Our travel day begins at 3:45am PDT. After a restless night’s sleep, we quickly gathered our belongings and awaited the shuttle to John Wayne Airport at 5:00am. Two hours later, we are boarding for the 7:30am flight to Denver, CO. I’ve never flown Southwest before, and unfortunately I knew nothing of how their check-in policy worked, hence we were the very last ones on the plane (despite buying the tickets 6 months in advance) and all of us were stuck with center seats. Luckily the flight was less than 2 hours, wheels down about 10:15am MDT. I know now to call ahead 24 hours before the flight home so we don’t have to go through that debacle again.

Oh, and Denver International Airport is HUGE. We had to take the train to get to baggage claim. Since we’re thrifty travelers, another shuttle took us away from the airport to an Avis car rental in Aurora, CO. (Yeah, it’s a tad less convenient, but we saved US$300-400 this way, and they’re letting us drop the car off at the airport upon our return.)

After picking up some necessities at the nearest Walmart, we started on a northwest route headed toward Estes Park, CO. Of course, no sooner we merge onto I-225, construction immediately brings traffic to a grinding halt. *sigh* The construction gods just couldn’t wait to start irritating me. The middle of the day! Why can’t they tear up the road at night? After that we transitioned to I-70 West to I-270 West to Hwy 36, and went through Boulder, CO before starting our ascent into the mountains. Oh, but we need more construction and one-lane highways with the stop signs. We can’t have a road trip without that now, can we?

Despite the delays, we reached Estes Park around 3:30pm and checked into our hotel. With plenty of time to spare, I thought we could knock out a few things and save some time for the next morning. Unfortunately my lack of direction and bad cellphone/GPS signals caused me to make a few wrong turns and miss the last showing of the Rocky Mountain National Park video presentation at Beaver’s Meadow Visitor Center. We picked up our usual souvenirs and headed back. Peppers Mexican Grill was our choice of dinner (having not eaten all day, good food!). We then walked the shops of downtown Estes Park and found a few more knick knacks to buy. I better ration the room I have to bring things home!

Tomorrow is one of our busier days, so time to catch Z’s and get an early start.

Part I

Another early morning to start, we ate our complementary breakfast at 6:30am MDT and had our stuff packed and out the door shortly thereafter. I figured we’d be smart and catch the 23-minute presentation video we missed the day before, but the first showing was at 8:30am, a little later than I thought, however still worth the wait. Afterwards we huddled up in the minivan and began our ascent into Rocky Mountain National Park shortly after 9:00am.

As expected, the park did not disappoint. Almost immediately upon starting the primary Trail Ridge Road (Hwy 34), many magnificent viewpoints and lookouts grabbed our attention, especially the 14,000 Longs Peak. It was also a nice highlight that some of the aspen tree leaves were already changing at specific altitudes, to give it that extra “color” in our photos (ha). Oh, but let’s keep the record going — workers were paving the roads with fresh oil and of course more construction delays with 1-lane roads, flagmen and the like. So lovely!

The real fun began when we reached the tree line at 11,400 above sea level. The stunted trees gave way to the expansions of the alpine tundra. It looked like another planet! But even in this extreme altitude, more construction woes were backing up lines of cars, exposing the sheer number of visitors still coming up here this time of year. Eventually we hit the high pass of 12,183, the highest in elevation any of us has ever been.

We were going to try and drive the entire road to the west side of the park, but I could already see that wasn’t going to fly. By the time we reached the Alpine Visitor Center it was past 11:00am and there was plenty more to do. Besides which, we could already feel the effects of the high altitude, so we expedited our time at the top and began descending the same way we came up, stopping along a few missed points from the ascent.

On the way out we stayed on Hwy 34 and passed by the Elk Viewing meadows, but being the middle of the day, we didn’t see any animals throughout our entire visit. We exited the park boundaries, stopped in at the Fall River Visitor Center, and probably took a little longer than planned gawking at the 2-story gift shop next door. Not only that, but 20 minutes after leaving there, I realized I may have dropped my cell phone in the parking lot and in a panic turned back to the Visitor Center, costing us another 40 minutes of travel time. (Dad eventually found the phone fallen into a crevice between the seats, so although a lucky break, the turn-around was for nought. I should learn to not have the phone on silent during the day.) The drive descending from the Rocky Mountains on Hwy 34 was an eye-catcher, as we followed one of the rivers and the towering walls of rock down to the adjacent valley. That was a nice little finale, and the last of our mountain adventures for a while.

Part II

We followed Hwy 34 all the way to I-25 North, and made a bee-line for the next state on our list. We crossed into Wyoming around 3:30pm, and a few minutes later pulled in front of the capitol building in Cheyenne, WY. Just another state capitol to mark off my list. But wait! This particular one turned out to be special, and the most memorable capitol visit experienced to this day.

Mom and I of course took pics of the front with the gold dome as always (Dad was wiped out from the day and opted to stay in the van). I decided to go in (dragging Mom along) to quickly see what there was to see. The building was the usual layout, multiple stories with the assemblies on either end and exhibits dotted throughout the floors. Mom decides to go take a picture of a life-size buffalo in the corner, and while doing so, the Chief Investment Officer comes up from the nearby stairs, greets us, and offers to take a picture of us in front of the bison. He was very friendly and had a very forward personality. We were telling him of our adventures and that I’m on a quest to see all 50 capitols. As friendly as all get out, he asks if I would like to go up into the dome and sign my name. I thought he was joking, but soon Mom and I found ourselves being led up the elevator and up the “forbidden” stairs leading to another series of railings to the dome. Mom just went up the first flight of stairs into the base, but I was able to go all the way up to the top where I could look out the portholes, take pictures and sign/date my name (along with the hundreds of others that got the privilege to do so). That was a super-cool opportunity and I forever thanked the CIO for that. We took pictures of both assemblies from the balcony before our final departure.

