2012--Day 11

Day 11

Today started much too early in Hulett, WY.  We decided that today would be a travel/parks day as we position ourselves for tomorrow’s activities in North Dakota/Manitoba.  It will likely end as a very long day in Aberdeen, SD (we just crested 300 miles for the day), with a number of stops in between.  The morning briefing highlighted a slight risk over Montana and the western Dakotas, but we decided to ignore it (wise decision, as there were no reports as of the early evening).

We made the short drive to Devil’s Tower, a volcanic monolith in northeastern Wyoming.  It’s incredibly striking, and the views from the base are phenomenal (no sightings of Richard Dreyfus or aliens, though).  I hope the pictures can do it justice.   To think that people can climb this thing amazes me.  Also saw a couple of prairie dogs; they are just the cutest little plague carriers.

Following this, we took a short detour to #47—thanks for indulging me!  This didn’t add too much to the drive, thankfully, and it afforded us the opportunity to cross the borders of three huge states within 45 minutes.  

While driving south on US85 to get to I90, we drove through the tiny town of Belle Fourche.  Two things (nearly) convinced me that I could (almost) live here:

1.      A bar with the following message on its sign: “When did complaining become the national pastime?”

2.      A massage parlor called Tender Moments.

They might not have a whole hell of a lot there, but they apparently have a collective sense of humor.  (And no, I’m not a client of massage parlors, and if I were, would I admit it here?)

We stopped at Mount Rushmore, which I’m convinced that everyone needs to see at least once.  Gustavo and I caught the film that depicted how it was constructed (14 years, 90% of it done with dynamite).  Sadly, the artist who designed and sculpted it died before it was completed.

We beat feet east and headed for Badlands.  I’m consistently struck by the stark beauty of this area, even though this is only the second time I’ve been.   Again, the pictures don’t really convey how spectacular this park is.  Even got to see some of the local wildlife, and there was a report from a couple of people hearing a rattlesnake.  Glad they kept that little tidbit to themselves.

Crossing South Dakota on I90 during the day is really something, especially when it comes to the landscape.  Doing so at night is really something too—boring.  We grabbed a quick dinner at a gas station/Arbys (so you could get both kinds of gas in one place) in Oacoma.  I’ve had the dubious distinction of being at the two highest elevations on I90 (on different drives, of course): Oacoma and Lee (?), MA, in the Berkshires.  It only feels like I’ve been in both places on the same drive.

Sad fact of reality #1: the kids like Gustavo’s iPod selections more than they like mine. 

Sad fact of reality #2: 124 miles to Aberdeen (and it’s 11:15 pm).

Ray of hope: I recognized (and liked) something from Gustavo’s iPod (U2, Walk On).  To be fair, I liked a lot of what’s on his iPod, even if I didn’t recognize much of it.  Right now ‘With or Without You’ is fading out.  This album (The Joshua Tree) holds strong memories for me—the two concerts, studying with my old roommate at Lyndon.  It was the first CD I ever bought (and the second CD I ever owned, the first being Sgt. Pepper’s), the first of what must now be around 2000.  It also marked the transition for the band, in my mind, from a band to a concept: U2, Inc.

Sad fact of reality #3: AutoTune has ruined music, possibly as much as American Idol (sorry, K—I still love you).

Right now Counting Crows are playing.  Every time I hear them I think about how the lead singer would say how depressed he was back in the 90s.  I find that difficult to believe while he was dating his way through the female cast of Friends (although I can understand it during the Courteney Cox phase).  

Driving down these very dark roads is more than a bit spooky; it reminds me of scenes out of Fargo, except without the snow or the killers.  The view is not particularly improved by the bugs now covalently bonded to our windshield.  I think we’re going to need to have it replaced in the morning.  Frankly I don’t understand where they’re all coming from, as it would appear we’ve killed every insect in the Great Plains.

Aside from all the driving (final total 614 miles), it was a pretty good day.  We saw some great sights, and had some healthy laughs.  Tomorrow looks potentially active, and we might actually end the night north of the border.