Today was my day for the unexpected. I'm visiting with long time friends, Carl and Gay Howard, in Sedalia, Colorado, about 20 miles south of Denver. I started with IBM in 1957 and Carl was in my first IBM employee education class. Initially, we were working in different locations, but then later we worked together at the Stead Air Force base north of Reno, Nevada.
I expected today to be primarily just a social day, catching up on their kids and my kids and what it is each of us have been doing all these years. But the morning turned out to be more than that.
Carl and Gay bought a home in the Colorado hills at which they could have horses and be able to ride, not only in the immediate area but also on federal and state land nearby. Their three children learned to ride at an early age. Not being an experienced rider, my tail end earned some hard knocks on prior visits, but I must admit, I enjoyed the experience of riding in this countryside.
The 'neighborhood' is certainly rural, with small ranches nearby. Carl and Gay have been active residents for more than 20 years, volunteering for one thing or another. In particular, they have been with the volunteer fire department and on call 24 hours each day. Not only does the fire department respond to fire calls, but virtually any emergency call. Such was the case this morning.
It had been a cool Saturday night for sleeping, and Carl, Gay and I arose on Sunday morning, assuming a slow, leisurely pace of having coffee, reading the Sunday paper and so on. But around 10:00AM the call came in over the scanner which they have on all the time, and a phone call confirmed that an emergency had occurred in the nearby mountains.
There is a popular park not too far from Sedalia, at which hundreds of people gather, especially on weekends, to go dirt biking or ride four wheel all-terrain vehicles, usually referred to as 'quads'. On some ocassions, accidents will happen, and so was the case this morning. A ten year old boy, properly attired with helmet and other equipment, unfortunately hit a tree and became unconscious.
Multiple units responded to the call, including an emergency medical team, a fire truck and individuals like Carl and Gay (and me). The boy was found and moved from the forest area to the nearest blacktop highway intersection, at which an emergency helicopter could land. I tagged along with Carl and Gay, and video taped the entire operation.
The volunteers are trained for such events, and took positions such as blocking traffic on this mountain road to allow the helicopter to land and later take off, and also the moving of the boy from the emergency medical van to the helicopter. If the boy had been moved by land to the nearest medical facility, it would have taken almost an hour, which is critical time for such a case.
It was interesting for me to observe this entire event and I developed a new sense of respect for such volunteers who offer their time and energies, all over this country. Carl and Gay, and other volunteers are not paid for their participation or the use of their vehicles, etc, but do it out of a sense of kindness to their fellow man. My hat goes off to the volunteers of America.
Back at the Howard's home after the noon hour, we tried to resume our socializing, but another call came in which took Carl and Gay away for a short while. An 84 year old woman had an apparent heart attack and needed transportation to a medical facility.
The remainder of the day was less dynamic. We looked at pictures. The Howards told me of their several trips to Alaska and I described my current trip. I gave them a demo of the Internet and showed them not only my web site but other Internet facilities as well.
I had to compete with Tank, by the way, for the use of my laptop. Because there was no driving for Tank and I today, I brought him in the house rather than have him sit sit out in the Ford Explorer. He found a web site while surfing the net, which is devoted to the subject of.....hold on to your keyboard (!)......a web site for Armadillos!
If you're so inclined, you can check out the following URL:
Needless to say, I reclaimed my laptop to give the Howards my demo of the Internet.
Tomorrow, I'm headed north and will try to fit in multiple objectives for the day. I would like to call and/or see some other IBM friends in the Denver area, and also the Boulder area. There are some sights I would like to see in Denver itself, and if I can arrange my time, I think I would like to tour the Coor's brewery facilities in nearby Golden Colorado. You'll get my report tomorrow night.
Plan as I might, there is always the unexpected. And, boy, today was full of the unexpected. The day began well. Breakfast with the Howards in Sedalia, Colorado before leaving their home and beginning my tour northward. I took advantage of their washer and dryer and did a load of laundry before I left too.
A major interest for today was to link up with some other friends in Boulder, Colorado, which is about 25 miles northwest of Denver. I thought I would fit in some other touring before getting there, so I began with a visit to Golden, Colorado, just west of Denver.
I certainly used a lot of 'blue highways' today - 85, 470, 6, 2, 36, 199, 7 and more. You don't see a lot driving on the Interstate and certainly not in this area. Denver is much, much bigger than I have known it over the years. It would be a nice town, if it were not for so many people!
Tank liked some of the music on today's CD player load, but not all of it. LeAnn Rimes sang "Blue" as only she can, and joined with Eddy Arnold for "Cattle Call". Tank likes those country tunes. He doesn't relate to the beautiful piano music of Lorie Line, who played "Send in the clowns" and much more today. If you're not familiar with these artists, check them out at your local CD store.