Now it was REALLY late, so Fort Laramie NHP was no longer an option at this point (which was a last minute tentative addition anyway so it’s not like I had to fill any more expectations for the day). We fueled up the van in Wheatland, WY around 6:00pm and watched a sinking sunset behind the distant Rockies as we hit Hwy 18/20 east, concluding the drive with the final 40 to the small town of Lusk, WY. It was dark by the time we arrived at the hotel (and for the 2nd night, the “No Vacancy” sign was displayed. Good thing for reservations!) Being so late, we took the easy route and grabbed a Subway for dinner.

OK, tomorrow has only one thing on the agenda, so hopefully it shouldn’t be this crazy, and hopefully I won’t go crazy trying to keep all my stuff from getting lost. Sometimes I worry too much about organization.

It wasn’t necessary to leave early today so we took our time getting re-organized and out of the hotel shortly before 10:00am MDT. It was an effortless right turn on Hwy 85 to shoot straight up the eastern edge of Wyoming. From there we took the scenic Wyoming 505 over to I-90, and then immediately on to Hwy 14, which is the main road that leads to the famous Devil’s Tower National Monument.

This has long been a natural feature I’ve wanted to see for years, so it was satisfying to watch the tower materialize into view on our approach. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because there were tons of visitors here. It was a brief line to get past the entrance booth, and then we head up to the… oh wait, more construction one-lane road flagmen fun! Hold a few minutes please… OK let’s try that again. We head up the final 3 to the Visitor Center. Once we parked and ran through the Visitor Center displays, while gawking at the massive tower of rocks to our east, we noticed several climbers on the west face of the tower. I knew that people climb the tower all the time, but actually seeing it in action for yourself makes you wonder how crazy they really are.

Shortly after 2:00pm, my folks and I brave up and begin the 1.3 loop around the tower over a paved trail. For the most part it was a pleasant stroll, grabbing pics of many angles of the tower, prayer shawls hung from the trees, and other features of the hosting forest and valleys. Only near the end did we start feeling tired from the rolling elevation changes along the path, but we emerge from the trail 90 minutes later, victorious.

Back down we go (... hold on, another 10 minutes waiting our turn on the one-lane road ...) and then stopped at Prairie Dog Town, which is a field on both sides of the road where hundreds of the little critters were popping up out of their holes, standing on their hind legs looking around, or of course eating. We got some good close-up pics of those and headed onward, over to the Devil’s Tower Trading Post just outside the park boundaries. Here we used up another hour looking for souvenirs. I even found the elusive state magnets I’ve been trying to collect for a while now. Yep, I’m not sticking to my budget very well, haha.

Time to go! We left Devil’s Tower and got back to I-90 west, using that to drive all the way to Sheridan, WY, arriving at 6:20pm. We grabbed a prime rib buffet dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, and are preparing for tomorrow’s adventure. I think it will be a good night’s sleep.

So from now on, just assume there’s construction holding us up somewhere on any given day, unless I explicitly say there isn’t. It seems that every county in every state is either preparing the roads for winter, or tearing up one side of the interstate. The orange cones are out in full force!

Part I

We left our hotel just after 9:00am MDT, probably a little later than we should have, but we’re still trying to find our groove with the daily routine. It also didn’t help that we needed more cooler ice at Walmart, and fueled up once again before continuing on I-90 west. Thirty minutes later, we’re able to use the turnouts on the highway to stop and take pictures of the signs at the Montana border (as well as the Wyoming sign on the opposite side). No more Wyoming on this trip.

Not long after, we reach Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. As someone with barely-average history grades, I knew very little about the final standoff between Custer’s 7th Calvary and the Lakotas/Cheyenne. Not only were there many details to learn about June 25, 1876, but walking the trail among where all the warriors had fallen, including Custer himself, leaves a real impression and gives a deep sense of impact on how critical this battle was. There is also a 5 driving tour with several points along the way that eventually leads to the Reno-Benteen battlefield, which complemented the events of Custer’s Last Stand. You’ll see a plethora of markers between the two battlefields where soldiers had fallen, including a group of them near the battle involving Crazy Horse. If you’re into this kind of history, you absolutely can’t miss Little Bighorn. The Monument also has a sizable National Cemetery, similar in design to Arlington. And of course there’s the Visitor Center with exhibits and 25-minute presentation as well, and ranger talks if you feel inclined to stick around for that sort of thing. You’ll need to allow at least half a day for this. We stayed here far longer than anticipated. Of course, stopping at the trading post across the street from the entrance didn’t help matters either.

Part II

We were then on our way to the second stop of the day, continuing on I-90 west until making a hairpin curve to the beginning of I-94, thus beginning our easterly route of the trip. Soon after, we finally reach the mysterious Pompeys Pillar National Monument. As much as my dad has read about Lewis & Clark, he had never heard about this place. (I hadn’t either, until looking at the map to see what was on this leg of our route.) We pulled up to the Monument just before 3:30pm (relatively late for us). I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I figured this place was small enough that an hour would be spent here, tops.

Well, the prospect of a 3:30pm ranger tour had changed that idea. We blindly decided to follow the tour group and discover what we could learn. Our ranger was very well-versed and excited to tell the stories of William Clark (of Lewis & Clark) who came through here with his expedition. We didn’t know until we got to the stairs that all of us had to walk 100+ steps to get to the very top of the Pillar. My folks decided to give it a shot, struggled just a bit, but got to the top without too much trouble. Views were magnificent all around, and the ranger explained the origins of naming the pillar after Sacagawea’s offspring, how it was used as a watchtower since the only dip in the expansive ridge was right there next to the pillar, and how/why it was signed by the first people to come through. They have Clark’s actual signature on the pillar, behind locked glass, which is good because that’s the only hard evidence proving he and his team were there to stake the Louisiana Purchase claim. After the tour concluded, we walked over to Yellowstone River for some decent shots, but the mosquitos made sure we kept our visit brief. We turned back to the Visitor Center and bought our usual goodies, and finally left shortly after 5:00pm.

