Northwest Adventure Day 21

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Boring Drive? NOT!!

We were expecting a rather boring drive leaving Sheridan and heading over to Rapid City. Our expectations were not met. It was an absolutely stunning drive and the little stops just called to us such that we had to take a look. Our quick three and a half hour drive to Rapid City took six but at least the extra time taken was under our own control - not because of mountain driving at 25 mph.

It was the Bighorn Mountains with snow capped peaks that kept creeping out behind the lower, pine covered mountains that drew our attention. Often, they were in the brightest of sunlight off in the distance while we were driving along in varying degrees of cloudiness. It was a call from the wild that we would need to ignore as we're sure, those mountains were many miles away.

Eventually, there were no snow capped peaks creeping out above the lower mountains and in fact, the lower mountains disappeared as well. Then, our scenery was spotted with long hills, one folding right into the other, with deep ravines in some places. Trees varied between the darkest of green pines and groupings of autumn painted trees. We don't know what kind the trees are, we only know they are truly awesome. We can see that compared to last week, some trees have now lost their leaves and the colors are darker, as if a new pad of paint was being used to color the scenery. We have both always loved fall colors but here, in a land we hadn't known, the colors seem much more dramatic.

Small Town Visits

We stopped in a few small towns along the way, curious about the goings on. All were unique in the stores or business of the day. One of mention was Gillette, where we stopped for gas. We really hadn't intended to go through this small city but could only laugh as we went to get back on the expressway, only to find there was no re-entry where we had exited. So, through Gillette we went, amused by the mishap and in search of the route to another entrance. Of course we found it and blamed the signs, not the fact that we were so busy watching everything, everyone, and the scenery behind that we could be the reason to have missed signs the first time. Not us! 😊

We saw blues, greens, greys, reds, tans, in shades that made every turn a new picture. The clouds themselves were a constantly changing feature. The sun and shadows repainted the same scene over and over - Rita thought at times she was in front of her computer, pushing a button to show a different view of the same scene with different colors and shades. Yet, there it was, right in front of us. The same scene constantly repainted real time. As happy as we are with the pictures we took, they really don't do justice to what we witnessed.

We drove through Sundance and could only imagine how the town must come alive when the film festival is at its height. At least we think this is the Sundance where that takes place. It was hard for us to imagine this little town hosting such an event. We decided we must not be seeing the whole place and perhaps not the core part of the town that actually hosts the event. Whatever...it was an interesting part of the town and worth the deviation from the expressway driving.

Sturgis, South

Dakota
We, of course, had to make the stop in Sturgis, South Dakota. We have had and still have a number of friends who talk so highly of the buzz at Sturgis in the height of the season. We understood but were still disappointed to realize just how off-season our visit was. Many of the shops with signs touting the best biker paraphenalia were virtually closed for the season. Many of the bars/saloons were also closed. We stopped at The Bare Knuckle Saloon which was open but very little in the way of customers. Here, even without the crowds, it was easy to imagine what life must be like at the height of the season. There were bikes of all sizes and time - things dating back to a day we've only heard about versus having witnessed. One could picture a man in his knickers riding the earliest of motorcycles recreated here. Inside, closing our eyes after seeing the Elvis display in one of the corners, we could hear the King singing and dancing away. What a treat! The bartendress seemed less than amused with our excitement but then, hers was just a job right now - seeing to the drink and/or food needs of the very few people there. Outside, the patio area and outside bar were all closed down but still left the ambiance of party days gone by. We're not sure we would ever return in the height of the season when every hotel, motel, RV, and camping site would be taken and people on motorcycles trolling everywhere. For us, just being there in the down season was a treat and will make future coverage of bigger events at Sturgis will carry a new meaning.

Rapid City, South Dakota

We rolled over the hills into Rapid City, South Dakota where we will stay the next two nights. We are in a two day window of sun and partly cloudy skies before rain returns with the potential for snow. Already, places we just visited a few days ago have already received some snow or are predicting so. Temperatures behind us are dropping. We are very aware of the chance we took traveling this area this late in the season. We have been so blessed with weather and look forward to getting our last tour sites in before this area also succumbs to lower temperatures, more rain, and possibly snow. Onward and forward we go!

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Photos

Best Western Sheridan
Nice place for last two nights

Sheridan History
Nice town

Statues on corners were common
This was in Sheridan but we noticed these in many of the Montana, Wyoming towns

We knew we were in cowboy country
...and the cowboy breakfasts were great!!

We were also in Buffalo Bill country
Amazing how many museums and other Buffalo Bill paraphenalia was around

Thought we were out of the mountains!
These were the Bighorn Mountains peeking up behind the lower, rolling mountains

Cloudy Day
In and out of sun and clouds and sprinkles all day.

Slow winding road
All expressway - 75mph the whole day - WOW!

Goose Creek Valley History
Doubt anybody can read this but reminds us of what the next picture is

Goose Creek Valley
Historical dating back to 1800's

Mountains change to large hills
(Semantics we guess)

We start seeing red!
Literally, red started appearing in the hillsides

Rolling hills with mountains?
Here we go again, what qualifies as a mountain vs. a hill?

Comments

[Vickie Hart]

Pretty Darned Nice!
Once again, you've outdone yourself Rita with "telling the story" along the way. It's so fun to read and look at all of your pictures. Did you make it to Bear Country USA? We were there a little over 20 years ago! Heck, we were out there before Crazy Horse or Deadwood had gambling! Can't wait to see more. Take care...Vickie