The temperature was 55 degrees and it was sunny at the start of the day, but it clouded over again, and tried to sprinkle throughout the day, although that didn't amount to much. It has been wet and cold. Spring may have come to western Colorado, but here, east of the Rockies, the weather has yet to make up its mind.
Being a holiday, traffic was light, because most of the working population was home. That's the good news. The bad news is that being a holiday, most things were closed. I first went to Golden, Colorado, to see the Buffalo Bill Museum and grave site. That was open and interesting. You have to drive up the Lookout Mountain road for five miles, which is a so-called 'switchback' road, zig-zagging back and forth every 40 yards of so, to get to an elevation of 6000 feet above sea level. The view was not only of Golden but you can see for miles to the east, including all of Denver.
But after leaving Lookout Mountain, I intended to take the Coor's Brewery tour only to learn the facility was closed for the holiday. Okay, I'll drive to Denver and visit the U.S. Mint. Sorry, it was closed too.
The downtown area had few people there because of the holiday, so visiting the state capitol went okay. Other attractions such as (the unsinkable) Molly Brown's house met with 'closed' signs as well. I drove some distance to see a restored pioneer village called the Four Mile Historic Site and ..... you guessed it, it was closed too.
I checked into my motel in the early afternoon before proceeding up to Boulder. At Boulder, my attempt to meet with some other friends there, did not work out, so I went to my alternate plans. I visited some western art museums, which included sculpture as well as paintings. You're talking big bucks here, but boy, the quality of this art work is fantastic. "If I were a rich man.....". The best museum I visited was the Leanin' Tree museum on the north side of Boulder.
My other activity was to tour the University of Colorado campus in the town's center. I almost moved to Boulder back in the 70s, and I think I would have enjoyed it. Boulder has grown and has many modern coveniences, but it has retained its quaint mountain town character. The university is big, modern and looks to be a great place to live and learn.
Today was the town's annual "Boulder Boulder" 10K marathon run, so there was a lot of street activity, concession stands and such, but I missed the bulk of this which occurred earlier in the day.
Tomorrow, I think my plans will go pretty much according to my original plan. I'm headed for Estes Park, otherwise known as the Rocky Mountain National Park. The trip has been fun, but also full of surprises. Onward, ever onward......
Yesterday it was a holiday and that made a number of things closed for tourists. Today, Mother Nature was against me. My main objective for the day was to tour the Rocky Mountain National Park, just west of the mountain town of Estes Park, Colorado. The road was closed 12 miles inside the park due to ice on the road. I did manage to see a great deal of the glacier-created park in spite of the closure.
I travelled more blue highways today - 36, 7, 34, 287, 14, etc. It's great to see America at a slower pace than the 75 mph Interstate. The Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) is beautiful. Huge and beautiful. We can compare it to the glacier-created mountains of Alaska, and maybe compare it to Switzerland as well.
The slower highway travel also gave me a chance to experience the neat town of Estes Park. Why can't more American cities be like Boulder and Estes Park? Instead of drab store fronts, these towns put on a neat 'face' that makes you want to stop and shop, and that's exactly what I did. I ate at Ed's Cantina in Estes Park, and had the best barbeque that I've had in a long time. Fort Collins, where I'm staying tonight, is a bigger city than I imagined. It has all the traits of a modern city but does it without being gaudy.
Tank and I were up early as usual, loaded the Explorer from the motel and were on our way by 6:30AM. I had orange juice in the Igloo ice chest and cereal bars, but I stopped for coffee at Burger King. I guess someone told me and I forgot, but Burger King gives senior citizens (that's me, folks) free coffee. Such a deal!
The CD Player began with "Softly, as a morning's sunrise" (from The New Moon), and that's what the sun was doing. The mood was set for "I want to be happy" (No, No, Nanette) and "Make believe" (Show Boat).
Tank was sulking a bit this morning, because I critized his video taking yesterday. He doesn't want me taking all the pictures so I let him have a try, but he keeps slipping off the tripod. Those claws of his just can't get the 'hang of it'. Maybe better next time.
In and around my motel on the north side of Denver, the early morning rush hour was a 65 mph 'parking lot' with cars bumper to bumper. I was headed north, away from town, and the commuter traffic lasted until I got north of Boulder. Then life slowed down to an enjoyable pace.
The morning sunlight illuminated the velvet-like grass that covers the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. If you're a Colorado sports fan, the morning had good news and bad news. The Rockies (baseball) beat St. Louis, but the bad news is that the Avalanche Stanley Cup champions of last year (hockey) lost their playoff game, so it's Detroit and Philadelphia in the finals. There is sadness in Denver. There's even sadness in Calabasas, California, where my grandsons are Avalanche fans.
I decided to take a somewhat indirect route to the Rocky Mountain National Park, by first heading west and then north. I used highway 7 to go through the St. Vrain Canyon and it was gorgeous. It took me by mountain cabins, many resorts and many confernce centers or retreats. One, in particular, St. Malo's near Meeker Peak, is a beautiful facility, with an very ornate chapel-like building at the front of the property, made from rocks native to the area.
