Friday, May 17
Odometer Reading: 50,063 Food Supply: A $6 granola bar from a Yellowstone snack bar
I had no idea that there would be snowon the ground in Montana and Wyoming. In fact, most of Yellowstone was closed down due to ice on the roads. But we went anyway, and had fun. Lots of wild buffalo and other animals were everywhere, blocking traffic and generally wreaking havoc. (Unfortunately, most of the bison were killed off earlier this year. Check out the National Parks and Conservation Association's web site for more information on the Bison Belong campaign. The geysers were so hot that most of them looked like huge steam vents because it was so cold outside. And they truly smelled awful--almost as bad as the Booger Hollow outhouse! Matt and I had a snowball fight near Old Faithful (we were there just in time to see it erupt--check out the photo above)! It's not as impressive as you'd think, but it's still quite an amazing thing to see. Be sure to check out the Visitor's Center near Old Faithful--lots of info available there.
We drove back up through Montana (look at a map; you'll see how we did it) and once again put the pedal to the metal. This is where I saw my first prarie dog--they are so cute! We also stopped to look at Little Bighorn Battlefield. Matt was tempted to try to dig up bones.
Saturday, May 18
Odometer Reading: 50,576
After spending the night in Gilette Wyoming, we started off the day with a trip to Devil's Tower, that weird looking mountain from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." You know, the one that Richard Dreyfuss sculpts his mashed potatoes to look like? There were a lot of people signing up to climb to the top today; but the ranger warned all of them that hardly any actually make it to the top, and if they did, they had to be careful because rattlesnakes lived up there. This didn't seem to phase anybody, except me. This reminded me of New Mexico, and man, was I watching where I stepped!
We trucked along to South Dakota, where the old ladies running the welcome center were absolutely thrilled to see us. It was like we were the Publisher's Clearinghouse Prize Patrol or something. These people loved their state and their jobs! It was so awe-inspiring that I recommend you stop there as a sheer tourist attraction! We finally got out of there after about 15 minutes, our arms loaded with about 50 brochures, maps and magazines (no lie), and the women opened the door for us and waved from inside, yelling for us to please come back and see them.
We saw everything in South Dakota, from the Black Hills (disappointing) to Deadwood (the town full of saloons and where Wild Bill Hickock was shot). While Deadwood has a little "historical" element that's still evident, there are lots of casinos that are invading the area. I love casinos and everything, but sometimes you need to keep historical things in order. But Deadwood is still charming and entertaining, and the restored Main Street is great. Among the other disappointments in South Dakota was Mt. Rushmore. It looked so tiny compared to what we'd expected. When we were winding up the snake-like roads, I caught a glimpse of a small stone statue in the distance. I remember saying something like, "Matt, there it is," and he said, "No, that can't be it! It's so small!" So we decided that it was a little miniature or something, preparing us for the "big one." Nope. It's tiny! Beware fellow Hitchcock fans: North by Northwest won't be so scary after you've seen Mt. Rushmore in person.
The highlight of this day had to be Wall Drug, a huge store with all sorts of amazing things to do. We blew a whole hour there, watching animated cowboys sing and climbing on gigantic jackalopes. Here you'll find photos of everything imaginable lining every wall, a traveler's chapel, stuffed tigers, a yummy soda fountain, and various cheezy souvenirs. In fact, Wall Drug has just about everything....except a drug store! Make sure you bring plenty of quarters along for Wall Drug's "famous" Backyard. There are lots of dusty and aging dioramas that (sorta) come to life when you plunk in a few coins. It was obvious that people really dig the place. A group of 16 or so tourists started clapping and dancing to the Singin' Cowboy Band, a group of dummies that start "singing" for a mere 25 cents, and kept feeding it quarters when they'd stop. Yes, you too can have hours and hours of foot-stompin' entertainment at Wall Drug!
We waved goodbye to the S.D. tourist mecca and hit the Badlands. The Badlands are situated in the middle of the S.D. grasslands and look like rainbow mountain ridges surrounded by plains. An eerie landscape to begin with, it was even more frightening because we drove through it during a lightening storm. (And as a result, my photos did not turn out at all--sorry)! I felt like I was on Mars.
This page was created and written by Louisa
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