I learned an interesting lesson today… The further north you go in the summer, the earlier dawn arrives. Now, being an intelligent traveler you would think I would have already realized this but when I read the sunrise time on Weatherbug, I read St. Joseph’s not Wall, South Dakota. Needless to say, even though I set my alarm an hour early so I had ample time to get to the badlands for the sunrise (I thought!) I scrambled to get there and was rewarded with an introduction to a herd of Pronghorn Antelope and a few bighorn sheep.
After roaming the Badlands all morning (and visiting the prairie dogs!) I visited the Wall Drugstore – a true institution in this area! and hit the road to Devil’s Tower. Absolutely magnificent. An amazing site. I communed with the tower for a while and watched the climbers scale its heights. Then it was off to check out the progress at the Crazy Horse Monument. I was there in 2005 and frankly didn’t see much progress in the sculpture but the museums they set up to showcase the Plains Indians had grown tremendously. Well done!
As I journeyed towards Casper, Wyoming, I was surrounded by forest fires in the distance. One fire to the west was so large it completely filled the valley’s I was traveling through for over 100 miles. I watched the airplanes drop retardant on one fire and saw my Grandfather’s influence at work. George Corbin developed the drop bucket and other aerial forest fighting techniques and as I sat there by the side of the road, I watch a helicopter attack the fire with one of the drop buckets. Fortunately I wasn’t too close to the fire but it is dry out here and the forest services and firefighters in the area are very busy.
About 2 hours before I got to Casper, I spied a giant thunderhead in front of me. Not again!!!! well, I missed it with only a few sprinkles. Overall, outside of being smoky, the weather was very pleasant.
Casper is a quaint town with a rich history in the oil industry. It is reeling a bit now because of the downturn in energy prices.
After a nice meal, I attempted to do this blog but both my computer and I ran out of energy! Therefore I am sitting at a barely adequate breakfast finishing this up and then hitting the road to Eden Utah. By the way, unless you enjoy listening to the giggles and physical acrobatics of your neighbors all night (not something a single guy on the road wants to listen to!) and like a minimal (hot) breakfast, I wouldn’t suggest staying at the Ramada in Casper. Very disappointing!
Well time to explore! Take care all and enjoy the pics!