I stopped a Lily Lake, where the temperature on the Explorer read 42 degrees but the wind chill must have easily taken it down to below freezing. In spite of this, there were many fisherman preparing for the challenges of the day.
Let me clarify a comment I made in yesterday's diary. Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park are really two different things. Estes Park is a mountain town at the eastern entrance of the park. The town really caters to the tourist because there is a whole range of elegent hotels, to primitive log cabins. You name it, you can find it in Estes Park - cabins, motels, resorts, inns, bed and breakfast.
There are many rivers in the area, and all of them were flowing with cold, icy water today. There is no white water rafting on these rivers because they tumble agressively over the river rocks and huge boulders. The rivers are beautiful to watch, and to listen too. I must have stopped a dozen times to photograph them and listen to them. In spite of Mother Nature closing the road, I really appreciate the show she's putting on this spring for me.
The road closure within the park was at a point called Rainbow Curve but that didn't stop me and hundreds of other people to see a lot of the park. I expected more people but it is 'after' the holiday weekend, and maybe still before the bulk of vacationers get here. I had dinner with some people this weekend, and they were envious of me having a Golden Age Passport and getting into any national park for free now. For them, it might cost 20, 40 or 60 dollars to visit a park.
The park starts off easily with pretty alpine meadows, melted snow filling the creeks and ponds. The park alerts visitors that game may come down onto the highway, but all I saw were squirrels. I'm told Rocky Mountain Sheep will cross the meadows, however I did not see any. I wish I had.
I went into the park as far as I could, and that also meant as high as I could. I took the road to the top of Rainbow Curve, which is about 11,000 feet above sea level. During this ascent, I was met with snow flurries. Not much, but interesting to see it snow in late May. I took lots of video of the huge snow-covered mountains, as well as the tree-filled valleys and meadows. What a paradise!
This park area was carved out by glaciers many years ago. For city folk, it is 'mind-bogling' that mountains can be this large. There are MANY mountains here in the 10,000 to 14,000 foot elevation. New York City is a minature toy compared to what God created here. Talk about a 'Rocky Mountain High', this is it!
Tank, by the way, wanted no part of the weather at the top of Rainbow Curve. He was content to stay in the Ford and be warm and protected from the artic-like wind.
I noticed a lot of cars recently that have temporary Colorado tags on them, and my first reaction was, boy, the residents here are sure in a buying mood. But today (I'm a slow learner!) it dawned on me that these are rental cars and those are tourists driving them.
I saw a number of people on horseback in the park, and later while I was spending time in the town of Estes Park, I noticed a number of stables where you can rent horses and as much gear as you may need (packing overnight into the park, for instance). Several of these stables had their horses out in individual little corrals, so you could see what was available when making your selection.
It was after noon before I left the park, having seen as much mountain scenery as I wanted for the day. I stopped for lunch in Estes Park and also toured the town, buying a few things here and there. As I said earlier, like Manitou Springs, I could see myself spending more vacation time in a town like this.
By early afternoon, I was on my way, headed to Fort Collins, Colorado. I drove east on highway 34 which goes through the Big Thompson River Canyon, which parallels the river. What a gorgeous place to spend a day. I stopped to take pictures and just 'inhale' the environment. Along the river, with its violent, tumbling water, there were many cabins, motels, RV parks and such, so you have many choices as to where to stay, and be close to what you came to see. Many buildings are right on the river's edge.
This was odd, by the way, because in many locations, you are warned about flash flooding and to quickly take to high ground should it occur. As I was driving through the canyon, we did have a hard rain but it only lasted for about ten minutes and ten miles.
I found my motel, checked in and then headed for the Budweiser Brewery only to learn that it's closed, Tuesday and Wednesday. What luck! Especially after seeing so many things closed yesterday. But, I did enjoy myself at the park, and spending time in the town of Estes Park was enjoyable too. My cup runneth over!
Tomorrow, I'm headed north and will spend time in Cheyenne before getting to Guernsey and Fort Laramie, Wyoming.
If you don't know where you're going, you can get billed for an unused hotel room! But, better late than never, it occurred to me that I was headed for 'Fort' Laramie, Wyoming today, and not just 'Laramie'. There is a difference! So, I called Motel 6 and cancelled my reservation in Laramie, and left things to chance about getting a place for the evening.
I went to bed early last night, and that was a mistake, because I simply got up even earlier than I usually do. So, with Denny's just down the road, I went for a 5:30AM breakfast and leisurely read the Denver newspaper.
Tank and I were on the road by 6:00AM, temperature 47 degrees, with an overcast sky, headed for Cheyenne, Wyoming. Northeast Colorado is pretty flat, so there wasn't the dramatic countryside that I have been seeing lately. But then later today, I saw what eastern Wyoming had to offer in the way of scenery, and believe it was quite flat and repetitive.
