Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Day 7:Jackson Hole, WY


This morning we left Cheyenne, WY and headed down the 6-7 hour road to Jackson Hole, WY. We passed through Laramie, where the Univ. of WY is located, then turned off I-80 in Rawlins, WY where we grabbed a bite for lunch at a quaint little meat and three before heading down the long back country highway towards Grand Teton and Yellowstone Nat'l Parks. It was there that for the first time, I ate Rocky Mountain Oysters (fried bull nuts). We turned them down last night in Cheyenne, but Brant just had to try them! The truth is that they're not terrible, but not great either. Tasted like a chewy, kinda tough chicken strip. Halfway to Teton, we passed through the small town of Lander, right in the center of the state--a real nice small, country town. Maybe they need a dentist and a physical therapist. ;) The countryside of Wyoming is miles and miles of of either grassland or grass/shrub, with rolling hills and mountains with that same brushy cover as the backdrop. Occasionally you'll pass through the hills and where they dynamited the hill to pave the highway, and you can see the "red rock" on the inside of the mountain. The wind can get real bad here, and they set up big wooden windbreaks to slow it down. We also passed a bunch of windmills that are used to generate electricity. After several hours of driving, we finally start to see trees collecting on the mountainsides. We slowly start climbing elevation and off in the distance are the mighty Tetons. The mountains there are much higher and are the "rocky" type that you think of when you think of the Rockies. Gorgeous. So we arrive in Jackson, WY in time for dinner at a wild game restaurant named The Gun Barrell, where we got bison and elk steaks--delicious. Jackson's a great town--a little touristy--but still has the Wyoming cowboy feel to it. We'll definitely be back. Our internet connection here isn't too good and isn't uploading our pictures :( When we get to a place with good internet connection, we'll post all of our pictures on Snapfish! We're getting up early tomorrow morning to have breakfast at Bubba's, then heading to Malmstrom AFB in Montana.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Day 6: Cheyenne, WY

We left Custer State Park this morning about 10:30. We drove the scenic "Needles Highway" and then stopped by Mount Rushmore for a little bit. It was a chilly morning - in the mid 50's with misting rain! We then drove through the Black Hills, Wind Cave National Park, and through the Buffalo Gap National Grassland - we took lots of pictures today! I feel asleep while Brant was driving, and when I woke up we were about to cross into Wyoming. Brant said there hadn't been an exit for about 20 miles and we had about 1/4 tank of gas left. There was a rest area with a bunch of bikers, so we stopped to ask how far the next gas station was - 47 miles to the town of Lusk, WY! We did make it - but probably rolled in there on fumes! There was nothing - not a thing - between that rest area and the next town. The guy in the gas station told us that the best food in town was at the Silverdollar Bar. It was pretty much me, Brant, and the bikers at this place. I went to the bathroom and came back and one of them was asking Brant for directions somwhere - guess he blended in with the scenery with his cowboy boots and belt :) We got back on the road and headed to Cheyenne, WY with plenty of gas! We got there about 6:30 and went to the Old Downtown area. The highlight of my day wa

s that I got some cowboy boots!! I love them and I wore them out of the store and all around town!! We walked around the town and ate dinner at Albany's. We had quite a laugh at dinner as oneof the appetizer's on the menu was "bull nuts." We asked our waitress if that's what they really were - and yes, and she said southerners usually love them. We did NOT try them! We went to Walmart and bought some food for the
drive tomorrow - it'll be a long day to the Grand Teton National Park.



Day 5: Custer State Park, SD

We left Mitchell and drove to Custer State Park. The landscape was amazing! We stopped to drive the Badland's Scenic Loop - about 23 miles. We weren't really sure what the Badlands were - neither of us had ever been there - we were amazed!! We got around and did a little climbing, but drove most of the way. We saw signs for about 200 miles for the 'Wall Drug' in Rapid City, SD. So, after driving through the Badlands, we stopped to see what the fuss was! It was a really big old drug store that had a restaurant, souvenier store, and homemade ice cream and doughnut shoppe. We stopped to eat dinner there and then headed to the Park. We got to the park about 8PM and were rounding a corner and just about destroyed a pack of buffalo!!! Brant almost cussed - haha! They were unbelievable - they were right next to the car and blocking the road. We made it to the park, and spent the night in the State Game Lodge. We took a run this morning along one of the trails and are now headed for Mount Rushmore! We hope we get internet in the next few days! We're staying in Cheyenne, WY tonight :)