Bozeman, MT to Moses Lake, WA

Hmmm, what did we see on this section of country? Pretty much repeat of everything else. We did drove through Montana, Idaho and about a third of Washington state. We did see a lot of eagles which was pretty cool. We even saw an eagle in a nest right above a river that was bordering the road. We stopped at the 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar – not to drink, but to see the silver dollars and grab some souvenirs. Sorry, not much else to report. Mountains, rivers, fields, and trees.

Oh, we did see lots of gold mining towns. That was sort of interesting to drive through. They were a little too developed for my taste though… like little town with huge billboards all over it. Ech.

Gillette, WY to Bozeman, MT

Ugh, definitely should have written these last few entries right after we experienced them, but we got to Bozeman really late at night and then the connection in Moses Lake was really slow. So, I’m sure that I’m going to miss things, but I’ll try.

On the way through Wyoming we went through Big Horn National Forest, Buffalo Bill State Park, Shoshone National Forest, and Yellowstone National Park. We drove through sunshine, hail, sleet, snow, and rain. Big Horn/Buffalo Bill/Shoshone were all areas that I wasn’t really planning on going through until the night before and decided to hit the routes that traveled through the conserved areas to have a break from I-90. They were definitely worth the detour. Big Horn was pretty cool. I kept waiting to see big horn sheep, but when we go to the very end there was a sign that said that they have been killed off by disease and humans. The sign also said they are working to reintroduce them to the park. It would be really cool to look up onto the cliffs and see sheep running around. Buffalo Bill/Shoshone had a really cool tunnel you had to drive through and when you came out, you could see across this huge reservoir that was this intense teal. Along the side of the road there were plenty of signs warning you of danger and fines if you tried to approach a grizzly bear, but we never saw one.

Yellowstone was amazing. It’s weird because like so many other times, the terrain changed abruptly. After we got through the previous areas we saw rolling hills and rock again. There were hardly any trees. Then we go around this bend and we’re back in a valley of huge mountains. This time rocky, but covered with pine trees. When you enter the park they give you a door knob hanger that says to keep away from buffalo because they’ll gore you. The sign also says to stay away from the hot springs because you’ll fall through the mineral crust that surrounds them. We were intrigued by the buffalo warning… I didn’t even realize we’d get to see buffalo. Sure enough, we came around a bend by the lake and there was a huge buffalo laying next to the road. At first John thought it was fake, but another 30 seconds went by and we drove past a second buffalo. About 15 minutes after that we came up on a whole herd of buffalo roaming in the fields. Then it was nothing but buffalo. Buffalo in the road, buffalo snorting and charging each other 2 feet from a bunch of parked RVs, buffalo in fields, and buffalo roaming in between the trees in the forest… about 10 feet from this little frail woman walking down a trail towards a point of interest. We didn’t see the outcome of that meeting. We saw quite a few people get taken away by park rangers for  stepping outside of their vehicle right next to buffalo. Then we saw a little field FULL of people with video cameras trying to get a few feet from the buffalo on foot. The park rangers hadn’t gotten there yet… or maybe the figured they should let a few people get gored.

The hot springs were awesome. I had pictured one or two next to each other here and there. I couldn’t have been more wrong. They were everywhere! Here and there next to the road, ten over there in the woods, 2 hot springs on either side of the road so you drove through the steam, etc. We got out and walked on a designated pathway for a bit and took some photos/video. Then we headed towards Old Faithful. It’s weird to drive through the park trying to rush to see something before it gets dark… knowing that dusk is the best time to see one of those buffalo, or an elk cross the road. Got there in one piece. Old Faithful was cool, but what was even better is that they have a walkway from Old Faithful to a whole field of hot springs. We didn’t take the time to walk it all, but I’m definitely planning on going back some day.

As we drove from Old Faithful it was about 8:15 and just starting to get dark. We didn’t get out of the park until around 11… when it was really dark. Don’t drive through Yellowstone in the dark unless you really want to test your driving skills. It was sharp corner after sharp corner after incredibly steep hill after AHHH elk in the road. Yeah, so we saw plenty of female elk throughout the ride through the park, but around 10pm, we almost hit one that decided he’d like to hang out in the road. He was huge. He moved quickly and ran beside the road so we could see him very well. Luckily I was driving with the anticipation of seeing something in the road and the car behind me was giving me enough room for braking quickly. Towards the end we came to a random street light with a guy holding a SLOW sign underneath it. We waited and waited and waited. Then this line of cars comes out of the darkness with this construction pick up in the lead with a flashing yellow light. He turns around and all the other cars keep going past us. The truck swings around and pulls into the road in front of us with a sign that read Pilot Vehicle. Follow Me. That was a pretty strange experience. The road was really steep and winding and it was really dark. All you could see next to the car were construction cones and cliffs the whole way.