I saw my first live buffalo for this trip. I assume I will see more later in the trip when I'm headed west and drive through North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming once again. While touring the city of Cheyenne, Tank took my picture with a buffalo sculpture on the lawn of the State Capitol. I saw another buffalo statue atop a hill while driving to Cheyenne, but there was no sign giving information as to why the statue was atop the hill.
After I crossed the state line and entered Wyoming, the first 'high rise' I saw on the Cheyenne skyline was a tower with the McDonald arches. It wasn't until I got into town that I then noticed the highest thing on the skyline was the capitol's dome. Cheyenne is the capitol of Wyoming, but it certainly has that small town atmosphere. There are older, well preserved homes close into the town's center.
I went to the Governor's Mansion, but he wasn't in. I left a business card. I then went to the old town area which is quaint and being restored. In particular, the Union Pacific depot, a find old building is being restored without losing its old architecture. While there, I video taped modern working trains from the UP and the Chicago and Northwestern railroads which were passing through town. I think Cheyenne's old town is going to look pretty good one day.
I went to the north side of Cheyenne to visit the Old West Museum, but got there a bit early. I found things to do while waiting, such as photographing some very fine sculptures outside the museum and a train across the street. One sculpture was of a cowboy riding a bull, another was a cowboy busting a bronco, and then there was the pioneer woman statue. All fine works of art. Union Pacific has been a major part of Cheyenne's history, and I'm sure the train in the park was a donation.
Once the Old West Museum was opened, I was able to view the fine collection of wagons and carriages. The museum had paintings and other art work hung, but it doesn't compare to other museums dedicated to western art, such as those in Denver and Fort Worth, Texas.
Tank and I left Cheyenne as the temperature warmed up to 54 degrees and the cloud cover gave way to pure sunshine. I was able to shed my coat, but not my sweater. North of Cheyenne, I left the 75 mph Interstate for the blue highways (320, 26, 85 and others). The countryside along the Interstate was flat (in my opinion) with just a hint of rolling hills. I started seeing a lot of 'snow fences' on the west side of most roads, which tell me the wind must blow hard from the west around here.
With the clouds clearing and the terrain being fairly flat, the expression 'on a clear day you can see forever' came to mind. Fact is, someone said that in eastern Wyoming, it's so flat that on a clear day you can see so far ahead of you that you can read your own rear license plate. Now, I don't remember just who said that, but it was something like that.
Around Chugwater (don't you just love some town names?) there were low table top mesas (what's the plural of mesa?). My imagination ran away with me and I thought I saw bands of Indians on horseback come right up to the brink of those hills.
I saw some farms and ranches with their crops planted in circles. For those of you that fly, I'm sure you have seen acres and acres of farm land, irrigated in circles from a central water supply. It was interesting seeing it from the ground.
Guernsey, Wyoming was my destination and I stopped as I entered the town to photograph the North Platte River. The river is very wide, flows quite well, and looks deep although maybe it's not. The pioneers who crossed our country in the mid-1800s followed the river and two state historic sites just south of Guernsey are devoted to those pioneers.
I visited the ruts carved in stone by the wagon trails that forged the Oregon Trail. The wagon trains did not have our Interstate highways, and some part of their journey west was easy along grassy plains but then there were times where they had to get across some rough ground. So, with hundreds, if not thousands of wagon wheels grinding over the rocks in this area, there are ruts four and five feet deep. A most interesting sight to see.
Also nearby is something called Register Cliff, where, for whatever reason, the pioneers carved their names as they passed through the area. It's a shame, however, that vandalism in our modern times has defaced this piece of history.
Another thing in Guernsey, that I was not aware of, is the Wyoming National Guard training facility. There were people there as part of their summer camp, hiking, running, or using the obstacle course. The obstacle course included such things as climbing over 30 foot towers and jumping over man-made trenches.
After Guernsey, I continued east along highway 26 which took me to Fort Laramie, my main objective for the day. And it was a pleasure to see and tour the site of this 1850 fort. It was just what I imagined an old fort to be like.
In the mid-1800s, the army was dealing with Indian concerns with the Cheyenne and Sioux, plus assisting pioneers with their journey westward. The buildings which still remain are the trading post, the commander's home, officers quarters, cavalrymen's barracks, the camp doctor's home and the guard house.
Visitors are able to go into most buildings but the contents of these buildings are behind plexiglass viewing panels. I was able to use my video camera in spite of the protective panels. I really enjoyed the visit and photographed men in period costume (army uniforms, etc). And like other sites I have visited, I stopped to buy books, slides and postcards.
Before leaving the town of Fort Laramie, I stopped for lunch and had a very good Philly steak sandwich. For a little town of just a couple hundred people, they sure make a delicious sandwich. I originally thought I would spend the night in the Fort Laramie area, but I reconsidered and journeyed still further north to Newcastle. My intent was to get uninteresting miles out the way and be close to my interests for tomorrow (Mount Rushmore, etc).
