Wednesday June 26 2002

Cheyenne, WY to Kadoka, SD

Weather: Mostly Sunny ...High on 95

Total Miles To Date 7,129 miles

Money spent today:

$47.51 for Motel 6

$42.60 on gas

$6 on food

$8 on Devils Tower entrance

$8 on Mt. Rushmore entrance

$7.60 on dinner at Mt. Rushmore

Total Spent today

$119.71

Total Spent To Date

$3,110.28

10am I don't want to leave my hotel....I finally get HBO in a hotel and Superman is on...damn..  Oh yeah, what I forgot to mention yesterday, when I checked into this hotel, I didn't realize that I'm at the corner of one the busiest train intersections in the world (my point of view).  The trains came by every 10 minutes and they all blew their horns when they came in.  I might as well have been sleeping in the Hartsdale Train Station.

10:12 and I finally check out and head up on 25 North. 

I followed that to 16 West/North

2pm and the inevitable happens...I was just wondering how long into my trip before it did.

I was flying down 16 and the red and blue rollers turn on...It was definitley a Wyoming cop in his green pickup with a light bar on top...

Here's roughly the interaction between him and I....

Can I have your license..

Yes sir..

Is there a reason you didn't pull over...

I didn't think you were pulling me over...

Hey, Do you see any other cars on the road?

Um...No sir

Well, I guess it's only you....Is there any reason you're rushing down the highway....medical emergency, delivering a baby, being chased by UFO's?....

Uh, No sir

Do you know the speed limit here?

Uh, No sir

It's 65....and you were doing 86.....you people from NY must love to speed...you're the third person from NY today that I've pulled over..

I guess we like the open roads....

Well,, I guess you have better places to spend your money....I'm not going to give you ticket, but slow down...

Can you believe it....21 miles over the speed limit and I got a warning...how cool  is that?

I took off and continued on my voyage (at the speed limit for a little while)..

I am in complete wilderness and the coolest thing is seeing horses and deer running at full steam in the open wilderness...In NY, you see horses and deer...but mostly wandering around in the wood, just walking or hiding...

3pm I arrive at my first destination...And I'm here due to the recommendation of Jason and I'm really happy I went this way..If you've ever seen the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind...This is where I went....

Devils Tower..

It was fun going here, but the best part of being there was the Cheyenne Indian talking about the Indian way of life and what they did, what they ate, how they did about everything...He even tried to dispell some of the myths that movies have brought on....It was very cool

4:30 and I finally decide to leave...I do have other places to go today..

5pm and I get onto route 90 East

5:20 Mountain Time and I'm in South Dakota...

5:40 and I enter the Black Hills National Forest...It's so lush. I still haven't figured out why they call it the Black Hills when I all I see it green

I also now discover that I've taken the longest way that I can think of to get to where I'm going.  I get off of 90 too early.  I could have gone a little farther and taken a little local route, but no, I had to take another local route that easily added an hour to my voyage. There were even deer just standing in the road....We couldn't go anywhere until they moved. that was bizarre.

Also, when they do construction here, they just close the street down and re-direct you thru the dirt sides where cars should definitely not be going...I'm glad I have the jeep..

So, I hit this town called Keystone and I figure this is a good place to stay tonight, but no....NO VACANCY at all.  This was a cool town that had the feel of the old west.  It looked like a lot of fun.  I asked why it was so busy?  Is it because of Mt. Rushmore...they said, no, this is just Keystone....Wow, that sucks for me, but I'll find something later..

I decide to go right to Mt. Rushmore..

6:50pm Mountain Time and I'm at Mt. Rushmore

I park my car in the lot and start to explore.  I thought that Mt. Rushmore would just be the carvings but I was wrong.  It's set up different than that.  It's set up like a concert hall with the carvings being the theatre.  As you enter you walk thru a walkway of flags the represent all the states in the union.  As you walk thru, there's information booths, restaurants and gift shops.  At the end of the walkway is a mini amphitheatre.  I really haven't eaten all day, so I stop by the cafeteria and get the Salisbury Steak special, which I haven't had since town tavern in Tarrytown....I ate some dinner, walked thru the gift shop and then walked the walking trail around the monument..

Here's what the place looked like

The sculpting was amazing....It really is.  When you get close to it you realize how much detail there is.  They eyes were my favorite feature...You could actually think you're looking into real eyes.  Apparently the sculptor studied the work of Rodan.

At 9pm the presentation began.  They started with a little speech and flag presentation by the boy scouts (there were a million boy scouts here).  Then they showed a movie about the presidents they chose and why.  

Washington for being the father of the country

Jefferson for expanding our country (the Louisiana purchase)

Lincoln for unifying the country

Roosevelt for making country a world power (with the development of the panama canal)

There was a lot of propaganda, but once the film was over

the lights came up on Mt. Rushmore and it looked really cool.

Now leaving Mt. Rushmore was the equivalent of leaving at Yankee game...it took forever..

the program was over at 9:30, but it took till 10 to get out..

I'll get back to the interstate and drive a while and find a hotel...

10:30 and nada

11pm and I still haven't seen ANYTHING!!!

11:30 and still nothing...watch out for those little bumps in the road...

12midnight and I finally, finally find a little motel...it's about time. I'm really really tired..

C YA

notes:

I'm glad Maynard is alive

What up Pat...How was the trip?

Hey Genevieve...

I love the fact that people come to complete stops at stop signs and even look around when you can see for miles around and not see a car...

L.A. Guns is playing in South Dakota tonight

they have signs along the highway saying - X Marks the spot....I find out that's where people have died in car accidents...do they need to put up signs?

Remember when you went to concerts and all you saw was lighters...well, the new millennia is here....and all you'll see is the monitor of all the camcorders...

Total Miles Traveled Today

582