The Great Road Trip of 2017.....Part Twenty Four/Day Eighteen

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

We were headed East but didn't get too far the rest of that day as we didn't even get out of Wyoming!

Look at all those motorcycles and RVs. *Foreboding music*  And more importantly look at the price of gas, $2.34 gal. for regular cash price and that's out in Wyoming!

"Stay Vertical All The Way To Sturgis"

**More Ominous Foreboding Background Music**

Only 58 Miles to our stop for the night....

But first we had to make another stop and it wasn't to see that field of sheep............

People had set up teepees on the side of the road across from where we pulled over.

We stayed a good long time taking this sight in.  Even from this distance, a distance where you could actually take the whole thing in and photograph it all, it was impressive.

Many native tribes(Cheyenne, Lakota, Crow, Kiowa)consider this monolith sacred ground.  It is composed of Igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Range District of the Black Hills in Northwest corner of Wyoming above the Belle Fourche River, near the towns of Hulett and Sundance Wyoming.

It stand 867 feet from base to summit.  It was made the first US National Monument on 24 September, 1906 by then President Theodore Roosevelt.

Climbers love to climb this thing but being as it's a sacred site to many native tribes I find that activity disrespectful to them and their beliefs.  These climbers are also accelerating the monument's destruction.  Geologists have found that Devil's Tower use to be much larger in circumference and taller.  The amount of "scree" or crumbling rock at it's base is growing at an alarming rate.  I didn't want to get any closer really as it would have made me sad to see all that.

I did however pose with this sign and make this short video that other's who are older than dirt will "get".....

Hubs also post with the Monument in the background.

Just me and a little ol' hill.......lol

Leaving the area we saw this trailer advertising another nearby sight.....

"Mt. Rushmore"

Hubs checking it to our motel in Sundance, WY.

We set our bags down in the room and drove around town while it was still light out.

We found this cool outdoor set up by the town hall of the representation of a jail cell from back in the day.  That's me with my cellmate Harry A. Longabaugh, known to the world as "The Sundance Kid".  Harry did indeed spend time in the jail in Sundance and took his non de plume from this town.

The town had a nice little museum inside of the town hall but alas, it was closed for the day by the time we got to Sundance.

A native of South Dakota, Edward Hlavaka, sculpted the statue.

So after visiting with Harry we drove about a bit, didn't take but a short time as this is a tiny town and very seasonal given where it's located, we saw this bar, the Dime Horse Shoe Bar.

More motorcycles??  Hmmm.....maany MANY motorcycles, Sturgis......I must be slow. ;-)

Crook County Wyoming Courthouse.  Fitting Harry A. Longabaugh sits outside of this building, no?

The only other place we could find to eat(other than the biker bar and a gas station selling fried chicken)was this place...."The Dog Pound"  All Strays Welcome.

My healthy meal of battered meat fingers and french fries with water.

Hubs got some sort of sandwich with meat, cheese and "stuff", french fries and a Coke.

Nom Nom Nom

We spied this old dog in an old pick-up outside the Dog Pound.....

                                       

I guess All Strays are really NOT welcomed there, just there owners. lol

Driving back to the motel we passed one of these statues.......

I guess Sundance decorates random spots about "town" with cowboy boots.  This one had Devil's Tower on it.

And the local phone book in our room had guess what on it's cover?

And on the way out of town we hit that gas station selling chicken(not for chicken)and saw another old dog in the bed of a pick up truck.  Are you sensing a theme there??

I went inside and found more of those, popular that Summer, candy bars.  Anybody up for Rowdy Peanut Butter?

I've known a few Pouty Princesses in my day..........

"Edgy Scatterbrain"?  But Crisper!  Any one??

Well I got the draw on ol' Mr. Longabaugh.......

And I tried my best to let him know the Gang was coming to spring him but he turned a deaf ear to me.   Men!  Whatcha gonna do? 8-)))

Stay tuned for more next time.

Sluggy

The Great Road Trip of 2017-Part 1

Back after Hubs retired the end of June of 2017 we had BIG plans, I tell ya BIG PLANS!

We were going to take the Mother of All Road Trips from Pennsylvania to out West and back.
The trip ended up taking a whole month(mid July to mid August)and we hit many of the places/sites as we could fit into a month on the road.  We planned on knocking 8 states off our "Never Been There" List.

The first day was a long one with not much to talk about.  It involved a lot of driving and a lot of boredom.

We left at dark o'thirty on July 18th to set out on the first of many interstates.  We wanted to get to Kentucky by nightfall.  First was a stop for coffee, iced tea and breakfast biscuits at Mickey D's at home.  Then we were off down I-80!

This interesting thing was being towed Southward.  Some type of military vehicle bound for who knows where?

We hit the Maryland line from I-99 in PA.  Then it was westward onto I-68 through western MD.

 Of course we hit traffic and delays this being mid July.  Ironically this photo was taken somewhere north of the town of Accident, MD. lol

 We knew we were getting close to the state border when we saw ever larger hills to climb.....

 And then it was into "Wild and Wonderful" West Virginia.
We decided to just take potty/drink breaks and not do lunch and do an early dinner.

 We found a Bob Evans in South Charleston WV off the interstate and ate there.
I got my fav Salad with Pecans, Cranberries and Chicken.

 Hubs opted for a plate of white foods.....mashed taters, country fried steak smothered in white gravy, cole slaw and biscuits.

 Less than hour later we hit the Kentucky line on I-64, outside of Catlettsburg KY.

Eastern KY is not known for it's lovely vistas, unless you consider petroleum refineries lovely.
Two more hours(through some truly lovely parts of KY)and we were in Frankfort where our motel for the evening was located.
Except our Garmin couldn't find the motel for some reason.
We did find it and once in the parking of the motel the Garmin GPS found the motel too. lol
Thanks a lot Garmin!

I took this photo through a very dirty car window of the motel.  It was suppose to be a Days Inn but it also had a Knights Inn sign in the window.  WTF?!
Truly an au courant motel......with all the talk of transgender we stayed at a motel with "brand confusion".

We got a quick dip in their not so great pool(old but serviceable and nobody else in it)then it was back to the room to settle in for a much needed sleep.

Part 2 coming up next time..........the one where I avoid getting food poisoning.

Sluggy