Just south-southeast of town were a bunch of huge quarries, including some not in this picture.  I wonder if they dug for coal?
   
Looking down into one of the big quarries.
   
Continuing east, I pass Keyhole Reservoir.   At this point, I turn north-northeast because I spotted something on the Chart I need to see.
   
Yes, it's Devils Tower, made famous in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
   
Close-up.
   
A picture of the Devil's Tower and the surrounding countryside.
   
I resumed my course of east-northeast, heading for Belle Fourche Municipal Airport, where I would call it a day.  And what a day!
   
Pretty country in northeast Wyoming.
   
I cross into South Dakota and pretty soon the town of Belle Fourche comes into view.
   

Belle Fourche Municipal Airport is just to the north of the town.  In addition to a long asphalt runway, they have a nice grass runway.  It was into the wind so I landed on it.

I had an excellent overnight stop at this airport back in 2014, so that's why I stopped in here again. It's still great. The Airport Manager is different but just as friendly and helpful. There is self-service Avgas at an excellent price. Wi-Fi in the pilot's lounge. A courtesy car for overnight use. Tie-down ropes are even available.  Lodging in town is not expensive.  The airport is convenient to the Black Hills and Badlands NP.  Recommended.
   
Belle Fourche (French for "beautiful fork")  was named by French explorers coming from New France, referring to the confluence of what is now known as the Belle Fourche and Redwater Rivers and the Hay Creek.   Belle Fourche was a big railroad town starting in the 1890s.
   
I stopped in at the town museum which was interesting and well done.
   
This was a famous wolf that terrorized the area in the early 1900.  They finally were able to trap him but the proud animal died soon after, unable to live in captivity.
   
 
   
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