Images of an Open Highway

My dad. You can see where I get my good looks.

Ummm... is it that easy?

The Badlands National Park

but she ain't messin' with no broke... in Wall, SD

Mt. Rushmore lighting ceremonyMt. Rushmore litThe Buffalo Bi-wayHydrothermal Hijinks

Yellowstone

I feel a bit inadequate posting about Yellowstone National Park without the accompaniment of photos. The truth is our cable connecting the camera to the computer is packed deep in the belly of the Fit and I can't be bothered with digging it out. Anyway, the park was amazing; in fact, amazing doesn't seem to fit. The park is a crucial space in the American tapestry and needs to be seen, experienced, felt, smelled by everyone with the power to get there. Fly; drive; bike; thumb a ride; walk. The trip is worth every second. I know I sound like an enamored child staring into the streak-free shine of a candy shoppe window, but that is the effect of the park. From the roaming bison to the hydrothermal geysers, each sight and attraction leaves the jaw slacked and the eyes wide. It's more than words, more than pictures, more than the imagination can put compose.

Buffalo Bill had it Right

Saying, "How do?" from Cody, WY, a town named for it's founder. William Cody, Buffalo Bill, founded this town and no store, restaurant, or painted wall will let you forget it. The historical museum focuses on Bill's life and accomplishments, at least that's what we assume since we walked right past it, and the town has erected a statue of the Big Buff atop a horse with rifle a-firin'. It's very Western, very Wyoming. The weird part is, it's actually an enjoyable place to visit. We're having a good time here, but we're looking forward to tomorrow.

We've been waiting to see Yellowstone since we said our tearful goodbyes on Monday. Amber hopes to fulfill her life-long dream of seeing boiling mud in the hydrothermal pools and I hope to see different kinds of wildlife and some waterfalls. The country around here is absolutely breathtaking, and Yellowstone will not disappoint. Once we settle ourselves and have some time to breathe, we'll add some photos to highlight our adventure.

Greetings from the Badlands

We set off from Papillion, NE this morning before our hosts had even awoke; it was early and the Nebraska air hung heavy with fog, apparently from the dense root structure of corn that holds moisture in the soil. Thanks for that bit of trivia, Dave. We headed north on I-29 into Sioux City to connect to I-90, the good old Mass Pike, toward the setting sun and our first tourist detour, The Corn Palace. A structure adorned in husks and kernels that looked better on paper than in person. The most exciting part was, in fact, a car with a license plate that read "MUGGLE". We drove quickly to our next destination, the Badlands.

In the Badlands National Park, the rock formations were incredible, like majestic mud-drip castles dried and hardened in the sun. The color variations between rock segments tricked the eye into one-dimensional comprehension undermined by further, more detailed study. Truly unbelievable. The drive through the park took us nearly two hours, too brief a visit for such a sight, but we had a schedule to keep.

Upon exiting the park, we managed to find our way to famous Wall Drug, advertised across South Dakota as a must see for any road whore. Honestly, the entire place was Spag's meets spaghetti-western. It was kitchy, like every store at Hampton Beach crapped in South Dakota and hung signs. We found some knick-knacks but were ultimately disappointed with the experience.

Now, we're settled into our hotel room, with free wi-fi, for the night. We just returned from the night ceremony at Mt. Rushmore. It was cold atop that mountain, but we thought ahead and packed pairs of jeans and hoodies. The ceremony was a touching and informative tribute to Rushmore and the featured presidents. Very patriotic. So much so, that the ranger, with aspirations of Broadway, broke into her own rendition of "Proud to be an American" as the show started. People actually stood up when the song says, "stand up".

All in all, the trip has been going well so far and tomorrow we're off to Cody, WY before Yellowstone.

A Nebraska Hello

Just checking in briefly. We're in Nebraska, staying with Danielle's family. We pulled in early last evening, had dinner and some fun. We'll be here until tomorrow morning.

We've travelled nearly 1,400 miles without much difficulty, although New York seemed to never end and Ohio smelled like farts and feet. We got caught in the rain and had to pull over, better safe than sorry.

In another day, we'll head north and west to visit the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore. We'll check in when we can and update whenever possible.

Oh, we've seen thirty-six of fifty states' license plates (most we spotted before crossing the MA border) and three Canadian provinces' plates.

Counting Down

We're getting close to the move and have started saying some good-byes to folks we don't see all that often. Up to this point, it hasn't been that difficult, though there have been some swelled tear ducts but no eruptions on my part. Monday morning is looming and I'm sure the weekend will rock steadily on.

We need to make some final preparations, but everything seems to going well. The major stuff is taken care of.