Relaxation

Another relaxing morning, popped out to get my bright green Yellowstone sweater before a few of us drove to Hebden Lake.  Charlie and Matthew went in, though it was freezing.  No boats possible as there was a bit of a current.  But a good excursion all the same.

Spent the afternoon lazily watching The Incredibles and Harry Potter, before an evening of leftovers and American Football, and some people went out to the pub.

Nature’s Glory

As we would be in our cabins in Yellowstone for 3 nights, we took the opportunity to chill out a bit and enjoy staying in one place for a while.  So we had a lazy morning watching bits of the film Megamind.

Then off back into Yellowstone, to Gibbon Falls, Artist’s Paint Pots, the Norris Geyser, Mammoth town for lunch, the canyon and Great Falls, and then finishing off with a short walk around the Norris Porcelain geysers.

Andrew had kindly done some shopping for us, so with Katie and Dave I made Spag Bol for everybody so we could have a cheap and easy night in.  We had had an Alex Hill music quiz in the cars earlier, and it seems after some silly errors, we lost by half a point.  D’oh!

A Glimpse of Yellowstone

A yummy breakfast at the Robin’s Nest cottage.  Spent the morning at the Buffalo Bill museum, and waiting for Andrew to come back with his new cowboy boots!

Almost immediately the Wisconsin scenery became even more spectacular as we approached and then entered Yellowstone.  We ambled through, stopping at Lake Yellowstone to take pictures of the view and to play with the crickets.

I joined a different car to have a little break from Penny as we drove to different geysers.  And it was joyous to see her again as we all gathered together at Old Faithful for the big squirt!  It was impressive, and smelly.  And we saw an ambling buffalo wandering on the side of the road as we eventually left towards our cabins in West Yellowstone village.

We had a bit of a struggle finding our cabin in the dark, as we had spent so much time in the park during the day.  But we eventually got there, and rushed out to have some pizza before bed.

Wyoming Bound

Spent the morning cleaning up the cabins, with a little basketball and football playing on the side.  We dropped Kirsten off at Gilette Airport, had a quick stop off in Basin, before driving on to Cody.  As soon as we arrived, expecting to rush out to the Cowboy shootout in the town, we were whisked off instead to a Cowboy show.

So we spent the evening watching some fantastic country singers playing live.  Penny adored them, dancing happily in the front.

Some people went out, but Mink, Dave, Penny and I had a quiet evening watching the animated version of Lord of the Rings in our little chintzy friendly cottage before bed.

Rushmore!

Andrew, Alex and Matthew were up early for a run (I guess A & A wanted to keep their training up for their upcoming 20km).  After breakfast, we headed straight to Mount Rushmore. 

The place is definitely majestic, with the faces beaming through the grand architecture of the visitor’s centre and environs.  We had a small walk around the area, seeing the faces from a few different views, and watched various films and exhibitions about how it was all decided on and made.  An epic project!  We took many photos, some sillier than others, and had lunch and ice-creams there too.

Then we visited the more independent, and impossibly epic Crazy Horse monument.  I found it less compelling, though I admire the tenacity and commitment of those making it happen.  And with a face the size of the entire Mount Rushmore monument already made, maybe they will get there one day after all.

After a game of Mini Golf, I was exhausted.  So I went to bed while the others wallowed in the hot tub and prepared a fabulous BBQ.

A Cowboy Kinda Day

Up at 7 for breakfast, so we could get going on a day of driving that would take us all the way across South Dakota.  Stopped off at an 1880’s Cowboy Town nearby Sioux Falls which was somewhat limited, with some scary automatons including Abraham Lincoln, and although the town captured the desolation is was also a tetanus trap.  Though nice to look at the buffalo too, as well as a nice guy who introduced the place.

I then did my longest drive, most if the way across the state of South Dakota.  Nice and easy!

The next 1880’s town we visited was much better, and we loved dressing up to get into the mood of the place, Penny included.  You could really try to imagine what it would be like to live in one of these frontier outpost towns, with all the basic facilities but no-one else for hundreds of miles around.  Life must have been hard.

Stopped off at uneventful Walldrug to pick up food, as we eventually got to our self-catering cabins in the dark and cold of the Black Hills, a change from the heat of the previous few days.

After sorting out who was sleeping where, there was a quick game of werewolf before bed.