Chicago was such a recharging experience that nearly every day after we have been getting up early and trying to walk, take pictures, and grab coffee before we dawdle across America. This has really helped us feel a little better about sitting for hours (because of the exercise) in the car. It has also allowed us to take more pictures in good light (mornings are great photo times.) When we finish this trip I hope to post "The Best Of The Best."
As mentioned before, we left Chicago in the nick of time and traveled north toward Minneapolis. I was really surprised how beautiful Wisconsin and Minnesota are and quickly changed my preconceived notions about these northern mid-west states. Though they lack mountains (by definition a mountain is over 10,000 feet...citation needed) I was amazed how lush and "cozy" each little town felt.Minneapolis was beautiful. It felt like Portland minus the hills and sprawl (although we didn't venture out into the surrounding areas.) We stopped in to a Barnes and Noble to find some music for our looming South Dakota leg (we weren't looking forward to it.) The styles and personalities in the bookstore mirrored Portlander attitudes and political views. Minneapolis seemed to be an island of liberal ideals in a sea of conservative states.
Leaving Minneapolis we headed south to Luverne, Minnesota. On this leg I finally saw something that Nicole had talked about since I met her...factory farms. I was a bit surprised having been raised in an area where livestock roam free and never as a child did I think that a cow, chicken, or pig had a hard life. My father would often take us by a sheep farm after church to see the baby lambs and I would think to myself how happy they all were.
We drove by many chicken/goose "sheds" that were literally wall to wall birds. They were all staring out the chicken wire crammed together barely moving...thousands of them. I am still a meat eater and don't plan to change soon, but I can say that I have never seen conditions like this for an animal...and it is saddening...no matter who you are.After our stay in Luverne, we began our "South Dakota" leg. I knew it was going to be interesting when we passed a billboard after crossing into South Dakota that read "We Dakotans REJECT Animal Activists. Furs, Game, Fish & Livestock are Our Economy!" Nicole couldn't get to her purse quickly enough to write it down. Also, the welcome sign into the state read: "Welcome to South Dakota. Watch Out For Jack Rabbits."
We drove into Sioux Falls, South Dakota...very, very strange town. Our mission was to get an espresso...and it was nearly impossible. The town itself feels like someone created it on SimCity. All the buildings were 3 to 4 stories...and very similar. There were HUGE parking garages full to the brim yet the town had nearly no foot traffic. We stopped by the cafe and bakery to get a mocha and the girl behind the counter pointed to a machine found commonly in hotel lobbies that make "instant" mochas or lattes. Distressed (and wondering if we were in the twilight zone) we did endless circles radiating from city center. By pure luck we found a Starbucks and felt as if we had found the American Embassy in a developing nation. I did a little research on the city and found that it is home to many financial companies (South Dakota doesn't have corporate income tax.)
As expected South Dakota was a long day. We finally arrived in Rapid City, SD around 5pm only to find out that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally had just started (only a town away.) Hotel rates were through the roof and I honestly thought we would have to drive to Wyoming to find a place to stay. Thanks to Nicole, we were able to negotiate a pretty good rate in nearby Hill, SD.
Before we headed to our hotel, we swung by Mount Rushmore. From what I had heard and read about it, I expected to be underwhelmed. It was amazing. It was a lot bigger than I had imagined and the viewing area made for great pictures. I'm not sure if I would plan a family vacation around this destination, but I definitely would recommend it for anyone traveling on I-90...it's worth the detour.
The next morning we got up early and took pictures of Hill City before jumping in the truck and heading for Sheridan by way of Devil's Tower. For anyone who has seen "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" they would recognize this rock formation as the center piece of the movie's plot. Seeing it up close made me feel special; like I had some bragging rights or something. It's pretty spectacular...but I'm not 100% sure it's worth a side trip unless you are a rock climber.
We finally pulled into Sheridan early enough to get a fantastic dinner at the local Mexican Restaurant (which was amazing.) The hotel we stayed in was very interesting. The Mill Inn is a converted wheat mill (with giant silos) into a hotel plus commercial building. The rooms were very unique and had such an insulated feel that Nicole and I thought we were the only ones in the hotel (it was completely booked.) At sunrise we walked to a coffee stand (after walking to a baking only stand that looked just like a coffee stand) and took pictures of locusts along the way. By the time we got back to our room (around 7:30am) it was already hot outside. We spent the rest of the morning getting new windshield wipers, fix-a-flat, and extra water for our adventure over two high mountain passes (each over 9,000 feet.) After filling up we set out for Medicine Wheel (thanks to Pat S for pointing us this way) which is located at 10,000 feet in the Big Horn National Forest.
