Greetings from Wyoming!

Day 5

Day 3 since showering…

Its 2:00 pm local time (Mountain Time).We just crossed into Wyoming from South Dakota after getting up this morning and driving out of the Badlands National Park across the Buffalo Gap National Grassland on 44 West towards Rapid City. We picked up Highway 16 West there and will take it into Yellowstone. I just checked the mileage and we are just under 400 miles out, so we may yet make it there tonight! HAHA Doug Brooks!

Alright here is yesterday’s news~

We left our roosting spot at the rest stop and headed north on I-29 and picked up 44 West. Our first stop was in Parkston for provisions and lunch. We bought groceries at the local food mart and made turkey sandwiches in the parking lot. The Westy really shines in moments like that! We stocked the ice box and cooler and set the table up and made our lunch. The next stop was Platte, where we fueled up. We had several admirers there and heard many oohs and ahhs from the old timers hanging around the gas pumps. Shortly after we pulled out of Platte, we came to the great Missouri River. There was a nice pull off that overlooked the river and we snapped a few shots there. The river was quite wide, easily as large as the Mississippi we crossed coming into Iowa. We continued driving west on 44 and before long found ourselves traveling across the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where we crossed into the Mountain Time Zone. Being short of fuel, we made a pit stop at a little road side convenience store. Man it looked sketchy! There was no sign at all, and the only fuel available was 85 octane. Cricker had to leave his credit card with the Indian at the counter while we filled the tank. He was none too thrilled about that but we made out all right. A few more miles down the road we arrived in Interior, South Dakota. We left 44 and entered the Badlands National Park before 5 o’clock. It was by far the most amazing scenery we have viewed so far! The hills rise sharply out of the grassland, with eerie moonscape pinnacles and spires. They are all plaster colored and chalky looking. We bought a National Park Pass here, which gave us admission into the park and to any National Park we want to visit for a year ($80 bucks, but probably well worth it. The fee for Badlands was $15). We meandered through the park road for about 30 miles, taking in the scenery and snapping as many photos as possible. The wind suddenly came up and nearly blew the bus off the road! We were trying to set up the tripod to get a picture of both of us at the White River Valley overlook, and the wind was whipping so hard it kept blowing the camera over. We caught a lull in the gusts and got our picture though. We drove a few more miles and took a gravel road 12 miles into the park wilderness to the Sage Creek campground.

On our way in I was disgusted that there were cattle guards in the national park and fences all around the so called wilderness. I soon realized they were to keep the BISON in the park! They were everywhere… we stopped and got a quick picture of the bus with the Bison in the background. We also saw small groups of pronghorn antelope in the distance. There were a few other cars already at the campground, which was fairly primitive. No water, and only a primitive toilet there. But they were surprisingly clean, and also had hand sanitizer, which was a nice surprise. Campfires were prohibited, but we set up the stove for the first time and cooked Uncle Melvin’s prized steaks with some potatoes and carrots. It was delicious! Aunt Connie, Can you email the name of that seasoning? After dinner, we popped the camper up and hit the bed early, about 10. The stars were out and the night sky was crisp and clear. Breath taking! It was chilly during the night, and we both decided we needed to wear socks to bed! We also need to pick up a thermometer… Woke up this morning to birds chirping and the sun shining! On the way back to the main park road we saw dozens of prairie dogs frolicking around their holes.

We exited the park and picked up 44 West again and were on our way to Rapid City. After about an hour of driving, we connected with 16 West and moseyed on into the Black Hills National Forest. Mosey is the word for it because the grade was quite steep and we were poking along at a modest 48 mph. We arrived at Mount Rushmore at about 10am and walked up to the monument and snapped a few pictures. We didn’t stay long because the wind was howling and it was freezing cold. I called Grandma to say hey and sent a few pictures from my phone. The skies were blue with only a few wispy clouds. Between Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument, it started blowing snow and by the time we got parked, we could barely see the mountain! After perusing the museum and having a complimentary cup of coffee, we packed up and hit the road again. We picked up Highway 16 and drove towards the Wyoming border. We stopped in the small town of Custer, South Dakota and fueled up and made sandwiches. Getting back on the road, we cruised into Wyoming about 3:30! We tooled along Highway 16 towards I-90 and somehow Cricker blew through a school zone doing 15 over… Officer E. Robinson of the Moorcroft Police Department promptly issued us a warning. He also didn’t think we could possibly make it to Yellowstone tonight…we will see. We are now on I-90 headed towards Buffalo, Wyoming. Ill update again when we have more news. Thanks for tuning in!