Day 2 (cont.): Amazing... boring... sweet... and Wow!

Before leaving Rapid City, SD, we first ventured in the opposite direction of our destination in order to get a peek at the marvelous stone artwork in the Black Hills - Mt. Rushmore. There are a bunch of photos attached. I highly recommend checking this out. Even driving through the snowy Black was amazing by itself.

The Black Hills gave me the first snow of the season as we drove thru the tiny town of Keystone and probably witnessed all 311 of its residents outside on the streets shoveling.

When we finally left Rapid City around noon, the drive brought to us a roller coaster of incredible views and extreme boredom. Wyoming was the first new state of the day and was a medley of plains, trees, grass, snow, mountains, cows and antelope. (Taiece thought the antelope in teh field was a rabbit.. What?!)

We had the Big Horn mountain range in view for a solid three hours today until we hit the Montana border.

As for this Montana state, what a crappy desolate drive the first couple hours of this massive state was in the southeastern corner. Big Sky country could be an understatement.

But then i was proved wrong, or is it right?

The next several hours had me staring beyond the road like a child nearing Disneyland. The cities got a little bigger and finally the western view of the overpowering Rockies made it all worth it! Sadly my camera died before the rockies. I'll have to post some photos tomorrow.

We broke into the rocky range before sunset and landed at our hotel about halfway in at Butte, MT by the time the moon lit the sky. The big dipper even followed us from wisconsin.

A sunset in the Rockies definitely moved to one of my top 5 favorite things to see. The purple and pink and orange sky falling behind the green, brown, yellow and silouette mountains form a ................... Actually, I have no words to write in this state of lethargy, sorry. Again there will be photos.

We did however stop in a serious tiny mountain town for gas where they had no sidewalks or curbs, but oddly enough had a small strip lit up like mini-Vegas for two blocks. However i think it was only a mexican restaurant and a bowling alley. The wind along I-90 in this part of the mountains was intense to say the least.

Finally, we trekked the last hour in a blinding, white-knuckling darkness that soared up and down the Montana peaks and eventually landed at the hotel in Butte where i was rewarded with Subway from down the road....... :/

Tomorrow is the final leg of this drive. Butte, MT, to Idaho, to Washington, and across to Seattle.

Peace.

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/mattynda/


Other things i learned:

--I hiccup after taking a drink of soda in the mountains
--Over every hill brings the unexpected


Final note:

--Vanilla Ice has been an important part of this drive. Every time we enter a new state, his lyrical madness plays itself through the car speakers. Ice Ice Baby. Too cold. When all is done we will have heard him "kick it one time, boy," six times!

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