On our way up to Medicine Wheel, we stopped to watch people launch hang gliders high above the Wyoming flatlands. We had been driving for a while and stopped at a scenic lookout point to find that a bunch of people had gathered to watch two guys take off in hang gliders. I have never seen a hang glider take off (which were literally just a couple of feet from us) but it was incredible. A crowd gathered before they took flight and everyone gasped each time one would run and jump off the precipice. We could have spent all day there but we had to be over the 2nd pass before sundown.
We arrived at the Medicine Wheel parking lot and walked a mile and a half to the location itself. It was a very solemn experience and we elected not to take pictures (it wouldn't have translated anyway.) On our walk back we saw pica (which are super cute giant rats) and evidence of either bear or cougar (we found scat with fur in it.) We jumped back into the truck and descended down a 10% grade for over 12 miles bringing us down to around the 4000 feet in elevation.We drove through many quiet Wyoming towns that seemed permanently separated from the modern world. We wondered how close the nearest municipal airport was and if people traveled much outside northern Wyoming. It felt very isolated.
After passing through the last of our Wyoming towns (Cody, Wyoming) we headed north toward the infamous Bear Tooth Pass. I love to study maps in my spare time and I have studied the Bear Tooth Pass on more than one occasion. Before we ascended the pass, Nicole spotted a cougar crossing the road ahead of us (I was of course looking at the beautiful landscape and not the road) and because it was a switch back we were able to cross it's prospective path. Instead of seeing the cougar again, we saw it's prey...a coyote. We stopped in the middle of the switchbacks waiting for the cougar to cross either in front or behind us...which never happened. The coyote crossed behind us and we suspect that the cougar gave up his hunt because of the two humans and their cameras sticking out of sunroofs and windows. Unfortunately, we didn't get the "National Geographic" moment we had hoped for.
Minutes before we started our drive up the Beartooth Highway, we were caught in the most spectacular thunderstorm. The clouds made everything so dark I had to turn on the headlights and Nicole barely got out "three Mississippi" before the thunder rattled the truck. I hoped quietly to myself that it would pass over before we climbed up to nearly 11,000 feet...into the heart of most storm clouds.
As we made our right turn onto the Beartooth Highway the storm ended and the sun came out. We only had an hour and a half until sunset so I made my best effort to get up the mountain as safely possible. Never really going faster than 20 miles an hour we eventually crossed over the top at exactly sunset. Along the way we tried to take pictures and observe wildlife but in the interest of time kept it brief. I got a little camera happy at the top and became obsessed with photographing the most incredible rainbow I have ever seen in my life (of course none of them really turned out.) We were both a little exhausted, the sun was going down, and I had absolutely no idea how far the city of Red Lodge was.
We descended down the most frightening switchbacks of my life. I joked with Nicole that it was incredible that a movie hasn't utilized this unbelievable scary road for a car chase scene. We would turn to the left 180 degrees...then turn to the right for what seemed to be 270 degrees and then back again the whole time with sheer cliffs on the outboard side. It was pitch black by the time we reached the valley floor and we didn't roll into Red Lodge, Montana for another 30 minutes.Exhausted we stopped at the first place in town that didn't have the ominous "NO VACANCY" sign on. Fortunately we got one of the last rooms in town. We dropped our bags in the room and collapsed on the bed...still buzzing from the amazing sights of the day.
We woke up the next morning (today from the author's perspective) and walked around the beautiful city of Red Lodge. Full of antique shops, bakeries, cute espresso cafes, a candy store, and other tourist targeted venues, this city was extremely charming. I had a deep fried donut for breakfast and a mocha with one too many shots in it. Nicole had an Americano that made her so hyper she was pointing at everything and convincing me that we needed to move here.After chewing the fat with a local at the Candy Emporium, we hit the road and ventured to Bozeman. After one of our shortest car rides yet, we arrived in the early afternoon which allowed us to check in to a hotel early, shower, nap, and best of all catch up on the blog.
Red Lodge, Montana to Bozeman, Montana
August 9th
Distance: 170 miles
Time In Truck: 10am to 1pm
View Larger Map
I haven't looked at the map in detail today, but I think we will head up north tomorrow...
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