Black Hills & Wyoming Day 1
Black Hills & Wyoming
Day 01 - July 6, 2011 - Wednesday - Palmer Divide, CO - Drive to Rapid City, SD - Crazy Horse Memorial
At 6:58 we left Elephant Rock in our rental Toyota Sienna 8 passenger van. With Vic driving and Jesper as the co-pilot and navigator, we headed north on I-25, E-470, and then back on I-25 and straight north into Wyoming.
The weather had cooled during the night and it was 63º. The Poulsen girls, Cecilie 15 and Maria 12 sat in the middle seats and immediately plugged into their i-pods enjoying their music.
Ulla and Gennie had control of the back seats with plenty of room behind them for the luggage.
We made a brief pause at the Wyoming border for a photo stop and then another break at the Visitor’s Center to use the rest rooms. Jesper was able to pick up a thousand free brochures for the girls to study the upcoming tourist attractions.
Our lunch was in Lusk, WY at noon at the local Subway Shop. After a brief stop for gas at Fresh Start, ($3.69/gal) we were back on the road at 12:30.
The temperature was 81º and we all noted how green it looked in Wyoming compared with the drought we have had in Colorado this summer.
As we drove through the wide open spaces the Danes marveled at the vast lands. It was not long before everyone but Vic and Jesper were nodding off.
We agreed to take turns writing the daily journal for GarciaTrips website. Gennie started with Day 1. As we drove east on US 85 and 18, she got out her laptop and began documenting the 2011 Great American Road Trip.
Driving through brief rain showers, we crossed the border into South Dakota at 1:30. No one wanted to get out in the rain to pose for pictures so they were taken from the van.
When we arrived at the Black Hills National Forest we got out to stretch our legs and take a few more photos. We know this will be a week filled with photo opportunities!
The temperatures had dropped into the 60’s – nice and cool after the temperatures we have had in Monument.
Our first “Tourist Attraction” was the Crazy Horse Memorial. This gigantic carving in the mountainside was begun by Korczak Ziolkowski in 1948.
The family is still carrying on the work of the sculpture relying on the donations and income from visitors. Everyone enjoyed spending two hours browsing through the exhibits and the American Indian artifacts.
We left the memorial at 4:30 and traveled on Highway 16 through Rapid City to our hotel, arriving at 5:15. We took time to look through the photos of the day and Gennie got caught up on the journal.
By 7:00 we were ready for dinner and met Jesper and Ulla and the girls in the lobby. Agreeing on Mongolian Grill we enjoyed Central Asian cuisine in the Black Hills of the United States.
After our dinner we stopped at the World Famous Cabela’s and had a look at all of the beautiful displays of the creatures in their natural habitats.
Back at the hotel we finished up the journal, Vic choose the photos for the day, and Gennie worked on her online class. It is funny how we have gotten right back into our travel routines.
Accommodations: Sleep Inn and Suites
Comments
Poulsens at Wyoming Border
Cecilie at Black Hills
Crazy Horse Memorial
Crazy Horse and Model
A Visit to Cabelas
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