The real bummer was coming through Mammoth Springs. Completely dark. What was interesting is that we were headed on a steep decline for what felt like an hour. What the heck did we miss? I have no idea. I have a feeling that we went through some pretty cool mountains, but we couldn’t see a thing. The only things we saw after Mammouth Springs was a coyote crossing the road and a whole mess of oil and coal refineries along the side of the road.

Kimball, SD to Gillette, WY

Yesterday was pretty much one long drive through South Dakota. We had breakfast at this little diner right next to the hotel. The food was really good, but the coffee was weak. As soon as John and I poured our glasses we noticed how clear the coffee looked. The menu had an item named the “New Englander,” but it was potato cakes with toppings. The only time I’ve ever had potato cakes in New England is when I or my mom has made them. Is it actually something we’re known for to people outside of New England?

It wasn’t more than a few minutes before we hit the Missouri River. As soon as we hit the river the landscape seemed to change again. Instead of flat land with a gentle slope, the landscape was covered with small, rolling hills as far as you could see. It was strange though because as much as the terrain was made up of small hills, it still seemed flat. The crops of soybeans and corn started to be replaced by fields of sunflowers, wheat, and hay. Of course the wheat had already been harvested so the only evidence we saw was long tracts of gold a few inches high. The hay had also been harvested, but not taken anywhere so there were round bales scattered everywhere as far as the eye could see. Sometimes they were in lines, while other times they were stacked up like small pyramids.

We did the Badlands Loop. I had no idea what to expect. You’re driving along the start of the Badlands loop, just seeing more “flat.” Then BAM – you’re staring at beautiful cliffs and canyons. At first you can get out and walk around and stare out over all of these white and red layers of rock. After a few minutes you start to drive through passes in the rocks. Towards the end was my favorite – yellow mounds with red sand running down the sides with white sand caps. Kind of looked like those sand art bottles.

The Badlands Loop leads you right to what seems like this oasis in the middle of the desert. Winn told us the avoid Wall, and other tourist trap type places, but I think those are the coolest places. Wall was awesome. They had a huge mall of what was probably a hundred different shops. We ate in one of the dining rooms that had life-size replicas of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid carved into a 187-year-old cedar tree. There were walls and walls of Western themed art which was also pretty cool to look at.

After Wall? Oh yeah, we headed for the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. The terrain changed again and led us through mountains covered in soft wood/pine trees. The rocks were much different – jagged, all over the place and mixed in with red cliff faces. Rushmore was very cool. We went right from Rushmore to Crazy Horse which was also fascinating. We were only a few minutes from the start of laser show at Crazy Horse, but we decided to head out since it was getting pretty dark. We were warned not to drive at night in South Dakota because of all of the animals that crawl out after hiding from the hot sun. We saw a few mule deer, but other than that, not many animals ventured too close to the road.

On the way to Gillette we drove by several coal mine/power plant operations which looked really weird all lit up. We also followed a storm for 2 hours. Since the landscape was generally flat again, we could see awesome lightning strikes the whole way from Custer to Gillette.

Today, we head for Yellowstone. It’s supposed to be 70′s and raining, but we’ll probably welcome it after yesterday’s brutal sun and 90/100 degree weather.

Davenport, IA to Kimball, SD

Lol, John and I both just noted that we’re hungry. Quick post and then it’s breakfast-stopping-time. We haven’t really been stopping for meals aside from lunch. We’ve mostly been munching on the care package treats that Nancy packed for us.

Sitting in a Super 8 in Kimball, SD. I looked it up on Wikipedia and it has a population of approximately 750. Out the window it’s pretty much just wide spaces with a few buildings here and there. John gave the ladies at the front desk a bottle of NH syrup and absolutely made their day. I guess they were going on about how expensive it is here and basically acted like it was gold. Very cute. He also verified that the short plants we’ve been seeing are soybeans. The ladies at the desk said wheat has already been harvested (hence us not seeing any and wondering were it all was).

What’d we see between Davenport and Kimball? Um, repeat of the day before… corn, soybeans, corn, soybeans. Less tractor trailer trucks…although they’re still all over the place. The sunset is pretty similar. Little less hazy. The hills are starting to “roll” a bit. We can tell we are heading for higher elevation but it’s so steady that it still seems pretty flat.

I think we’ve passed through quite a few birthplace towns of famous people… can’t remember them all. Few presidents and Laura Ingalls Wilder. We stopped at the World’s Largest Truckstop and passed the World’s Largest Fireworks store (Fremont, IN), World’s Largest bull head (this metal thing in the middle of a field in SD), Corn Palace, and now I can’t remember everything else I was trying to make a mental note of.

Today’s agenda is: Buffalo Gap National Grassland, Badlands National Park, Black Hills National Forest, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer, Jewel Cave, Bear Country, Thunder Basin National Grassland, Wall Drug… and crossing into another time zone.

We’ll be heading for Wyoming…somewhere. Yellowstone tomorrow. Click on the photos below to see the Picasa album.