Trip Out West 2010

It's been fun pardners !! Heading East in the morning. Yee-Haaa!

We had a nice breakfast at McDonald's this AM in Cheyenne with the locals. It reminded us of Hardee's in Swansboro where all the seniors meet for coffee. It was funny listening to them. Sounded like they were having too much fun.

Brighton is about 15-20 miles from the airport. We could not believe that this Hampton Inn let us check in at 11:45 AM. It has been a nice day relaxing witth the pool and jacuzzi. Jim even got his dinner free tonight at Applebee's because they mixed up his order. Nice surprise when we paid the bill.

We think that in the future we will not plan one of these "driving" trips. We are now liking the idea of going to one area for 7-10 days, have a home base hotel and not try to do EVERYTHING !! LOL Maybe take a tour from the home base city. We have enjoyed it and glad we did it. We feel like we are from Wyoming now since we covered the whole state. It is beautiful country - the rolling plains, the mountains, the hairpin curves, the geological features, the western atmosphere. We are glad we now know what the Sturgis Rally is. Right ! It was fun seeing the thousands of bikers, but beware - don't plan your trip in August. Slow economy? Recession? The hotels have been full, the restaurants are bulging, the national parks are full of people. That also means they are buying gas for those cars, too. We know we are fortunate to be able to travel and do these things. Our country has so much to see and enjoy, but it is so-o-o-o big. For example, France is smaller that the state of Texas. We encourage everyone not to put things off. Do it NOW ! Shorter trips are great and lots of fun, too.

Westward Ho ! or should I say "Eastward Ho !"

See you soon cowboys and cowgirls ! No more corny phrases......

We headed to Laramie today, only 50 miles away. We actually went through 3 weeks ago, but we took a scenic byway and by-passed Laramie. Today we took a walking tour through the town-lots of old west architecture. Then we headed over to the Wyoming Territorial Park and Prison. This is the prison where Butch Cassidy spent about 18 months, the only time he was in prison. It was a walking tour of the warden' house and then the prison itself. It was pretty interesting.

Back to Cheyenne ...It is completely different from 3 weeks ago. The historic train depot that was crammed full of vendors during Frontier Days was completely cleared out. We also went into the Wrangler store here which is huge!! We may try to visit the state museum before leaving town tomorrow. We are about museumed out !!

So, this is straight from the horse's mouth---We have had a great trip, but there is no place like your own homestead. (Probably be ready to go someplace in a couple of months ! LOL) I am ready to do lunch, ladies.
Jim says he actually wants to get in the yard. He is sure it is needing some care. Allyson will be there waiting for us. She is doing beach time for a few days on her 8 day "stretch". I will do a short blog tomorrow wrapping things up.

Sweet prairie dreams....

Today was a travel day to Cheyenne. I am just going to blog a little about this hotel.

It opened in 1911 and was given a makeover in 2002. The brochure says "As with any 'Grand Lady' that is over 90 years young, some things just don't work like they used to. Listen for the creaks and squeaks as you walk through the corridors. Enjoy the extra few minutes of reflection if you wait for a bit for the hot water to arrive. ..we intentionally wanted to keep the wrinkles. The wrinkles are where the stories are."

The elegance of the old west is apparent here. It has been a cultural landmark of Cheyenne. A big wedding party just checked out this morning. There is a two-story lobby mezzanine with a stained glass skylight. The building is five stories tall. The logo of the Plains Hotel that appears on all letterhead, china, the outdoor sign, etc. features Chief Little Shield, an Arapaho. In 1915, Little Shield brought some of his people to Cheyenne for Frontier Days. He was an Indian guest of the hotel, but his friends stayed in tepees in Frontier Park. He was so handsome that his picture was taken by a noted photographer of the day and that picture has always been associated with the Plains Hotel. The hotel is honored by continued visits from Chief Little Shield's descendants. These accomodations were enjoyed by cattle barons and oil tycoons, as well as travelers on the way to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

There is a piece of Wyoming history here and the walls are decorated with historic photographs. Also, celebrities that have stayed here include President Harry Truman, Presidential candidates Richard Nixon, Ronald Regan and Ted Kennedy, and movie stars such as Jimmy Stewart. And guess what? It is half the price for a room than it was 3 weeks ago during Frontier Days!! The AC is good, lots of towels, a nice restaurant and coffee shop. The door knob sign says "Prairie Dreams - Do not Disturb" and the other side says "Tidy up the Bunkhouse" .

