Big Heads and Big Horn - Day 103

Up near dawn, Battlestar (BS) and I were in and out of the big headed Mount Rushmore National Monument by 10 AM. National Monuments are the lowest lying fruit; these seem to be mainly attractions to view, catch a bit of their significance, and move on. And in the 40 minutes we were at the Big Heads, that was all we did. It's a very pretty place, but it isn't worth driving across South Dakota for. But if you do make the drive across SD, stop in just to take away from the tedium.

From there, the day took a scenic turn. We entered Wyoming, and almost immediately the land started rolling, the roads started curving, and the landscape took on a new dynamic. We crossed all of WY today save for Yellowstone, which we are saving for tomorrow.

After a brief stop in Deadwood, we passed over the Big Horn Mountain via Route 14. This scenic byway quickly switches back and forth as you scale the eastern wall. You rise to an elevation of 8,000 feet in fast order before beginning about a 10 mile stretch across the tops of the mountains. About eight miles into the drive we pulled over to buy some buffalo and elk jerky that was chewy and excellent. We then kept our eyes peeled for any passing antelope or rams, but all we saw were sheep and cows. Hopefully Yellowstone provides a bit more threatening creatures for us to photograph and taunt.

During a short half mile stroll at the Visitor Center, we encountered a couple of families of curious prairie dogs. They'd slump back on their haunches and check us out for a couple seconds before scurrying back into their burrows. Funny characters.

Toward the bottom of the western slope toward the WY desert, BS and I were fortunate to pull over at a private drive that we mistook for a scenic overlook. We scaled down a small slope to reach the river that was cascading through a narrow crevice. We took a bunch of pretty pictures, but this is one of those places that can't be encompassed in pictures or words. You just had to be there to enjoy this private, tranquil beauty. A lucky find.

______________________

Battlestar's Corner:

DAY 3: My corner is going to be tough to update as RT is generally very thorough in describing the day's events, but I'm going to try to bring you new aspects of the big trip that might otherwise stay behind the scenes. Here is today's contribution: As RT now has an ear to chew, I thought I'd bring you all the Top Ten travel phrases in increasing order of number of times used:

10. "Do you want me to drive now?"

9. "Would you take our picture?"

8. "Boy, is that person overweight."

7. "No, we're not Jake Gyllenhal and Heath Ledger."

6. "Uh, let's not put that in the blog."

5. "Is that an elk?...no, just a cow."

4. "Care for a beer?"

3. "What time is it? Wait, what time zone are we in?"

2. "There's a rest stop ahead, do you have to pee?"

1. "More darn cows!!!"

Thank you, thank you...I'll be here all week.