Wyoming

Lets rodeo!

Cody is considered the rodeo capital of the United States. Every night during the summer they stage a rodeo. Joseph wanted to participate, but the bull was a little docile.  But, he was one of only two cowboys who rode (okay, maybe his was sitting) the bull for 8 seconds!

Wyoming is a full of beautiful views. It seems that every road should be designated a scenic highway. But, one of the best, is the Beartooth Highway, considered one of the most scenic in the US. The road goes over the Beartooth Mountains from Red Lodge, MT. to Cooke City, WY.

 The views are spectacular. The highway celebrated its 75^th anniversary this year.

　
We spent three days in Cody, WY. It is a great town and has one of the best museum complexes I have ever seen. It contains museums dedicated to Buffalo Bill Cody, Western Art, the Plains Indians and the largest gun museum in the US. I guess I don’t have to tell you where Joseph spent most of his time.

While in Cody, we went rafting, but I have no pictures since I do not have a waterproof camera. It was a great trip though. One of the highlights was seeing several Sand Hill Cranes. Maybe I will take up bird watching.

We also visited the Irma Hotel which was built by Buffalo Bill Cody and named after his daughter.  This is a picture of the bar which was given to him by Queen Victoria after his Wild West Show toured England.

Each evening the Cody gunfighters perform in front of the hotel. 

I also do not have any pictures of our time in Buffalo, WY as I lost my camera on the road one day.

We have moved on from Cody to Yellowstone National Park.  This is one stop on the trip which I have been looking forward to for some time.  I should have some great pictures for you soon.

The Black Hills

The Black Hills of South Dakota are really beautiful and deserve their reputation as a great place to ride a motorcycle. We have ridden the scenic roads and visited the monuments and loved it all.

My favorite place was Custer State Park. This is one of the largest state parks and has many diverse regions. In the south is the prairie with a herd of more than 500 buffalo. They also have elk (which we did not see), wild burros and, of course, prairie dogs. But the buffalo are my favorite. It is so fun to see them up close.
　

　

The riding in the park is exceptional. The roads were built in the 1920’s when cars were smaller. There are about 6 tunnels. The smallest is only 8 feet wide! The roads are famous for the “pig tail” bridges. Okay, you say. What is a pig tail bridge. It is a short bridge followed by a hair-pin curve which places you under the bridge you just crossed. Some of the turns are so tight that the suggested speed is only 10 mph. It is an amazing ride. In one of the tunnels, as you exit the opening frames Mount Rushmore.
　

　
We also rode to Deadwood and Sturgis. Deadwood is an old mining town which was resurrected using profits from the gambling casinos. It is famous as the location where Wild Bill Hickok was murdered. His grave, as well as Calamity Jane’s, is in the town’s cemetery.

　
　
Sturgis is a rather dull town of a little over 6,000. I cannot imagine what it must be like when half a million bikers descend upon it during Bike Week.

Or course, the one attraction which the Black Hills is most famous for is Mount Rushmore. Over three million persons visit Mount Rushmore each year. It was originally suggested that giant sculptures be carved on the peaks in order to attract tourists to the area. Gutzon Borglum was invited to be the sculptor for this project, and he chose Mount Rushmore and changed the plan to carve four U.S. presidents. It took 14 years to complete. Most of the “carving” was actually done by dynamite.

The other famous carving in the area is Crazy Horse. Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear wanted the white man to know that “the red man has great heroes” and invited Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve Crazy Horse. Work was started in 1948, and, as you can see, there is still much more work to be done. Korczak believed that the sculpture should be built without public funds. Korczak died in 1982, but the project has continued through the efforts of his wife and children.

Of all the things we did, I think our favorite was the visit to the mammoth site in Hot Springs.  While preparing the land for a housing development, a bull dozer happened to uncover mammoth bones.  Upon further examination, it was determined that this was the location of a pond created by a sinkhole over 25,000 years ago.  Many animals ventured close to the pond, fell in and were not able to get out.  This is one of the most important paentology sites in the state.  The bones are displayed as they were found.  The Columbian Mammoth, the wooley mammoth and many other animals have been found at the site.  During the month of July, excavation is performed by volunteers. 

Today we have left South Dakota and traveled to Wyoming. We are staying the next couple of days in Buffalo and will then travel to Cody and Yellowstone. We still have a lot to see!

The Badlands - South Dakota

Rolling…rolling…rolling. Keep those wagons rolling. After three days of travel (that started in Grapevine), we have finally made it to South Dakota. The Aces summer trip to escape the heat has begun - only we still have not escaped the heat.

Our first stop was in Interior, SD visiting the Badlands National Park. This is an outcropping of eroding rock which is in the middle of the prairie. And it is still very hot. On our first day in the Badlands, we drove through the park and also visited Wall, SD. The Wall Drug Store has put Wall, SD on the map. It gained fame when in 1932, they began giving away free ice water to the travelers as they crossed South Dakota - and they continue to do the same today.

The Badlands have a stark beauty. They are essentially impenetrable except for certain passes. Visiting areas like this can only remind us of the effort it took to travel across and settle this land.

The area was settled in the early 1900’s when settlers were given 160 acres to establish a homestead. We visited a sod house which was built by one of the original settlers. Though it is a rather messy building material, the sod did provide excellent insulation. Joseph thought that it wasn’t so bad, though I think that dirt floors and dirt walls are not exactly ideal.

The Badlands were once home to many now extinct mammals and fossils of camels, crocodiles, sabre-toothed cats and three-toed horses have been found there. One of today’s residents is the prairie dog. Though rather cute, they are very troublesome for anyone living with them.

We have moved on to the Black Hills. More on that later.