Wood's Prairie Travels

 After traveling for twenty-five days, we arrived home just before a downpour. As we sat on our deck, the rain began to get heavier and heavier to the point where it was gushing down the rain chain. While we sat and watched it rain, the cat went in and out of the house apparently enjoying that freedom. Although the sky was gray, it didn’t dim our remembrance of the 4,536 miles we’d just covered.  Even though we had enjoyed the sunny warm weather in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Oregon, it was good to see the rain return. After all, that is what keeps Washington green! The high points of this journey were: ·          Our lovely visit with family ·          The days spent exploring the badlands in South Dakota ·          Seeing the progress on the Crazy Horse Monument ·          Observing a herd of bison on the grasslands of the Black Hills ·          Spotting a band of wild horses on the prairie in Wyoming The low points of the journey were: ·          A noisy night at the Re

On a partly cloudy day we dropped into the valley of Yellowstone National Park. A storm of the previous night had left a blanket of new snow on the highest peaks surrounding Yellowstone Lake. We had forgotten how large the lake is, but that quickly came back to us as we drove around it to the West Thumb geyser basin on the southwest shoreline. It had been about 24 years since our previous visit to Yellowstone in 1999. Prior to that trip we had gone through the park in 1982. And I also have vague memories from when my family went on a vacation to Yellowstone in 1965.  As a 5-year old, I remember the colorful mammoth hot springs, sleeping in a cabin (we usually tented), and bears wandering through the camp including walking up to the car. However, those memories are still very clear after all these years.  The exciting and memorable features of Yellowstone are the result of plate tectonics and the thermal vents that have worked their way up into the caldera of an enormous volcano. Th

Heading west from the Black Hills we chose to drive on Highway 16 through the southern portion of the Bighorn Federal Wilderness. Although late in the season, there were still a few Forest Service campgrounds open. We stayed at one situated along the pretty little creek, Wolf Creek. Surprisingly, for such a small stream, our neighboring campers had caught several trout! The next day we continued over the pass. It was a pretty easy ascent to the summit with gradual inclines and turns. Then the pass flattened out for quite a few miles. However, the descent opened up to a surprisingly rugged canyon with steep walls. Erosion had done it’s work cutting through huge layers of basalt and granite leaving some spectacular scenery as we descended.  Towards the bottom of the canyon, there was a sandstone layer called the Ten-Sleep Formation. That formation was created by an inland sea millennia ago. We stopped into a corner store/restaurant/coffee shop in the cute town of Ten-Sleep. The name come

If you visit the Black Hills area, it is kind of obligatory to stop in to see Mount Rushmore. Although we were spoiled years ago when visiting before the massive crowds began to travel there, it was still good to revisit the monument. We arrived early to avoid the biggest crowds, and we lucked out with a gorgeous blue sky day. The visitor center had a movie that showed the process of carving a mountain (see photo of the original mountain to the left). It was interesting to watch the old footage showing the blasts on the mountain. The movie also showed the workers hanging by ropes as they drilled, chiseled and blasted the sculpture. The visitor center has some interesting and informative displays describing why they chose each of the presidents. That was information which I had forgotten from previous visits.  George Washington – Was known as the “Father of the Nation”, was our first president, and was one of the signers of the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson – He wrote the Declara

Another Harvest Host business that we stayed at was a nifty little brewery and winery just outside of Hill City, ND. The owners, Kim and Jill, are locals of the Hill City area. They had always enjoyed the hospitality industry and in 2010 they thought it would be a good idea to combine a brewery and winery. It has been a successful venture that has grown to include 2 breweries, 2 wineries, and 7 tasting rooms. If they are all as unique as the one in Hill City, they will probably expand even more. The décor is a quirky mix of country and old Hollywood. We enjoyed sampling both their brews and their wines (on separate days). My favorite beer was a PB&J porter, I would never have thought I’d like that mix. Pat enjoyed their spiced red ale. Now it was peppers spicey, not spiced cider spicey, with a kick that hit after a few sips. Their wines were equally unique. One cherry wine, when sipped after taking a bite of chocolate, tasted like a chocolate covered cherry. Another raspberry

Just a bit west of the Mt. Rushmore National Monument is a lesser-known mountain carving. This one is a tribute to the Native American cultures that have called the Black Hills their home for years uncounted. These lands are sacred to many tribes and their ancestors are buried in locations throughout the Black Hills. The vision of Chief Henry Standing Bear was to have a tribute to the North American Indians and their great heros. He invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve a whole mountain into the figure of the famous Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse. This project began in 1948, not long after the completion of Mt. Rushmore, and will not be finished until long after we, of Woodsprairie, have passed away.  Unlike the federally funded Mt. Rushmore, this project is completely funded by entrance fees and private donations.  We first saw the mountain in 1982 when the face of Crazy Horse had just been roughed out and there was a hint of where his arm would be. The next time we were in the

Do you know the difference between ATV and UTV? Well, we had seen the reference, but didn’t know until we rented a UTV that it meant “Utility Terrain Vehicle”, as compared to an ATV which means “All Terrain Vehicle”. The UTV is sometimes called a side-by-side for two to four people and an ATV is usually a single rider quad. Our plan was to do some exploring of the back road in the Black Hills. We started out in the morning with our lunch a paper map, and an app on my phone to track us in case we got lost on the miles and miles of roads. All went well for the first couple of miles. Then we came to an intersection that didn’t have the Forest Service road number on it… well, it turned out we went down the wrong road and although we wound through some pretty draws and saw quite a few deer, it was a pretty rocky road.  Once we figured out the missed turn, we back tracked and got our little dot on the phone  app to match the map! Off we went through the mountains. It is such pretty country

The southern portion of Custer State Park is known for the wildlife that visitors can see. You can take a number of different roads in the park, but the “wildlife loop” road circuits the rangeland of the park and offers the highest likelihood of some sightings. We spent an afternoon slowly driving the road. Although we had already seen many white-tail deer in other parts of the park, we did see some other animals too.   While still on the main road, Hwy 16, there was a large herd of mountain goats. They had been drinking from a stream that runs through the Grace Coolidge campground. The goats were wandering around campsites and across the road. Of course, this caused quite a traffic jam as windows rolled down and cameras came out.   Before too long we were back on our slow meander through the grasslands. The road wound through some gently rolling hills and vales. Being mid-September some of the foliage was changing to its fall color.   So I had to stop for those photos too. Severa