That wouldn’t be so bad, except we have almost 200 to go! Glendive, MT is our next stop for the night (and it’s a Comfort Inn instead of Best Western) so it takes almost 3 hours to get to our hotel. Once again it was dark upon arrival, so we headed right back out after check-in and sat down at a Pizza Hut. (I know, I know, I said we’d do more local stuff but when there’s not much time in the evening, it’s gotta be quick and easy.)

Just one thing on the list again tomorrow, but there’s 2 units so I haven’t yet decided if we want to do both. Depends on how much the first one takes. And who knows how that will work out. Oh well, spontaneity may have to play a role in what we do.

I think 9:00am is our natural go-to for starting the day, and that works fine, as long as there’s just one planned event.

We jumped back on I-94 East after again filling up the minivan in Glendive, MT. Not long after, we stopped at the border sign for North Dakota. This is a new state for both of my folks, and I haven’t been here since the 48-state trip, so it’s time to get hopping with some fresh territory. Onward we marched another 25 and exited to the primary feature for the day, Theodore Roosevelt National Park. If you don’t know much about the 26th US President, you sure will after going through this landmark. He is apparently responsible for bringing into existence several other National Parks and Monuments, so it’s quite fitting that the area where he roamed be named in honor of him.

After walking through the visitor center and Roosevelt’s cabin (mostly original with some authentic furniture) we headed into the park’s South Unit around a 36-mile loop. Although we haven’t yet visited Badlands National Park (coming in a few days), this park seems to be a little preview of what to expect, as the overlooks show some of these painted hills expanding out for miles. The only hike we did (if you want to call it that) was the short walk to the top of Buck Hill, one of the highest points in the park (although it is a steep incline so beware) but the payoff is a 360° view of the park, although you may have to brave the wind.

We did see pockets of feral horses feeding around the park, and there are several Prairie Dog Towns where the rodents are doing their usual thing, but the highlight was the last Prairie Dog Town, where there was also a huge herd of buffalo feeding. By the time we drove (at a crawl) close enough to take some good pictures, they were crossing the road in front of us and behind us, which was pretty cool. Luckily no cars were coming up from behind, so we were able to stop in the middle of the road and just enjoy being in the moment with these magnificent animals.

That’s all for this park! We pick up a few souvenirs in Medora and get back on I-94 east, at least for a few minutes. We exit again and check out the Painted Canyon Overlook, which is technically still in the park and offers a vast expanded view of more badlands. My wide angle lens gets a workout.

At this point I’ve made the executive decision not to visit the North Unit, basically for lack of time. We continue east on I-94 and cross into the Central Time Zone, losing another hour. Thankfully it isn’t too long before we reach the capital of Bismarck after 5:00pm CDT. We check in and find Famous Dave’s BBQ for dinner, with a very exuberant (and excellent) waiter.

Tomorrow should be fairly easy, at least in my opinion. We’ll find out soon if I’m blowing smoke.

Off to an early start for once! We are packed and out the door before 8:00am. There was no free breakfast at this Best Western so we hit up a McDonalds and then quickly jaunted over to North Dakota’s State Capitol. It didn’t hit me until we pulled up that they wouldn’t be open on weekends. Duh! Looks like there isn’t going to be much capitol action today, at least internally. We settle for pics of the modern skyscraper and grounds, then found a gas station for another fill-up and started our southern route of the trip.

Briefly using I-94 east, we headed to the neighboring town of Mandan, where we’re able to hop on the southbound Hwy 1806 and begin the journey through one of the largest Sioux reservations, Standing Rock. But before we get there, we decide to make a spontaneous destination and stop at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park around 9:45am. Here you’ll find a makeshift fort with a few of the buildings that would have existed back then, a campground, a visitor center/museum, and a mock Indian Village (“On a Slant” as it was called). It was a peaceful stroll around the different areas of the park, and plenty of photo opportunities abound.

We left 90 minutes later and continued southward, soon passing into the boundaries of the reservation. Our main stop was the town of Fort Yates, home of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and where Sitting Bull was originally buried. The town looked all but deserted so we didn’t stick around here long except to gawk at the actual “Standing Rock” near the edge of town. Farther south we continued along the Missouri River, taking in the scenery and conspicuously crossing into South Dakota (and temporarily back into Mountain Time Zone). Nope, no border signs to tell us; I only knew when/where we crossed over because of previous research. It wasn’t until near the end when we met up with Hwy 12, that more features of the Standing Rock Scenic Byway presented itself. Markers were dotted on the island that connects the reservation to Mobridge across the river. The final items were the memorials of Sitting Bull (where he’s allegedly buried today) and Sacagawea (Sakakawea as they spell it), located at the edge of the state-maintained 1804 highway. We probably could have made more efficient use of our time with this area, but we enjoyed the Abe Lincoln State Park and what we could find of the Byway so it was all good.

We left the reservation and briefly stopped in Mobridge (back to Central Time once again) for a dipped ice cream cone, and then continued east on Hwy 12, until Hwy 83 south became our new BFF for the day. We used it to travel to the capital town of Pierre, which seemed to be a really nice place. Once again, being a Saturday, the capitol was locked up tight, so we had to make do with outside pictures once again. (Doesn’t really matter though, as Day 2 at Wyoming’s capitol really made up for it!) Mom also took pictures of the surrounding antiquated housing.

