Tues. 8/22.
Drive 185 mi to Loveland. Dinner with Bob’s college friends Joseph & Diane.
Colorado is the 8th largest state (104,247 square mi.) and has 54 peaks over 14,000 ft and more than 800 that are at least 11,000 ft. If stretched flat, it would be twice the size of Texas!
Wed. 8/23.
Did the Leanin’ Tree card factory tour & stocked up in the gift store. The owner has an amazing sculpture and painting collection that is being sold. We got here just in time to see it.
Also did the Celestial Seasoning factory tour after relaxing in their tasting room. & then stocked up in their gift store.
Thurs. 8/24.
Went to Estes Park/Rocky Mtn NP. Great scenery, which Bob could enjoy because Joseph was driving! Can’t believe I lost all the pix I took on the hill I climbed myself (Tundra Alpine Ridge Trail) because my camera was malfunctioning.
Dinner at J&D.
Fri. 8/25.
Working day.
Sat. 8/26.
Drive 60 miles to Denver, visit Bob’s friend Dawnna.
Sun. 8/27.
Visit Dawnna, dinner, drive to back Loveland.
At breakfast, while we were waiting for a table, John was talking to a family from Indiana. Later the waitress said our bill was taken care of. Very nice of them.
Mon. 8/28.
Drive to Lusk, WY.
Tues. 8/29.
Drive 68 mi. to hot springs SD. Visited Wind Cave National Park, 1 of the longest caves in the world . Its complex three dimensional passages are lined with an unusual calcite formation known as boxwork. This rare cave feature consistent thin blades of calcite resembling honeycomb. The cave was named for the wind often felt at its entrance.
Saw 1 buffalo. And prairie dogs. National woodcarving museum closed last yr.
Visited Mt Rushmore. Night photos don’t do it justice, tho night lighting is dramatic. The site has a sunken amph
itheater (highest row of seats is at ground level). A ranger announced that at the end of her presentation on the monument’s history, all veterans and active duty military would be invited down to the stage for the lowering the flag ceremony. Rangers told Bob they would have needed 2 hrs notice to make the stage accessible! John made it down all the steps before the ceremony ended (with Sally), just as the ranger mentioned that a WWII vet was in the audience. Afterwards, other vets shook John’s hand or had a picture taken with him, as did some kids.
Lock broke on cabin door. Bathroom door jammed again..
Wed. 8/30.
John and Sally drove the 13- mile wildlife drive in Custer st.pk. (saw buffalo a few times) & the Needles Hwy part of twisting turning Peter Norbeck scenic byway (but not the Iron Mtn Rd part). At a rest stop, a group of motorcyclists asked to have picture taken with dad. [we don’t have pictures–stupid camera.]
Drove to Wall, SD to see the famous drug store. Since 1936, as a way to draw people into their store, they have offered (& advertised) free ice water to travelers. They have many cute billboards and smaller signs, sort of like Burma Shave, over many miles (1-1/4 hr ). Not a destination in itself but a nice break.
Thurs. 8/31.
Drive thru Badlands NP–a scenic 30-mi loop along Hwy 240, from Pinnacles entrance via rt 240 to the Ben Reifel VC. Didn’t do the part from town of Scenic via 44 thru Buffalo Gap National Grasslands or the White River section. Started with a little wildlife
Visitor Center exhibits were great at explaining how the Badlands came to be–ancient seas, windblown ash (up to 30 ft deep!) from western volcanoes, sediment from rivers, erosion, and finally, people.
Over 244,000 acres of starkly eroded scenery, ancient fossils, native prairie, and Ocala Lakota Sioux history are preserved in the park. Stretching over 60 miles along the White River in western South Dakota, the “big badlands” are home to bison, pronghorn, and prairie dogs, as well as the world’s greatest assemblage of fossil mammals from the Eocene and Ogliocene epochs, 26-37 million years ago.
Drive, I-90 east along the MN-IO border, 619 mi towards Janesville, WI. Saw fields of sunflowers. Driving through South Dakota, we saw signs “X Marks The Spot” and “Think! Drive Safely.” On the other side, the same design, but “Why Die?”. They are auto fatality markers since 1979.
Fri. 9/1.
Drive. Visit Corn Palace in Mitchell. Not a big deal. It’s a small arena. Only front and 1 side of building are done (decorated with corncobs of different colors), not the towers, and 1 panel is either not done yet or blown off.
It is flat out here but green.
They even harvest hay from the hwy easement and interchange sections.