Cruising to Sturgis

Tuesday was truly a day of real cruising across Wyoming. Right in the middle was a really nice ride through the mountains of Bighorn National Forest. But before I got there I was on the westside coming out of Wapati/Cody. The drive was almost all wide open countryside with plenty of sweet views... The only thing that made me nervous was these little herds of wild deer in fields on either side of the highway. There were from 5-30 deer in a herd and one wouldn't think from looking at them, that they would run across the highway. But there was ample evidence on the side of the road that it was very common. These deer are different than the ones we have in Tennessee... They are smaller and have stubby horns with strips on their necks. I believe they are called Pronghorns. I didn't take this picture but this is what I saw every 10-20 miles. It kept me on my toes. 

One thing that was also different is that they graze in amongst the cows. Nobody seemed to care. 

After that came the Bighorn National forest which didn't have any snow thank goodness, but lots of curvy mountain road with switchbacks and great vistas. Again I didn't stop to take pictures but got some from Google. This is what I saw.

After I got through the forest I had a business call I took while eating a Subway, then finished the cruze all the way to Spearfish, SD.  I stopped at a rest stop to take a break and had to take this picture of the bathroom door... It was funny, in a disgusting sort of way ;-) 

I don't think I have ever seen that in any of the many rest stops I have been to... I have seen a dude wash a babies butt in the sink... But I think that was an emergency...

I rested up in Spearfish overnight and then headed out to see four things I have been wanting to see:

• The town of Deadwood
• Mount Rushmore
• The Badlands
• and of course.... Sturgis

Deadwood was like Gatlinburg but with Casinos everywhere... The only thing I saw more than "Gaming Resorts" was ATM machines. It was a pretty drive to get there and then on to Mount Rushmore. My senior citizen pass got me in free and a discount on parking (only $5). The first picture was a very traditional shot that I along with everyone else stopped to take... 

Then I got closer and took another shot, and all of a sudden I had a surprised thought...  "WHERE's TRUMP!?!?!?!?"

But then I got a better angle and there he was... woooooo, that was close.

The Badlands was a longer drive and it kept sprinkling on me from time to time (might have been the Trump joke). But when I got there and drove "The 240 Loop"  it was all worth it... The mountain were eerie looking with strips and pale rock...

I also saw two herds of Bighorn Sheep from a distance They were smaller than I expected, about the size of a large billy goat... I found a couple of shots that looked like them.

From there I headed back to Spearfish and went through Sturgis on the way... I thought briefly about getting a tattoo, but I am already on thin ice with the Wife, and besides it hurts... It was just a normal looking half-empty town... There were several folks on Harleys and even some old biker dudes walking around downtown... But that was about it... Now I can say I been there and lived through it.

Tomorrow is Devil's Tower