Pierre, SD was soon behind us, and we continued onward with Hwy 83 until reaching I-90 West. After some more miles and advertising billboards later, we reached our overnight city of Murdo close to 6:30pm CDT. (I didn’t even realize until I reviewed our reservation sheet that I requested a room here and not in Pierre. Whoops-a-daisy! ;) We found the Star Family Restaurant for dinner, which incidentally happened to be their last day serving for the season. Everyone be closing up shop around here!

Tired tired tired. Off to bed, but looking forward to tomorrow’s events…

I had imagined a day where we could finally get to our next overnight destination early and have a little time to relax and enjoy our hotel. But it is not this day.

Murdo, SD was a memory as of 9:25am CDT. We ramped onto I-90 West and twenty miles later gained our hour back re-entering the Mountain Time Zone. Not too long after, I saw a lone fuel station and decided we should probably get some gas since it was questionable making it to Rapid City on what we had. The same exit just also happened to be the one for the “1880’s Town” attraction that has been plastered all over billboards on this Interstate. While we’re filling up, Mom decides to go check it out and says we should go in. So be it.

For the US$12 entry fee (US$10/seniors), you are given access to what it was like to live in the late 19th century. There’s quite a few numbers of complete authentic buildings built between 1880 and 1920, moved to this location and set up in a way that resembles a town from the 1880s era. All the items inside these buildings are authentic as well. It really gives you a perspective of what folks had to work with back in the day. You could spend hours walking around these parts. Another top feature of this place is that they have collected most of the props used in the “Dances With Wolves” film. The entire upstairs of the main building is all props, costumes, production pictures, and more for the obsessed movie buff. It’s a popular movie in our household, so it was super cool to see all this stuff in the flesh. They also had the movie soundtrack blasting throughout the town. Relatively close to here is where they shot the Fort Sedgwick and Buffalo Hunt scenes, although far away enough where we didn’t have time for that. Adding on the souvenir shopping and museum browsing: 2 hours gone.

We get back on the road a little after 11:00am MDT and follow the interstate west for a while, and then exit to South Dakota 240, which begins the 39 Badlands National Park Loop. Almost immediately after entering the park boundaries, the overlooks were already presenting themselves. The worn-away pinnacles of the Badlands put on quite a show for the visitors, some etching into valleys below while others tower over us. It reminds me of the geologic features from Utah, although the Badlands have a different color scheme. After a number of overlooks and traversing through peaks and valleys, we reach the Visitor Center a few minutes before 1:00pm MDT, perfect timing to run in and sit down for the 20-minute video presentation. (Phew! Finally got something right.) Looking at the exhibits and buying the souvenirs added to our time here, which was about 35 minutes. Off we headed, looking at more viewpoints and crossing more passes and taking loads of pictures, even though pics can’t quite capture the depth that you see in person. Near the end of the loop, some of the pinnacles were starting to show yellow bottoms with red stripes, indicating the age and mineral composition of that layer. Magnificence all around.

That was the end of the loop. We finished up South Dakota 240 into the town of Wall, where another attraction begging for attention, the Wall Drug Store at Wall, SD, was decided as a spontaneous decision. We had no problem finding where that was located. But before spending time there, we go and find our original destination, the Wounded Knee Museum. This used to be at the actual site, but since it became so run-down, it was moved to Wall a few years back. Since Wounded Knee is on our list for Day 9, we thought it best to come here and get the full history before heading to the actual place. A US$5/6 entry fee will get you in to see the exhibits, video presentations, and timelines of everything leading up to that fateful day. You could probably get through the entire thing in 30-45 minutes, so if it’s something that’s important to you, definitely take the time to see it.

Now that we got that out of the way, back to Wall Drug Store. This place is huge with dozens of stores, a cafe where they serve delicious food, including donuts and pies (the only appropriate thing to have at 4:00pm between lunch and dinner). We went into their “backyard” where they have oddball things, including a giant jackalope, which of course yours truly had to sit on it and pose. Just because. We headed back to the souvenir department and I ended up spending a bunch of money on the complete collection of state magnets and a magnetic board. I have been seeking these items for a long time, but here it was cheap enough to finally take the plunge. After 9+ years, my quest to collect all 50 state magnets came to a sudden end.

5:20pm? Crap, we gotta go! It’s another 75 minutes to run through Rapid City and up the mountain to our overnight stay in Lone Hill, SD. Since we’re here for 3 nights, we went big and got a suite. Being a little late, we were shoved to the 2nd floor, but still plenty of room to move around.

Tomorrow is gonna be crazy busy with 4 events planned. Can we do it? Of course we can. Do you even have to ask? ;)

Today marks the halfway point of our road trip. We start by packing our… oh wait, no packing today! I knew there was something to it about staying somewhere more than one night. Regardless, we still had to wake up early in order to start a busy day.

Part I

At 8:00am MDT, we headed south on Hwy 16 to Hwy 385, towards our final National Park of the trip. We reached Wind Cave National Park shortly before 9:00am. It was a good thing too, because the NPS failed to update their website and had not switched to their fall schedule as far as cave tours were concerned. Instead of the expected ¼ 1-hour tour at 9:30, our only choice was to opt for the ½ 1.5-hour tour at 9:00am, which included 300 stairs (mostly heading down, with an elevator ride back up at the end). I assumed this would be within my folk’s abilities, but unfortunately it was a little strenuous for mom, as she can only descend one step at a time. We were constantly far behind the main tour group. Despite this, we were able to complete the tour and view just a tiny taste of the hundreds of miles of caves that have been explored in this area. Our ranger tour guide was very well-versed about the caves so we learned a lot from him. There’s a few fascinating geologic features in these caves, but with the lack of light, was only able to capture them on film with the assistance of a mini-tripod and tons of patience.

