We have more than turned the corner of our great adventure. After a wonderful, all too quick visit to Yellowstone National Park, we got underway from Bozeman, Montana to Spearfish, South Dakota.
Yellowstone is a month long odyssey if you want to do justice to all of her many, many wonders. Unfortunately we had just a day and were able to hit only the highlights - Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lower Falls, Washburn Pass at 8,853 feet!, Mammoth Hot Springs, the Norris Geyser Basin, The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, West Yellowstone, Gardiner Montana and the North Gate entrance, the Bison, the Elk, and miles and miles of beautiful scenery. Hope that we will be able to visit the park again someday and catch up on all the other sights and sounds.
Montana is a HUGE state. It would take two comfortable days or one very, very long day to drive across it from west to east or vice versa. Rocky Mountains in the west make the roads a really challenge to drive, even in the summer. Can't imagine what it must be like in the winter with feet on feet of snow, blowing cold blizzard winds, temperatures to -30 or worse! There are many sections that have barriers for those worst case scenarios. Thankfully we are here in the summer, still, it is a long drive. The incredible scenery makes the miles go by a bit faster.
We made several comfort stops and then stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant called Prime Rib. You would think it would specialize in Prime Rib and have the best, right? Wrong! Expensive and just so so beef. Too much money on decor, not enough on food. They could learn from El Jacalito (remember the secret find in Las Cruces, New Mexico?) where they focused on the food!
The welcome to Wyoming is warm in every sense. It has a neat welcome center, aimed at the Tourists. The "guide" at the info desk was knowledgeable and kind and thorough! Well worth the stop. Then it is just a short hop to where we are stopping for the night. Why Spearfish? Cuz it's half of what Rapid City hotels charge! Worth a bit of extra drive and also a good place to stop.
Tomorrow we are up early, breakfast here at the Hampton Inns "free breakfast", and onward to Mount Rushmore. This completes our major checklist items for this trip. We will be hustling on to Omaha, you know Mr. Warren Buffet right, that's his town! Then to Nashville, and then home. We have decided we are too young to do much more, and we are both beginning to get car lag and car weary. Home sounds good right now!
Montana, Big Sky country for sure,
Miles and miles and miles....
Onward, Eastward, on to Sheridan Wyoming,
A nice small town, maybe a big city to the cowboys on the range,
The Wyoming Welcome Center had very nice displays,
The topographic map of Wyoming, note all the high mountains in the west,
Note all the brown, above 5,000 feet in the west!
Yep, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Stockton, Carlsbad New Mexico, Tucson, Yuma, San Diego, Sequoia, Yosemite, San Francisco, Portland, Tacoma (Fort Lewis), Whidbey Island, Spokane, Bozeman, and now Spearfish! Wow!
Thanks be to God for keeping us safe and guiding us,
A beautiful swallow was welcoming us to Wyoming,
Tribute and memorial to all the miners of Sheridan,
A mini display of our Native Indian (Sioux) heritage,
Wyoming also has wide open skies,
Wyoming flat prairie lands,
Hoping for a good lunch, hmmm,
Sundance, Wyoming!
the red hills of eastern Wyoming,
The transition from mountains to prairie and small hills,
South Dakota and not dreaming of Bali Hai,
Here we are, South Dakota!
A symbolic tee pee frame to honor the Sioux and other tribes,
Gives the basic history of this region, from Native Indian tribes to the gold rushers, to modern development and growth,
Well, we head south tomorrow, toward home. Home is now three days away, and we are ready for home. This get-home-itis is almost as strong as when you return from a cruise! Almost!
It's been a wonderful, eye opening and eventful trip with my sweet Lady. She has been such a good trooper, brave, strong, hardy, and indefatigable as well as a good navigator and guide.
I hope you're enjoying following us. Let us know if you have questions or such.
With much Love, Prayers and best wishes,
DMA.
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