We left the Branch House in historic Deadwood, S.D., a town we would visit again, and headed to the hills. Along the scenic byway through Spearfish Canyon, we stopped at Bridal Falls and spotted not only colorful yellow autumn on the hills but mountain goats along the road. They were unafraid and beautiful.

We continued to Devils Tower, Wyoming with a picnic within sights of this beautiful landmark, tasting buffalo sausage and cheese snacks. The trip was a long journey today with ten hours on the road. We saw desolate mounds of varying colors, dotted with sagebrush. It was a smokey day, with the wildfire residue coloring the sky and obliterating the distant hills. It did not diminish our appreciation of the unbelievable varying terrain, which traversed between colorful mounds to farm and ranchland, to valley green crop farming. The colors of the earth are amazing.

Our final stop was in Cody, Wyoming. Our room is in the historic Buffalo Bill/s Irma Hotel downtown. We sipped drinks on the verandah as the rains poured onto the dry streets, hopefully washing away some of the wildfire smoke. We are within miles of Yellowstone and look forward to the day tomorrow.