Next on the agenda was the Mammoth Site near Hot Springs, SD, not too far from Wind Cave. A 26,000 year-old sinkhole that is home to dozens of mammoth bones and fossils has been completely encased in a huge building and preserved for scientists, diggers, and visitors. You get a 30-minute tour of what’s been uncovered so far, plus exhibits and the option to take the elevator to the lower floor and view the laboratories of excavated fossils. It’s an intriguing place to visit!

Part II

Back up Hwy 385/16 we go and take a little rest in our suite. An hour later we’re back on the road, heading down to Crazy Horse, something we were going to do tomorrow, but figured we could knock out today. We had all been here before on Roadtrip #2, but was overcast that time and we didn’t get to see the actual mountain. This round we were in luck. Not only was the mountain visible, but we arrived in time to see an Indian dancing presentation. Fun to watch, especially at the end when the girl performing used 23 hoops during her dance. For once I didn’t buy any souvenirs here (already have my share) but mom found some more of course.

We stayed there about 90 minutes, then headed out again, using Hwy 87 to start the route around Custer State Park shortly after 5:00pm, coming in from the northwest entrance. The first area we hit was on the Needles Highway, which in my opinion are the most impressive features of this park. Spires of rock are jutting out hundreds of feet in the air all through the mountainside. There were also several one-lane tunnels that we drove through (pretty sure all man-made, but still kind of awesome). You can’t help but stop and take pictures at almost all the turn-offs. You feel just a tad small.

The frequent stops unfortunately put us behind schedule. The plan was to take the Wildlife Loop Road and circle back around in time to catch the Evening Lighting Ceremony at Mount Rushmore. Unfortunately the park is much bigger than you think, and it was loosely raining which meant not driving as fast. By the time we reached the halfway point of the loop, the dark rain clouds made it extremely difficult to take pics of what wildlife we could see. Upon reaching Hwy 16A, it was pitch dark, and now apparent that we wouldn’t make it to Mount Rushmore in time, so we decided to cut our evening short and just take Hwy 16A back to the hotel, managing to spot a few far-off lightning strikes along the way. We’ll hopefully catch the light show at Rushmore tomorrow evening.

We’re going to take tomorrow morning off and get some things done/re-organized. Our adventures will continue in the afternoon. Keep it here!

It was somewhat of a lighter day, although still quite fulfilling. We stayed in for the morning and took care of re-organizing everything from suitcases to souvenirs to snacks. We are prepared for the second half of our journey.

At 12:00pm MDT we left the hotel and headed directly north on Hwy 385 from Hill City, where it turned into Hwy 85 around Deadwood. We locked onto this highway all the way out of the Black Hills, over the I-90 and up to the town of Belle Fourche, dubbed the “Center of the Nation” by the locals. Although most would be satisfied with coming this far, the OCD in me was not. We continued past the town almost 20 further north until we reached “Old Highway 85” road, where the telltale sign “Center of the Nation - 7.8” gave away the real location. We turned left and braved a well-kept gravel road through a number of ranches, until the sight of a tattered American flag moseyed into our peripherals.

A sign riddled with bullet holes and a small cairn greeted us at the point closest to the flag. I could only find one small hook to keep the barbed-wire fence somewhat separated. My feet and hands further extended the space so my folks could maneuver in between. Once we were all through, we followed the worn trail about 120 to the flag, laid upon a concrete slab with a geodetic marker indicating exactly where the center of all 50 US states fell. As a geographical nerd, you really couldn’t ask for a bigger thrill than this. Many a picture was snapped here.

Finally we headed back to the paved road and started the return path south, but just for kicks we stopped at the Tri-State Museum in Belle Fourche where they also have the “Center of the Nation” visitor center. Out back, they have their own little monument adorned with all 50 state flags (and of course Old Glory). There was also a cabin built in 1876 that used to house a family of 9, which they moved here to preserve. Mom and I of course have to get the usual souvenirs. How can you not at the Center of the Nation?

One of the girls at the visitor center told us we should go back into the mountains via the Spearfish Canyon Byway, so we took that advice and used Hwy 14A to head back up into the Black Hills. Although it was cool, it wasn’t any more unique than what we’ve seen before. There was a waterfall almost half-way up, but the shadows were half in and out so picture-taking wasn’t optimal. It wasn’t long before we found Hwy 385 at the town of Lead and got back to our hotel by 5:30pm.

We only rested an hour before heading out again, catching what was missed last night. We arrive at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial shortly before 7:00pm, where the sun was already fading away. We weren’t interested in daytime shots though, so we went over to Carver’s Café and picked up some cafeteria-style meals for our dinner, eating until it got close to 8:00pm. Then we headed over to the amphitheater for their nightly Lighting Ceremony. The presentation was about 40 minutes, mostly summarizing the lives of the 4 presidents, and near the end of the film as “God Bless America” was being played, the lights slowly faded up on the 4 famous faces. They also brought up any and all military servicemen for honors and lowering the flag. If you’re at all patriotic, you’ll dig it. We finished up in the gift shop of course, but there wasn’t much more for me to buy anything here, save for a magnet or two.

Back to the hotel by 9:30pm. In the morning, we’ll be leaving not only our suite, but also South Dakota as well. Time for some new territory!

Time to leave our suite. ::sad face:: Before we do, Mom and I head into downtown Hill City at 9:00am MDT to take pics of the trains and peruse the downtown shops, most of which didn’t open until 10:00, but we still managed to find a few things, get back and on the road by 10:45am, a little later than I would have liked, but hey let’s see what happens.