The drive from Fort Laramie to Newcastle is dull, dull, dull. Traffic was so light, I didn't pass anyone and only two horses passed me. Not really, but Tank made me tell you that. Anyway, the drive was boring. Slow rolling hills, lots of cattle grazing on miles of ranch land, and almost no curves in the road. I wouldn't recommend the route as a scenic route, but I did want to see Fort Laramie, and tomorrow I want to be in the Mount Rushmore area. More on that later.
I promised Tank that tomorrow would be country music on the CD player, but today was still more show tunes. "You'll never walk alone" (Carousel), "I whistle a happy tune" (King and I), "Master of the house (Les Miserables) and "The impossible dream" (Man from La Mancha) were some of the tunes that entertained us over the miles.
I'm settled at the Fountain Inn in Newcastle, and plan to be at Jewel Cave when they open at 8:00AM tomorrow. I want to try and take the short tours at both the Jewel Cave and the Wind Cave, and then proceed to Custer State Park, Crazy Horse monument, and the grand finale for the day, Mount Rushmore.
It was great! I enjoyed the day, and Tank enjoyed the day. As promised, Tank got to listen to country western music on the CD and I thoroughly enjoyed the Black Hills of South Dakota. The CD player wailed with "Nobody likes a sad song" (Ronnie Milsap), "Here you come again" (Dolly Parton), and "Old dogs, children and watermelon wine" (Tom T. Hall).
I was up early as planned, but too early as fate would have it. My first stop after crossing the state line from Wyoming into South Dakota, was to stop at the Jewel Cave. Well, it does open at 8:00AM but tours of the cave don't begin until later in the morning. So, I dynamically adjusted my plan and took off for the Crazy Horse memorial.
I should mention a bit about last night's dinner. For $8.00 I got a fantastic meal at my motel in Newcastle, Wyoming. Are you ready for this? All you can eat salad bar, with (in my case) french onion soup. I ordered ribs, which came and were gigantic! Together with mashed potato and corn, and rolls, I couldn't handle dessert. But I did have coffee to wash it all down. $8.00? Will I get that in the east?
This morning's temperature was 43 degrees and it was cloudy for most of the day. In the seven states I've been to so far in this trip almost all mornings have been on the cool side. It is May but one would think things should start to warm up. The days are mixed. For instance, today I wore my sweater all day, and when I toured the Wind Cave National Park, underground, I also wore my jacket.
Because I had planned to tour at least one cave, if not two, I wore my hiking boots. Depending on which tour you take, you may need the heavier footwear, covering the ankle as you bang around under the ground. I wound up taking on one tour and it was an easy one. I'm told that Wind Cave National park offers a four hour, crawling tour of the cave, where they provide hard hats and knee pads. I didn't sign up for that.
It was a short ten miles from Newcastle into South Dakota, and as soon as you enter the state, the Black Hills National Forest greets you with fine stands of pine trees and lush grass around and under the trees. I have to believe that hiking around here is a delight.
Along the highway I spotted a log cabin and land for sale. No kidding! I took a picture just for the record. I have no real plans to call Custer Realty to inquire as to asking price, etc. While looking at the log cabin, I spotted about six deer in the early morning hours. That was nothing compared to my daily total for viewing wildlife. By day's end, I saw literally hundreds of buffalo, a small band of antelope, some wild mules and even prairie dogs emerging from their holes for an afternoon forage.
I stopped at the Jewel Cave but when I learned that tours did not start until later, I continued onto the town of Custer. Surprisingly, it is a good size town, with lots of motels, restaurants, etc, to cater to the tourist.
The Black Hills are beautiful. I learned later that South Dakota has had five days of rain and it shows in the forest. The lush grass makes the slopes glisten. The livestock on every ranch seem to be enjoying the plentiful grass.
North of Custer, I stopped at the Crazy Horse memorial. Someday, this may be a nice place to visit but just now I think it's over-priced and not that interesting. As you look east (against a morning sun in my case) you can see the 'beginnings' of some mountain sculpture. The outline of a head is visable, and painted on the mountainside is where the horse's head will one day be sculpted (blasted?). I didn't spend much time there, took some pictures and left for Mount Rushmore.
Now there is a sight to see! There is construction going on just now but it's halfway done and will be great when it is finished. They have built a new visitor's center and it is made with fine cut granite. The parking lot is a bit of a mess, but the president's sculpted into the mountainside is worth any inconvenience of parking. I took many photographs and video to make sure I remember my visit to this famous landmark.
While at Mount Rushmore, I looked at cars in the parking lot, just to continue my 'game' of recording license plates. I added ND, MN, MT, NJ, IL and SC to my list. Later today, I saw a car from Arkansas. This leaves me with five states yet to see. There could very well be visitors out west from these fives states, but I haven't seen them yet. Where are you......WV, DE, MD, CT and RI? I don't expect to see HI, so 44 out of 49 is not bad for the seven states I've been to so far.
