With solid determination for a great day, we woke up in our Spearfish motel at a decent time Wednesday morning. The original plan was to first go east a few miles so that Vickie could visit her grandfather's grave near Sturgis, then head west to Wyoming. It didn't happen that way. Vickie decided to forgo the cemetery visit as she didn't see a point to it anymore. I wasn't going to push her and it was her decision.
So, we just went right into Wyoming after 14 miles. Wyoming still retained its beautiful hills and a healthy blend of greenery and golden land. After 22 miles, we entered Sundance. We got gas then got a tip on a good place to eat breakfast, right in downtown Sundance! It's a typical Wyoming town in terms of population and coziness. Our tip was a small but nice breakfast and lunch place called Higbee's. It was the kind of place where the locals gather to just drink coffee and shoot the breeze. I could see us going there once a week for breakfast if we lived there.
Back on the road, we got off the freeway for a while so we could see what we used to call Devil's Tower. After a little road work delay and some nice road curves, we caught sight of it. I almost had tears in my eyes as I gazed upon the real thing for the first time in my life. I was actually going to be near it! After 10 more miles we were finally there. Waiting in line to pay admission was not irritating for a change, I could still see it.
The Bear Lodge, as the Tower should be named, is hypnotic. Spielberg chose the place wisely because it truly does draw people to it. There is a spiritual Earth energy there when you gaze upon it, climb to it, walk among the trees surrounding it. It is an experience that is hard to describe in words, and it was tough leaving, for we had many miles to travel. However, Natalie and I climbed toward it on a path for a few hundred feet, all uphill. We also examined the gift shop and got a trinket or two, and then listened to a park ranger tell us a legend about how the Bear Lodge got to look the way it does.
I regretted not being able to camp there for one night, for I could imagine the plethora of stars above us. Well, I could imagine it on a CLEAR night, but northeastern Wyoming was a sporadically rainy day Wednesday.
On an historical note, U.S. 16 used to extend all the way to Wisconsin and then, via ferry, it continued in Michigan and ended in downtown Detroit. My parents remember it as the main road Grand River Avenue going between the Detroit area and Lansing.
We took 16 into the Bighorn Mountains, winding around for several miles through beautiful country. We passed through a few small towns like Ten Sleep and Worland, taking on U.S. 26 for a bit then picking up U.S. 20 into Thermopolis. Thermopolis is a town containing hot springs. If we had thought about it, we would have stayed there overnight, but not for the springs.
There is a canyon that had been experiencing rock, or rather BOULDER slides just south of Thermopolis. There was a 3 hour period when the road was closed in that area and we came just at the wrong time. So, we hung at a Taco John's for 2 1/2 hours.
Just before 10, we got back on the road, experiencing no problems. We were even treated to a tunnel or two. We passed through Shoshoni and Riverton and then a lot of nothingness besides a grand orange moon setting in front of us. At 1:30, we pulled into Rock Springs and quickly got into our motel for much needed rest. The next day we'd arrive home.
Did I mention I love Wyoming?
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