Down Hwy 385 we go for the final time, out of the Black Hills, when soon we make a left onto Hwy 18 east, which heads into the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. A little while later, we turn up SD 27 and find ourselves at Wounded Knee. Having researched this place and the reviews, this is definitely no Disneyland attraction. The poverty level here is very high, and the place not kept up at all. We could see the memorial gravesite coming over the hill, and it appeared to have gained a small dirt road so you can drive your vehicle directly up to the front gate.

We were there about 5 minutes taking pics when one of the locals, a young guy with a ponytail comes running up to where we were and asks if we’ve heard the stories and offers a tour and to answer any questions about the site. From his demeanor I knew exactly what the game was. I was warned about panhandlers and knew what to expect. We told him we had been to the museum so we knew the story. Mom and I walked around the rest of the memorial while Dad occupied the local’s time with questions. While I was taking pictures near the far end of the memorial, the local came up and asked for a donation to “keep up the memorial,” so I gave him $5 and a bottle of water, since he did answer a lot of Dad’s questions and gave us some useful information about various parts of the memorial. I’m pretty sure that money isn’t going to where he said it is, but knowing how most of these people live, you feel like any little bit might help, and it was just enough to keep things out of awkward territory.

By the time we finished up and got back to the front gate of the memorial, another local came up on a bike and immediately started asking for “donations.” They definitely don’t waste any time when they see potential targets at the site. Although it’s a crap-shoot whether or not you’ll be approached, this is something any traveler needs to be vigilant about when coming here to pay respects to the memorial. Mom gave a few bucks to the 2 guys as we were leaving and told them to split it (even though they said they were “separate”). We spent a total of 25 minutes there.

Now comes the part I deplore, backtracking a full hour from the same direction where we came, using Hwy 18 until it once again met with Hwy 385. Unfortunately there was no other way around this, so we didn’t cross the border into Nebraska until 3:00pm (even worse, the opposing South Dakota sign at the border was missing so we have no shots at all of the sign for that state. Poops.) And we STILL had a long way to go to our next destination. A few speed limit laws had to be broken in order to get to Scotts Bluff National Monument before it closed at 5:00pm. We arrived at 4:45pm and headed inside the Visitor Center. Luckily the ranger hadn’t closed the access gate yet at his usual 4:30pm deadline, and said if we hurry he’ll let us go up to the top if we were quick about it.

We decided to sacrifice the museum exhibits inside, quickly bought our usual postcard/magnet combo and got back in the van for the 1.5 trip to the top of the bluff, going through 3 man-made tunnels along the way. The views of the valleys below and formations were unique in their own right. At the top, there were 2 trails, one going north for ½, and one south for 600. The shorter route it is! This one showed you the path of the wagons from the Oregon Trail era. We spent 15 minutes doing the quick walk and took pics where we could. It’s a good thing we didn’t dally for too long, because on the return trip to the van, the ranger was already up there waiting for the remaining stragglers to leave (us and another couple that took the longer trail). Back down the road we went, stopping to take pictures of the tunnels, knowing there wouldn’t be anyone behind us since we were the 2nd to last ones down. There were a few outdoor exhibits at the bottom, featuring mock wagons that were used on the Oregon Trail. We managed to get an hour out of this place. Good enough!

We headed back west into the neighboring town of Gering, NE. There we found a Runza restaurant, a regional fast-food joint I have not visited since Roadtrip #1, and we all had a relatively early dinner. From there we filled up the tank (having run out of free gas cards), and headed east on Hwy 92/26. However, I didn’t realize that our overnight destination was still over 100 away. Whoops, how did I miscalculate that one? The sun quickly set behind us and it was pitch dark for a good long while before we arrived in Ogallala, NE at 8:45pm, our latest check-in to date.

What makes it even better? An insanely full plate tomorrow. Poor us. :) Will we survive? Find out next time…

::deep breath:: …aaaaaand here we go!

Stop 1: From Ogallala, NE, we use I-80 East (yet again ceding an hour to Central Time) and arrived at the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, NE shortly after 10:00am CDT, which overlooks Bailey Yard, the largest classification rail yard in the world. The tower elevator takes you 7 or 8 stories up (depending if you want open air or lookout) so you can see a clean birds-eye view of the thousands of cars and Union Pacific freight engines that come through here. Loved seeing the “hump” where incoming cars are separated and routed by computer to the next line, all by using the gravity of the hill. Some of the engines were even wondering around the yard remotely with no one at the helm. Killer!

Stop 2: Buffalo Bill Ranch State Park was 10 minutes away in the same town. Here has the layout of William Cody’s ranch, complete with mansion and barn, showing off everything about his lifestyle. Many of his possessions occupy the space inside the home, as well as exhibits inside the barn. If you want to know all about Buffalo Bill and his Wild West show, swing by.

Stop 3: Another 45 minutes east is an original Pony Express station. It was only used for 18 months from 1860-1861, but it is still intact, and was moved to a park in Gothenburg, NE. There’s a small gift shop inside for the Spring/Summer/Fall visitors. Very easy and quick visit.

Stop 4: It took a long time to head over I-80 and down Hwy 281 to the Kansas border, but once we did, the next destination presented itself within minutes. We stopped at the “other” center of the nation, the one that covers just the 48 conterminous states. Just north of Lebanon, KS, it was a corner outfitted with the official marker, signs, picnic tables, a BBQ, and even a chapel for those who’d like to get married here. (If my future S.O. is an über geography nerd, we’re totally doing that!) Very peaceful place.

Stop 5: Not far from the 48-state center is a quirky town of Cawker City. I say quirky because this is the home of the world’s largest ball of twine. Silly? Yes. But I didn’t want to travel all the way out here just for the 48-state center, so this extra (fun) stop was added. Unfortunately with all the other previous stops, we didn’t get here until after 6:00pm so it’s the one stop we aren’t able to purchase souvenirs.