Talking with people at Mount Rushmore is where I learned that the weather has been very wet here for the past five days. One person was most anxious to finally get her photograph taken with the sculptures, after being 'rained out' for several days. Finally, my luck is turning to where I had good weather today and I was not rained out as I was, say, at the Great Dunes in Colorado.
Mount Rushmore is 'grand', that's all there is to it. I would encourage everyone to visit at some time. Leaving the monument, I chose to take something called the Iron Mountain Road. If you're not comfortable with winding, twisting, narrow roads - don't take this one. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A fellow named Peter Norbeck apparently designed the roads and tunnels in this area. and he did a great job. This was back in 1905, by the way. At the top of Iron Mountain they have a memorial to his work, and it faces Mount Rushmore three miles in the distance. I'm glad I have a telephoto lens on my video camera. Between it and the wide angle lens my son Mike gave me some time ago, and the tripods I brought along for the trip, I have had some good photo experiences.
On the Iron Mountain Road, it takes you through three one lane tunnels literally chipped through the rock mountain. One tunnel gives you 'tunnel vision' looking straight at Mount Rushmore. Need I say that I stopped to take a picture, from the middle of the road, looking through the tunnel, and with Mount Rushmore framed in my photograph. I hope it turns out well.
I spent much time in Custer State Park today, viewing the wildlife primarily. The park is open range, so all animals are free to roam, and of course, they have the right of way. As I mentioned earlier, I saw antelope, deer, wild mules and of course, hundreds and hundreds of buffalo. I turned off onto a dirt road (marked for public use) to get closer to the herds of buffalo which enabled me to some good photos and video footage.
Something called Prairie Dog Village was marked on the road, so I stopped to observe and photograph dozens and dozens of prairie dogs coming out of their burrows to feed in the afternoon. It was great!
My last attraction for the day was the Wind Cave National Park. They offer multiple tours for the cave system, and I simply signed up for the next one to begin. I'm told there are 79 miles of cave tunnels that have already been surveyed and plotted. All of this within a square mile, between 100 and 200 feet below the surface. My tour was at the 120 foot level, about 12 stories down. It was a most interested tour, and a most interesting day.
I chose to swing south and then north, via Hot Springs, South Dakota and up to my day's end at Rapid City. Now being to the east of the Black Hills, the terrain became quite boring. Rolling hills, no trees, ranches, but nothing really interesting. Tomorrow I'll be passing through the Badlands, and I hope it has scenic variety.
South Dakota is soooooo flat, I saw 'ALL' of it at once. No, I don't mean I saw all of it today, I mean I saw all of it at once, end to end. Boy, I thought eastern Wyoming was flat, but SD goes on and on, with prairie after prairie. SD is full of working farms and ranches, so I commend these people for feeding America.
Not all of South Dakota is flat. The highlight of my day was spending most of the morning touring the Badlands National Park. What a fantastic place. How can anyone not be interested in this place?
Tank and I began the day with a cool 46 degrees at 5:30AM, but with the sun in our eyes as we journeyed east. Tank told me that if these mornings don't warm up, he's going to visit his relatives in Texas. I put some music on the CD player to take his mind off of things. Our selections today included appropriate travel music such as "I got the sun in the morning", "We've only just begun" and "As time goes by".
Staying in Rapid City, South Dakota last night, I learned about the South Dakota Air and Space Museum which is just east of the city. What a neat place. Of course, I'm interested in military aircraft so maybe it's not a neat place for everyone. But seeing well preserved planes on display, such as the B29, the B25, the stealth bomber and a B52, is of great interest to me.
As we began to tick off the miles to the Badlands, I kept seeing sign after sign, advertising a place called Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. The signs led you to believe that the place had everything - coffee shop, ice cream shop, camera shop, dinasaurs, western boots and clothing, a T-Shirt shop, groceries, gas - you name it. And guess what? They did! I would recommend anyone and everyone to stop at Wall, South Dakota and visit Wall's Drug Store. What a misnomer!
Seeing the signs along the highway reminded me of signs in years past, such as the signs for Harold's Club in Reno, or Burma Shave. Most of you are probably too young to remember those days.
I saw several crop duster planes at work this morning and just about the time I stopped to video tape one of them, it moved on to its next farm after I had just photographed one or two passes over the nearby field. I guess it goes with my fascination for planes in general. I remember telling Miss Griffith in the 5th grade that I wanted to be a pilot. The closest I came however was only three million miles on my American Airlines AAdvantage platinum card.
As you enter the area of the Badlands, you're first met with a sign stating that this is the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. I'm not sure of the significance of this. The Badlands is having some road repair, so my trip through the park was delayed several times because of heavy equipment.