We will do some sightseeing tomorrow, possibly Laramie.

Looking forward to a good night of shut-eye after a long day on the trail....

Hope all you wranglers out there are enjoying life.... WE ARE !!

Today we took in some scenic byways and the Custer State Park. We had some amazing scenery. A portion of this loop is the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway, named one of the most outstanding byways in America. It winds through spectacular scenery. It includes towering granite needle rocks (the Needles Hwy)and six tunnels. These tunnels are narrow and one lane. There are tight hairpin curves, "pigtail" bridges, mile high overlooks and wildlife ranges. One of the loops was the "Wildlife Loop". The wildlife of the day is without a doubt BISON ! We saw several herds and they were up close and personal.!! They were crossing the road, grazing by the side of the road, and just enjoying life. They have no problems, just lots of open range. LOL Buffalo can run up to 35 mph and can get over a 7 ft. fence. Believe me, I stayed in the car!

Buffalo meat is on most menus. Buffalo is 30 % higher in protein and 35 % less in cholesterol. It has to be cooked just right. As the waitress told someone tonight, "If you order it medium well done, you just might get jerky."

Did you know that the Black Hills name came from the fact that from a distance, the ponderosa pine covered hills, look black ? There is also a legend that robbers held up a shipment of gold back in the 1870's and 400 lbs. of the gold is still hidden in the Black Hills. Amazing what you can learn from a menu !

We whetted our whistles tonight at "The Wrangler" with a nice bacon wrapped filet for only $8.95. That is a full meal with salad and baked potato. Of course, we have been testing some of the local beers. Then it was a walk down the street to that 1st National Bank of Dakota building for our shot of Starbucks coffee and only $1.50 each (just a normal cup of coffee). We sat outside the shop people watching. The vendors are packing up and the numbers of bikers has noticeably dwindled.

We are off to Cheyenne tomorrow, a travle day, and will stay at the historic Plains Hotel - an authentic western hotel. More on that tomorrow. We are getting tired and may just stay in Cheyenne for 2 days. Frontier Days are over and there won't be the crowds there.

On the road again.....(As Willie Nelson would say )

We were at Mt. Rushmore by 8:45 this morning. We are only 20 miles from the monument and the ride is truly scenic. Traffic was light, but it did get crowded later. What can one say about this National Memorial, except that it is very impressive standing here looking at it. This massive granite sculpture memorializes four American Presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and T. Roosevelt. You already know that ! Their faces stand 60 ft. high. Work began in 1927 by 400 workers and ended 14 years later when the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum died. Then came WWII. Did you know it was not officially dedicated until 50 years later by President George Bush? The visitors center is huge. When you arrive, you stroll down the Avenue of Flags where it is fun to find your state's banner, then it is a few short steps to the Grand Terrace . We saw 2 short films about the nuts and bolts construction methods and the area around it. It is mind boggling. You engineers out there would find it very interesting. There are viewing terraces and of course, we took too many pictures, You can't help yourself. There is a great exhibit, also.

Then we went down the road to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This monument is not a federal or state project and is funded by the admission charge and donations. It is a work in progress and will be ,or is ,the world's largest mountain carving. There is another huge visitors complex. Workers are now blocking out the 22-story-high horse's head. His ear will be 45 ft. and his eye 16 ft. wide, 260 ft. below the head of Crazy Horse. There is also the 1/34th scale model on the viewing veranda and you can watch drilling and blasting from there. The family of the sculptor, Korczak, continues the work. He died in 1982, but left detailed plans and models.

Tonight we had dinner in a historic building here in Custer. Today known as "Steak "N Ribs", it was the 1st National Bank of the Dakota Territory, established in1881, 8 years before SD even became a state. It was built on solid bedrock, the walls are 2 ft. thick, there are 250,000 bricks in the building and 200 tons of quarried stone blocks. I got all these facts off the menu !! The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. After dinner, we TRIED to blend in with the bikers (Right!) - still hundreds here. Vendors are set up on side streets and bikes are parked in a roped off area down the middle of main street. This is BIG business !

Tomorrow it is some scenic loops and I will blog about them tomorrow. Did I say that I went crazy buying Black Hills Gold in Deadwood and at Mt. Rushmore? OMG ! I will just say, several pieces called my name !!

Okay, pardners. I admit I am getting a bit tired and will be glad to get home.

In answer to a derisive question from a white man "Where are your lands now?", Crazy Horse replied "My lands are where my dead lie buried" Thought provoking...