We stair-stepped our way down the various highways, watching the sunset along the way, and reached the hub town of Hays, KS at 7:45pm. We found a tasty meal at Applebee’s (I know, not original) and have hunkered down for the evening.

...aaaand we’re done. ::faints:: Like I said before, insanely busy. But that was the last of the crazy days. Tomorrow is only one stop, and then we head back to Colorado. I see a tunnel, along with a tiny speck of light.

No big rush today. We exit our final hotel around 9:45am CDT and head south on Hwy 183 through town. A lovely road closure forces us to detour through some residential streets but we finally find Fort Hays State Historical Site, with no other visitors as we arrived. The fort itself was used to protect citizens from Indian attacks and eventually was abandoned, but some of the structures were spared from demolition. For a US$5/person fee, we were given access to the exhibits, the two officer’s quarters (re-established from previous owners who donated them back), the guard house (complete with isolated jail cells) and the Block House (also known to trivia buffs as the oldest building in northwest Kansas). It’s a fun little history lesson if you’re into such things. We spent about 2 hours here.

And that’s all for Kansas. We topped off the tank so we wouldn’t have to fill up again so soon, seeing as Kansas gas prices are about 30-40¢ cheaper than Colorado. We get back on I-70 west for a long journey, gaining the lost hour back to Mountain Time zone, and only stopping to switch drivers near the Colorado border at a rest stop. Before we know it, we’re back in the state we started with, and continue west until the town of Limon where we take Hwy 24 that bears south to Colorado Springs. Overall it was about a 5.5 hour drive, finally reaching our destination at 4:30pm MDT.

We’re staying with one of mom’s friends from her elementary school days. She and her husband were gracious enough to let us bunk with them for the weekend. We’ll be going around seeing some things on the itinerary, and some things not on the itinerary. I’m not going to follow my schedule to a tea, so we’ll see how everything pans out. Should be good stuff.

Although we’re no longer hopping from hotel to hotel, we still have quite an agenda to complete before our road trip concludes. This morning Mom decided to stay at the house, so Dad and I take the journey to the summit of Pike’s Peak, only a short hop away off of Hwy 24. It’s US$12/person (or US$40/carload) to go up, but once you pay at the gate, your 18 trek begins. The entire road was recently finished with their paving project all the way to the top, so that allowed access to just about everyone, in addition to the bikers and hikers. The elevation gain and switchbacks were pretty gnarly, so it’s definitely not a quick jaunt. Give yourself at least 45 minutes to get up there, and bring a jacket! Just when I thought I broke our personal elevation record at Rocky Mountain National Park, it is broken again. At 10:00am MDT, we reached 14,110 above sea level. At the top was a gift shop and diner (so of course I buy souvenirs). While not the tallest in Colorado (Mt. Elbert gets that distinction at 14,433) it’s still high enough where you get 360° stunning views of the east and west valleys.

We coast back down the mountain (be sure to use low gears instead of your brakes; sometimes they actually check and will put you in time-out if your brakes are too hot). The minivan was running on fumes so we found a place to fill up in Manitou Springs, which I suspect is our next-to-last refill. We headed back to our overnight HQ, where we had a quick bite to eat, then our overnight host put on his tour guide hat and took us all out, even farther out west on Hwy 24. We used the “Garden of the Gods” route to get there, so I was able to see all the famous rock structures that I missed last time on Roadtrip #2. From there, we headed out past Woodland Park, where the aspen trees were lit up in gold and yellow (and found lots of pull-outs to take pictures) and then over to a huge mining project run by the Cripple Creek Victor Mining company, near the towns of… surprise… Cripple Creek and Victor. They have apparently rejuvenated old gold/silver mines and are using modern technology to extract the precious metals from the rich ore using chemical processes. It was obscenely wide (and deep). There were even public lookouts that have been constructed so you could go up and see the current progress, along with the old mining equipment from many decades ago. It’s quite an operation.

From there, we headed over to the remote town of Guffey, CO where we ate at the Bull Moose Restaurant and Bar. The people there were super friendly and outgoing, and the food wasn’t too shabby either. We spent almost 2 hours there before the fading daylight told us it was time to book it back home. We were back in Colo Springs by 9:00pm.

I think we may take it easy tomorrow. The Air Force Academy can wait until Monday morning, and Florissant Fossil Beds NM sounds like it’s only good if you’re going for a hike, which we’ve all plumb run out of steam to be doing any more of that. We’ll see what we can muster up.

We didn't do anything worthy of a report on Day 13 (Sunday). Mom and I moseyed around town a bit, and that evening I met up with a friend I hadn't seen since Roadtrip #2 almost 8 years ago. We all relaxed the rest of the time (and we needed it!)

For Day 14 (our last day), it was more fulfilling. Shortly after 9:00am MDT we went over to the Air Force Academy, not too far from where we were staying. At the North Gate, after the back of the van was searched for explosives (yes, they will do that with larger vehicles) we headed to the relatively new Visitor Center, complete with a Gift Shop, exhibits, and a 21-minute movie on what it's like to enter as a fresh cadet at the academy. (Pretty sure I wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes had I attempted such a thing... :)

Afterwards, we drove over to the Chapel, an architecturally magnificent structure built in the early 1960s. Even more impressive is when you go in. With a sizable footprint, it's amazing to stand in the bowels of the chapel. The thin rows of stained glass give LED-like bright colors along the ceilings. Walking back out you'll catch the pipe organ on the upper floor. What I wouldn't have given to hear that thing sound off. We leave there, and caught a few viewpoints of the academy on the road out, as well as a full-scale model B-52 near the entrance. More pictures to take. We're finally released after 11:30am.

We head back to the house of mom's friends, have lunch, take pictures and say our goodbyes. They were great hosts! As we're leaving the clouds are starting to rear their ugly heads around the mountains. I even caught some bolts of lightning and several rumbles as we packed up the minivan one last time. This weather nerd is happy.

