Day 13: Scenic South Dakota and Wyoming

Here we are, finally up to date again, and I'm writing from a cozy hotel room in beautiful and historic Cody, Wyoming. It was another day spent traveling through a very special part of America. You know, when you look at cell phone plans, and they show you their network coverage area? We were driving through the part of that map that isn't colored in. But it's such a nice area, who would want to waste their time talking on the phone?

The day started with a breakfast buffet at our hotel. The buffet was not free, but we were treated to some special flavored honey, which I did not try, but my associate tells me is "not good."



We had another day of driving ahead, but we decided to pay some respect to our nation's fathers.



We did what there is to do there, which is look at it from different angles, including this one:



And this one:



And this one, where it looks like Lincoln and T.R. are kissing:



And this one, from inside a men's room:



We stopped for some refreshments before we left, and saw that they were selling Presidential Soda. I was pleased that they had one of my favorite Presidents, John Adams of my current home state of Massachusetts.



I thought some of the other flavor choices were intriguing.



I capped my visit with an ice cream an American can be proud of. I didn't finish it.



On our way out, it was fun to see the stuff that has clustered around Mount Rushmore. Here I particularly like how they've depicted Gutzon Borglum to look like the Marlboro Man.



And the Presidential Slide speaks for itself.



We also stopped by the Crazy Horse Monument, which is more impressive and less finished.



Unfortunately we couldn't stay long, because we had to continue with our journey. The only word to describe the trip was "scenic". We started through the scenic Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota.







... which, though untamed, was not entirely uncivilized.



Later on, we went through the even more scenic Big Horn National Forest of Wyoming.









And the scenery continued on:







But it wasn't just nature, we also saw the things that fuel the American economy, including cows and oil:



There was some of the equipment that keeps modern agriculture running:



As well as some of the more old-fashioned sort:



We saw bituminous coal on the move:



And the places where the coal came from:



Then there were the homes that house the people who keep all this running:



There were the small towns that hold everything together, including Upton, which describes itself as the "Best Town on Earth":



And Basin, which is proud of their high school volleyball team:



There were some crazy place names:



And some crazy people:



We also saw some nice, pretty clouds:



And some clouds that seemed a little more unpleasant:



We made good time, and arrived in Cody, Wyoming, eastern gateway to Yellowstone, around sunset.



Where we ironically checked in at the Sunrise Motor Inn.



And then counter-ironically went to the Sunset House for dinner. We had a nice meal of Buffalo Burgers, got to sample some of the local brews, and introduced the staff to the concept of a Guinness float. We got a little too relaxed there and had to be gently nudged by the staff to wrap up and pay so that they could close. This was at 9pm. Cody, Wyoming closes at 9pm.



So another great day comes to an end. Now we must rest, so we can press on. Tomorrow, we spend our first day in Yellowstone National Park. Will any pickanick baskets get pinched? Stay tuned to find out.