There are many neat areas around Slim Buttes...you saw an earlier travelogue entry of The Castles, for example. Today, welcome to what ended up being a dead-end "road", contrary to the map: North Divide Road. The sign below gives you an idea of the path ahead...
The gray skies added nicely to the desolateness of this area, and made for a pleasantly cool day. The road was a bit rough at first, but my good ol' wagon forged ahead...roads like these are a dime a dozen out there and are highly addictive...
At this point Slim Buttes runs north-south, and the road gradually climbs toward the west rim and roughly parallels it ('roughly' being the operative word!)...
Myriad places to explore pop up at every turn, offering unique vistas from every angle...
Yet to the east, there is this wonderful, gently rolling terrain that you can take off in virtually any direction. Recent rains had the scenery looking nicely verdant, as well...
Ahhhh, one of the smoother stretches of road...had you seen some of the other sections, you would have questioned my sanity for driving my car on that road...especially when I realized I'd hit a dead end when the road disappeared down a rugged hill!
For all the showers around the region, they pretty much stayed away from the top of the Buttes. Nearby there is an antelope research station, so the map said...and sure as shootin' on my way back out at dusk, I got to witness rather closely a galloping herd of 20 or so running like the wind across the plateau....breath-taking...
One of the sad stories not too far from this region is the untold contamination of soils and groundwater supplies from nearby uranium exploration and mining...a great deal of government and corporate inaction seems to continue to this day, and some areas are off limits due to the spoilage...
Alas, Slim Buttes itself is a wonderful playground for endless exploration, and as was the case with many of my ventures...t'wasn't another vehicle or person in sight the whole day. You may be getting an inkling by now of why I found that region spoiling...
Video Postcard for Slim Buttes
The gray skies added nicely to the desolateness of this area, and made for a pleasantly cool day. The road was a bit rough at first, but my good ol' wagon forged ahead...roads like these are a dime a dozen out there and are highly addictive...
At this point Slim Buttes runs north-south, and the road gradually climbs toward the west rim and roughly parallels it ('roughly' being the operative word!)...
Myriad places to explore pop up at every turn, offering unique vistas from every angle...
Yet to the east, there is this wonderful, gently rolling terrain that you can take off in virtually any direction. Recent rains had the scenery looking nicely verdant, as well...
Ahhhh, one of the smoother stretches of road...had you seen some of the other sections, you would have questioned my sanity for driving my car on that road...especially when I realized I'd hit a dead end when the road disappeared down a rugged hill!
For all the showers around the region, they pretty much stayed away from the top of the Buttes. Nearby there is an antelope research station, so the map said...and sure as shootin' on my way back out at dusk, I got to witness rather closely a galloping herd of 20 or so running like the wind across the plateau....breath-taking...
One of the sad stories not too far from this region is the untold contamination of soils and groundwater supplies from nearby uranium exploration and mining...a great deal of government and corporate inaction seems to continue to this day, and some areas are off limits due to the spoilage...
Alas, Slim Buttes itself is a wonderful playground for endless exploration, and as was the case with many of my ventures...t'wasn't another vehicle or person in sight the whole day. You may be getting an inkling by now of why I found that region spoiling...
Video Postcard for Slim Buttes
1 comment:
(sigh!) A little slice of heaven ..... !!
(Even despite the mining explorations ..... Grrr .....)
Thanks for sharing! Great pics, Bob!
Suzy :)
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