Shell Canyon, Near Shell WY [/caption]
I’ve always been kind of a “road geek”, things like roads and interchanges and “Infrastructure” in general has always interested me. There are certain roads I love to drive, for one reason or another.
Being a camper, you spend a lot of time on the road and get to see all kinds of infrastructure and gain an appreciation for “a job well done” US Hwy 14 is one of those projects, as far as i’m concerned.
US Hwy 14 is one of my favorites, It is an engineering feat and just one heck of a beautiful drive. Be forewarned, There are 7% grades on this road and US Hwy 14A has 10% grades.
Plenty of Pull-outs along the way to stop and take in the beauty and collect your nerves.
One thing i ran across that I had never seen before was drainage grates, LOL, I never did any kind of mountain driving before this, so coming across a drainage grate, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s something you slow down for, I found out LOL.
From Ranchester…
Bighorn Mountains at Ranchester, WY [/caption]
I started my drive off of Interstate 90, the exit for Ranchester, WY. Wow, when you exit, your staring these majestic mountains “right in the eye” (Image does not do it justice). I said to myself, How am I getting over these with a 26’, 6500 pound trailer and half-ton truck, LOL! Well, I did, and it is doable but, boy, what a climb!
As stated, there are plenty of pull outs along the way up to stop at and take in the beauty as your climbing into the Bighorns. I think the engineers figured, We would need a stop or two to collect our nerves, because that’s exactly what I did!
Not that it’s scary but, This was the first time for me, driving in the mountains, So it did make me pucker up a little but LOL.
Most of the pull-outs are large and can accomodate event the largest combination vehicle. You can even turn around in some of them, they are so big.
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Pictures do not do it justice, These grades are steep! Just remember, take your time and enjoy the scenery! [/caption]
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Beautiful scenery! [/caption]
The drive from Dayton, WY to Shell WY is roughly only an hour, but you could easy spend a day or more in the area with everything the Bighorn Mountains has to offer. Such a spectacular place.
