Across the Country - Day 3

Bozeman, MT - Rapid City, SD
Mileage - 515
Miles Driven - 1,208

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Day 3 started cool and beautiful. We ate as much as we could at the motel, then got some gas and hit the road. Since we arrived at night, it was good to see the scenery. I'm pretty much convinced that the other time I was in Bozeman, I wasn't really in Bozeman. I think the airport is actually not in Bozeman. I guess I'm saying that nothing looked familiar.

After passing Livingston, the terrain changed into vast vistas of range land. We could see the mountains to the south as we drove through mostly barren land, with occasional Black Angus cows and numerous herds of Antelope. Oh home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play... Somewhere along the way, we also passed Little Big Horn, the famous site of Custer's Last Stand.

Leaving Billings, I started to wonder if I'd ever see civilization again. I've never seen an interstate exit leading to a dirt road with absolutely nothing else in sight. This is one section of highway where you'd better fill the tank every chance you get, otherwise you may find yourself all alone.

Sheridan, Wyoming was a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting a much larger city, for some reason. There really isn't much there.

In Buffalo, we stopped for some gas and a stretch. We parked at the information center, across from the museum and city hall, and walked down to the park by the stream. Andrew found a tall traffic cone to play with and I found a comfortable spot in the shade under a birch tree that was just starting to turn yellow.

Gillette was very interesting. Growing up in Ohio, I've seen my share of strip mining for coal, but this topped everything I can remember. From the interstate, you pass a large hole filled with coal and mining equipment. Coming in and out of the mine, I counted five trains, at least a hundred cars long, full of coal. Then we passed a rail yard with hundreds more cars - some full, some empty.

Sundance was a nice break from the range. It is a nice touch of green after a million miles of tan. Soon after, we saw signs for Devil's Tower and were lucky enough to catch a breif glimpse of it in the distance.

Finally we entered South Dakota. One of the first towns is Sturgis. I guess you have to have a Harley Davidson to understand the appeal of this small town.

By the time we reached Rapid City, it was quite dark. Rapid City was - so I thought at the time - the return of civilation. It had every modern chain store known to mankind. It was extremely overwhelming and left a bad taste in my mouth. There was absolutely nothing unique about this town, as far as I could tell.

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