Now we've had extraordinarily good weather this entire trip. Why not change things up? As soon as we're on I-25 North heading away from Colorado Springs, here comes the rain. And I mean RAIN. AND RAIN. Yikes, if it rained like this back in California, all the TV networks in the world would have interrupted their programming to break the news. It didn't let up in the least, all the way to Denver. Of course there was the occasional lightning/thunder combo spicing things up. There was even an area on the south side of town where it looked like snow on the freeway, but it was really just piles of hail in between the lanes, as well as the fringe edges of the freeway. This is nuts! But I drove like it was no big deal and kept up with all the other drivers who apparently didn't care either. (I did keep speeds reasonable.) It was getting a little late so we were hitting rush hour traffic, and more rain/construction just weren't helping. *sigh*

So in some futile effort, I exit I-25 onto Colfax Avenue (aka 287/40/Business 70), which heads directly to the State Capitol. I figured we'd park somewhere for a few minutes and I could take a shot of the capitol. But oh no, that rain made darned sure I stayed in the van. It was torrential. I ended up taking only one shot from inside the van. Mom sacrificed being dry and got out for a few more shots. And the traffic made it hard to find any one spot to stay. I finally said "Forget this" and continued east on the same road, heading away from that area. I got a pic, so it counts! (Oh, and it's amusing seeing the pot shops on this street too.)

We soon crossed back into Aurora, CO, where we filled up the minivan for the final time. Now I'm getting multiple e-mails on my phone that our flight home has been delayed (along with many others, most likely due to the rain), from 6:50pm to 7:35pm, then again to 8:10pm. Oh lovely. Well with this traffic I'm not going to lolly gag around regardless. I stayed on the same road (with more construction and rain, argh!) until I-225 was in sight. We ramped there, then to a brief I-70 before taking the exit that went to the airport. We find the Avis car rental (and unfortunately no cover from the downpour) so we had to clean out the van in a big hurry and catch the shuttle bus that was waiting for us. Thank goodness I had enough sense to write down the odometer and trip mileage before abandoning our trusty vehicle. Too bad I couldn't get a picture of it like I usually do.

We grab a bite to eat in the terminal, and I get another e-mail that our flight is now back to a 7:35pm takeoff. Good grief. Off we go through security and use the underground train to get to our gate. After some delays, it was finally wheels up at 8:10pm MDT... and landed inside 2 hours later, at 9:05pm PDT. SuperShuttle gets us home an hour later. THE END!

In case you didn't notice, this trip was quite a doozy!

Another year, another insanely-filled road trip. I could have sworn I made a conscious effort to ratchet the schedule down this time, but it seems we just can’t stand to have an easy day and instinctively found spontaneous/unexpected things to eat up those hours. While not quite the longest road trip ever (time- or distance-wise), it certainly felt like we took in an overabundance of history, be it Lewis & Clark, the Indian Territories vs the US expansion, the Oregon Trail, and more. If you like midwest history, this area is THE place to get your fill. There is definitely no shortage of it. I was also able to get my folks into some new states, which means they’ve now visited the entire western half of the US.

Overall the weather was perfect (except for the tail end of the last day). Summer seemed to be the season of choice, as our fall/winter gear stayed in the suitcase and time was spent at each gas station cleaning off the windshield from the hundreds of bug splats. The front fender was an absolute mess of insects (although the rain at the end cleaned most it off, good timing there).

We were also able to save some cash by using rewards points for US$300 worth of free gas and US$100 for Walmart supplies. That helped make a dent in the overall expenses. We also saved a hunk of cash by renting a car away from the airport (the cost of which would have greatly exceeded the shuttle fare to the rental outlet). Letting us return the minivan to the airport was super convenient and saved us from having to shuttle back to the airport.

Favorite Places: The most memorable things that stick out in my mind are the climb into the dome of the Wyoming Capitol building in Cheyenne, a pleasant surprise. Also memorable was the towering rocks along the Needles Highway inside Custer State Park in South Dakota, as well as the ascent to Colorado’s Pikes Peak, breaking all previous records for the highest ground-level elevation. Only way to break that now is take the other paved Colorado road to Mt. Evans @ 14,264, or go big and hike my neighboring Mt. Whitney @ 14,505, but that would take more preparation and patience. (Yeah, about that...)

Least Desirables: Once again the worst thing I’d have to complain about is the road construction, although it never really interfered much with our schedule. Maybe it’s just bad timing, heading out on a trip before winter sets in and all the states are getting the roads prepped for what’s to come. There wasn’t a day I didn’t see that lovely shade of orange. Many times on the interstate we swerved over to the other side to a makeshift 2-lane highway while our side was completely torn up. There weren’t any specific places I would soon forget, although I probably could have done without the panhandling locals at Wounded Knee. Even though I’m aware of the current conditions there and it was to be expected, it was still somewhat of a detraction from the overall experience. It’s a shame you can’t visit someplace sacred like that without the locals hovering around you. I just hope the bit of money we gave them went to something constructive for the town or their families.

Statistics:

Total Stops: 37
States Visited: Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas
Capitols Visited: Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota
National Parks Visited: Rocky Mountain, Theodore Roosevelt, Wind Cave
National Monuments Visited: Devil’s Tower, Battle of Little Big Horn, Pompeys Pillar, Scotts Bluff
State Parks Visited: Fort Abraham Lincoln, Custer
Geographical Markers: Center of 48 states, Center of 50 states

Rental Vehicle: 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan
Efficiency: 23.44

Total Cost of Trip: $1,548 (includes my share of airfare, shuttles, car rentals, fuel, hotels, food, entry fees, and souvenirs)