Bender (my trusty Scion) at the foot of Devils Tower in Wyoming.Well, I am delayed in my postings ;) I had internet access everywhere, but I took so many pictures that after driving for 8 to 12 hours each day, the idea of sorting through them was daunting. So I'll post a few here, and make one of my fancy horizontal strip photo pages. I have narrowed my faves down to 102 pics, so there will be plenty of prairie and mountain shots to gander at soon.
The drive was gorgeous - no bad weather or traffic. Just extreme heat. The first day driving (Portland to Butte, Montana), I was heading east in Oregon when the weather report came on the local NPR station: "Highs from 108 t0 122 in Eastern Oregon, depending on where you're situated." Yowza!! I drove a little faster to get through the desert...
Stayed in Butte, Montana the first night. Quite uneventful, except all the bartenders were really sweet. ALL the bartenders! Sounds like I went to a gazillion bars... only 3. I was on the search for Butte Beer. Never found any, but there were ads for it everywhere. Even on people's t-shirts. It's a mystery beer...
Drove on to Deadwood, South Dakota, the folowing night, where I met my mom (who drove from Fredonia, Wisconsin). We stayed at the Hikocks Hotel and Casino... and our room was fabulous! PLUS - I'm not a huge slot machine payer, but my mom is one of those people who always wins. ALWAYS. We spotted a great new machine right away: Star Wars!! There was a huge Death Star on top, that if you were lucky enough to make spin by getting the bonus feature, paid out a lot. The best part - the movie clips! Even if you didn't win big, the humorous clips were reward enough. When we left Deadwood two days later, mom and I had packed up our cars, and I said "Aren't you going to play Star Wars one more time?" I just wanted to see more movie clips, really. And she said "Oh all right". And subsequently turned $40 into $100. There's your gas money!
We had one whole day to play in te Black Hills, so we drove all over, taking in some windy roads and wildlife viewing. And Mt Rushmore. That was an accident. I took the wrong road and we ended up there instead of Wind Cave. Oh well! We also went to Custer State park, where there are buffalo herds. We saw a few...
The whole reason we drove out to meet halfway between our homes, was to transfer that huge painting that Randy and I had gotten awhile back and kept at mom's house for the time being... I was getting my "I need to drive across Montana and Wyoming!" itch, and the timing worked out right for her as well, so, there you have it! I would make this drive four times a year if I could. I just love it. I don't even have cruise control. I just love the long drives under vast skies beside grassy plains and distant mountains. Thunderstorms make the trip, but I only saw one so far. Has been blue skies and 100 degree temps all the way.
As you can tell by the photo at the start, I stopped by one of my favorite places in the US: Devils Tower National Monument (first National Monument ever, for all you history buffs). There's something sacred about this place. I feel recharged every time I go there.
Well, I will retire for the evening... am going to try to drive 13 hours tomorrow (I'm in Bozeman, Montana for the night - GREAT town!). I am so happy to have organic food options again. But... I may chicken out and stay in Walla Walla, Washington to see about all these great wines from there I've been hearing about. Good excuse, eh?