The park is about 30 miles from east to west (or the other way, too). As you drive through the western end, you drive on top of a flat table mesa, looking down at the hills and formations of clay and rock. If you enter the park from the east, you will first drive among the hills and rock formations, rising above the highway. Either way, this is one neat place to visit.
As I understand it, millions of years ago, volcano eruptions sent huge amounts of ash to pile up at this location. I tried to step on to the grey-white soil and because of the recent rains here, the clay content reminded me of silly putty or play dough. Imagine some super being creating huge hills made of play dough, colored grey-white, and you have the Badlands.
In addition to the hills formed from volcano ash, the area has a considerable amount of marsh land, both on the mesa and down in the valleys. I saw some antelope today, but no other wildlife to speak of.
At one of the many turn-offs from the road, I stopped to follow a wooden boardwalk that takes you on a fossil tour. Along the way, there are glass-covered 'caskets' to show you what kinds of things have been unearthed by volunteers.
I took lots of pictures and video tape, so I'll have my memories rekindled when I get home. I mentioned earlier, that if you ever get to the Reno/Sparks area, stop by and we'll watch days of my slides and videos! Not really - we'll eat and gamble every once in a while.
While at the Badlands, I let Tank play in the grey-white clay, took his picture, and wouldn't you know it, he slipped and slid right down into the valley. What a mess retrieving him from there, and imagine the explanation I gave people as I climbed back up - "I was just retreiving my Beanie Baby!".
After hours at the park, I continued to a Prairie Homestead, which was interesting, but not as interesting as I later learned while visiting the 1880 Town, south of Midland, South Dakota. At the homestead, there is a preserved pioneer home and a sod hut, but not much more. At the 1880 Town, wow, do they have lots to look at!
The 1880 Town is near exit 170 on I90, just south of Midland, South Dakota. I had read about it and had mixed feelings whether I should stop to visit. The advertising along the highway said they had Hollywood film props on display. They do themselves a disservice because I feel there is much, much more to see and do at the 1800 Town.
I would give the town a 'must see' recommendation. Collectors would go crazy with this place. And someone trying to 'create' an 1880 Town for tourists could not compete with this place. Everything you see is real or looks very real. Well done!
There is the saloon, the hotel, the bank, the train station, the homestead, and on and on. It's true that some of what you see were props in various movies, such as "Dances with Wolves" with Kevin Costner, but most things are just nineteenth century collector's items. What a place!
I had some lunch in Murdo, South Dakota, where I stopped to tour the so-called Pioneer Auto Musuem. The good thing about the place is that it has a huge inventory of old cars and motor vehicles. In my opinion though, the presentation of this valuable inventory is very poor. I'm sure it's a question of money, but I have been to a lot of other automobile museums, and this one does not present the vehicles in a first class way. It's a shame.
At the auto museum, I saw the five license plates I have yet to see on this trip (WV, MD, DE, CT and RI) but I'm not going to count those. I want to see cars with people out touring this year.
I crossed into the central time zone, so I guess I'm making progress with my trip. By some measures, it seems I'm not progressing very fast (seven states in 20 days), but then this is the west and there is a lot of ground to cover. In the east there will be some weeks where I'll visit five or six states in one calendar week.
South Dakota is certainly an argricultural state and I have begun to see silo after silo. In one case, I saw a farm with 30 silos clustered together. I have seen tilled fields, livestock, barns, and other signs of working America. I'm sure I'll see more as I work my way east.
I ended my travel day by crossing the Missouri River and settling in Chamberlain, South Dakota for the evening. I may take a local tour tomorrow morning because my mileage to my next destination, Sioux Falls, is not that great.
I have seen the falls at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. And before that, I filled up my Saturday with a number of interesting activities. The start of the day was a bit awkward, but as time moved along, the day got better.
As usual, Tank and I were up early. I loaded up the CD player to keep him happy, with songs like "You've got a friend" (James Taylor), "Me and you and a dog named Boo" (Lobo) and "Dueling banjos" (Weissberg and Mandell). The temperature was higher, so much so that I loaded up the Ford in my shirt sleeves and didn't bother to check the thermometer.
I tried to get gas first thing as is my usual morning ritual. But the town of Chamberlain doesn't wake up as early as I do. A couple of coffee shop type restaurants were open, because Saturday is a big day for fishing in this area. The streets and the roads were lined with pickup trucks pulling their fishing boats. A half hour on the road and I passed a boat ramp with at least 20 pickups waiting to launch their boats. Talk about fishing popularity!
In planning this trip, I was aware that the local chamber of commerce suggests a 50 mile driving loop that takes you through the Indian country just north of Chamberlain. I asked at the motel desk and they seem to echo the recommendation. So, I took the hour and made the loop, from Chamberlain north, west and back south to where I started. Overall, 'I' would not recommend the hour's drive.
