So, last weekend, our family took off for a week of exploring and seeing things. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way.
Sunday, Aug 1
The first night seemed uneventful enough. We saw signs that bikers were already in the region ahead of the big event in Sturgis, South Dakota, but other than that, nothing seemed too amiss. There was a good deal of smoke from Montana's wildfires, but otherwise, things were good.
It's funny how diverse prices can be when camping - whether it's a small pitch or a large one... whether they charge extra for an extra tent... lots of little things that can make big differences. After rejecting the most obvious campsite (within eyesight of Devil's Tower), we decided to grab a motel instead... in Hulett. It was a nice location - sadly, the air conditioner made a huge racket, so I didn't get much sleep.
The drive to Hulett took us past Devil's Tower and we saw that there was an enormous line of traffic to get in - due to limited parking closer to the monument. So, we hoped that by hitting it early the next morning, it would be better.
Monday, Aug 2
We got back to Devil's Tower, as planned. Our guess was correct, that by getting there early, we could avoid the lines. The girls and I took the 1.3 mile trail around the monument - I took a couple hundred pictures, I guess - which will come to you soon...
By the time we were done, there were a lot more people and things were getting crowded. As we left the monument, taking a few more pictures on the way, we saw that the line was long again.
Next stop, South Dakota!
This is a state that has been skipped before in my travel experience. I had been to every state around South Dakota, but never actually stop there! Today filled that gap.
Sturgis is the home of a well-known motorcycle rally that brings the town to a standstill every August (and many towns around it.) This is the only picture I took here... mostly as proof that we did make it to South Dakota.
As we began looking for a place to camp, we realized our mistake. We had hoped that by avoiding Sturgis itself, there should be plenty of places to stay. But this is where we were in error.
See, Wyoming and South Dakota are two of the states who refuse to implement a masking order on its freedom-loving citizens. (You don't have to agree with this - and no one is going to say you can't mask if you so desire.) But many Americans detest being told what to do and many are voting with their tires this year - and are coming to South Dakota and Wyoming! Someone said that everything was booked solid through OCTOBER!!!
Some campgrounds more closely resembled zoos with tightly crowded spaces and expecting us to either share a tent with my girls or pay double for two spaces in order to have two tents!
Frustrated, we finally found a place in a site run by the National Forest Service, not far from Custer. I cooked over an open fire (which I love to do) and we ate, then slept under the stars - with hard roots beneath us, sadly... so another rough night of sleep.
Tuesday, Aug 3
Abandoning our South Dakota plans, we headed back to Wyoming. We drove to Gillette, filled a couple of gaps in our camping gear then took "sweet 16" highway west through the Bighorn Mountains.
Again, we found all the campgrounds full to the brim, adding yet another layer of disappointment to the trip. We finally found a place to stay in Worland - it was cheap (if $100/night can ever be considered cheap!), stank, and had a lot of weird things about it... but it was a place where we could sleep and the beds weren't too uncomfortable.
Wednesday, Aug 4
We returned home via Thermopolis (where I saw this train - captured, in part, for @jamerussell)
and the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, where I discovered a dinosaur who is named Lori (she's a birdlike dinosaur too!) who was found not too far from us - near Douglas.
I was surprised to see just how much "dinosaur science" has evolved since I was a child. I only know the tip of the iceberg! The girls and I enjoyed the museum.
After that, we headed home, glad to have had a bit of a walkabout, but disappointed we hadn't had a chance to do much more. Maybe after school is back in session...
Photos taken in August 2021 with my Nikon D7200.
Past issues...
2021
Happy 2021 to Everyone! (New Year's Day)
June 6, 2021 - Fish, Farming and the Future - including feature photo of Paul R Tregurtha
July 25, 2021 - Heartache, Health and Healing
Aug 1, 2021 - Thunder, Traits and Travel
2020
Feb 2, 2020 - Flu Sucks!
Feb 9, 2020 - Planning 2020
Feb 16, 2020 - Skating and Eating and Writing, Oh My!
Feb 23, 2020 - Chicken Scratchings and Graphics
Mar 1, 2020 - Inspections R Us
Mar 8, 2020 - New Chicks
Mar 15, 2020 - Pandemic Hits Writing
Apr 5, 2020 - Fools in April?
Jun 14, 2020 - Of Gardens and Vibes
Oct 6, 2020 - Drawing the Line - When it is time to quit (Not Sunday)
Dec 15, 2020 - Winter, Writing and Winging It (Not Sunday)
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
verified author on Goodreads
(Buy my books at Books2Read and at LBRY)
find me on Twitter
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