Granted, I saw lush green hills in the morning's sunrise, with the sun coming up over my shoulder in the east, while I looked west across the pretty Missouri River. The water level must be high because I saw a number of waterside buildings half submerged, and fencing also under water, indicating that ordinarliy the fence is there to limit some property line. This is nothing like Fargo and the flooding they have had.
It was ironic that after I completed the 50 mile loop drive around the area north of Chamberlain, the best view of the Missouri River was just quarter of a mile to the east, once I started in that direction. There is a rest stop and picnic area high on a bluff overlooking the river, and the sunrise was still going on so I got some good photos and video of its color. At the rest stop, and one later to the east, I saw a concrete art object that I think was neat. One foot square concrete 'poles' simulated the wooden poles of an Indian teepee. Call it a modern art abstract, I guess. Nice to look at in any case.
Again, I saw a crop duster airplane doing his thing, and again, I stopped to take pictures, got maybe one pass and then the plane headed to his next farm to spray pesticide. When Tank heard the word pesticide, it occurred to him to ask whether armadillos were considered a pest. I was going to answer him but again, I chose to ignore him. What a pest!
My first stop along today's planned route was Mitchell, South Dakota. What a neat town! Small town, USA! I was so taken by "Main Street" that I drove up and down several times, once with my video camera propped up on the dash, just to capture the scene. We're talking typical small town USA, complete with the Main Street movie theater, coffee shops, the bank, the local stores, and so on. I think that's great that we still have towns like this.
The main attraction in Mitchell is a place called the Corn Palace. It's really a small convention center that can be used for typical events (conventions, basketball games, etc). During the summer, they fill the main floor with a sprawling gift shop. The most unusual thing about this building is that inside and out there are huge murals on the wall, created entirely from 'corn cobs'! And we're talking pictures of relevance to South Dakota - Indians, farming, hunting, and so on. What an interesting place! More pictures and video! (Would you like a guest speaker for your next meeting? I have plenty of visuals and lots to tell!).
The murals made with corn cobs are changed at least once per year. Inside the Corn Palace they have photographs depicting how the building was decorated in years past.
Before leaving the town's center, I went to a place called the Oscar Howe Art Center. This is really two attractions in one. First, the building is the old Carnegie Library building, built at the turn of the century but later turned into today's art museum. The exterior of the building is a most pleasing architecture, and above the inside foyer is a domed skylight, decorated by the museum's namesake.
Oscar Howe achieved notice because of his modern Indian art. Now that's a contradiction of terms but it does describe his type of painting. We're talking about typical Indian scenes of teepees, buffalo, men on horseback and so on, but it's done in modern art. Go to your local library and see if they have any books on Oscar Howe and you'll see what I mean. Prices? You betcha!
While I was parked to tour the art center, Tank got out of the Ford, found a pigeon feather and I found him hopping around doing an Indian dance, he says. I told him 'back in the car'. Who invited this guy?
My last stop in Mitchell was the Mustang Museum. This is very unique place. If you're into Mustangs, Shelbys and Cobras, you have got to see this place. Jerry Regynski and his wife, Mavis, are the creators and keepers of this very unique collection of automobiles. They have one of every Shelby ever produced and each in beautiful condition. I had a personal tour by Mavis.
I then drove east to my destination for the day, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I had notes to see the USS South Dakota memorial, honoring the most decorated battleship of the second world war. I served four years in the U.S. Navy, so I have an attraction to this type of display. Or so I thought.
I was assuming the ship would somehow be on display, but I was fooled. Someone designed a clever memorial which is the outline of the ship's deck, in the grass of the park. The outline is made up of a very low concrete wall, eight inches thick and varying from 12 to 18 inches in height. In the center of this outline is a building, abstractly simulating the bridge of the battle wagon. This building is a museum with various artifacts dating back to the WWII. Also on the property is one 61 foot 16 inch gun barrel, representative of the ship's original armament. And, lastly, a ship's mast in the center of this display, complete with flags for the day.
I went to the south side of Sioux Falls to visit and tour the Performance Car Museum. This is a small collection of say 20 automobiles, noted for high performance or some celebrity ownership. Burt Reynold's Trans Am is there, together with Shelbys and such.
I then drove to the center of town, trying to locate Falls Park, for my view of the falls for which the town is named, but before I got there, I spotted the old courthouse which today is used for a museum. Double treat! First the building is a well-preserved piece of turn of the century architecture and secondly, the current displays on photography, prairie castles and a view of the restored courtroom, made this visit a delight.
Finally, I made it to the falls, took photos and video and enjoyed the look and the sound of rushing water. I'm not alone because there were hundreds of people at the falls.
One last comment about my visit to Sioux Falls. I found it necessary to drive defensively. I don't know if Saturday made the difference, but people here would do wise to slow down and drive courteously. I'm a visitor and I would appreciate it. I have at least 10,000 more miles on my trip.
Tomorrow? Easy drive to Sioux City, Iowa to spend a slow and relaxing Sunday.
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