Wild Women in Wyoming and in The Badlands!

Yesterday, June 10

Soon after getting into Wyoming, I spotted an old farm with an interesting looking barn, so we pulled into the place.  My sister Robyn and I took a few photos.  Then my other sister Rachel spotted a herd of antelope in the distance so I quickly switched to my zoom lens and took some more photos.

If you can zoom on the picture, you can see there are some baby antelope here too.  This was about half the group.  As we were driving out the driveway, saw a car with their signal to turn in and I figured they were using the driveway to turn around so I quickly got out of their way.  
As we continued to Devil's Tower, we made several stops at pull-offs to get photos.  Just before Devil's Tower (about 20 miles beyond the farm), a pick-up pulls along my car and a guy in a uniform comes up to my car as we were getting into it. He questioned me about where we had been.  Told him that we were taking photos and meant no harm.  He said we were trespassing and the owner (apparently person in the car coming into the driveway) reported us.  He said, "You ladies don't look like the type that would steal anything.  But I have to take your driver's license and run it through the records and put it on my report."   Later, he came back and told me where I can park my car and from where I can take photos of old barns .... the fence line.  Wild Women caught!

Only my mother had been to Devil's Tower before, so it was very interesting.  Devil's Tower was the first national monument.  Got some great photos as it was another postcard-perfect weather. But before we got to the parking lot by the tower, we saw a prairie dog town.

Don't tell them, but they look like rodents!

Here's a photo of the "devil" tower and the "wild woman."

Here's some more photos....

The few wispy clouds that came into the area made it appear as if the Tower (part of a volcano) is smoking.

We headed back to Rapid City and to my nephew Tim (sister RoAnn's son) and Tawnie and their three sons, Tyler, Tyson and Trey.  Here the family is pictured with my mother, their grandmother and great-grandmother!  What a perfect end to the day!

Today, June 11

The day broke with clouds and we headed for The Badlands National Park.   We drove 20+ miles and it took us four hours of stop and go.... no, not traffic.  Stop and take few dozen photos and then go another mile (or less) and go.  Repeat!  The first stop, I truly thought the wind was going to blow me off the cliff.  

We were above the canyons and down in the canyons.  

Other times, you would be on a green prairie that would open up to awesome cliffs.

Even though the sky was full of clouds, the sun broke through now and then we captured some interesting shots.

We had the unexpected pleasure of seeing Big Horn sheep... a couple of families!

On to Mitchell and the infamous Corn Palace. 

An an exhibit made of corn products to signify South Dakota and it's heritage.

Tomorrow we complete our trip back to Wisconsin.  It's been another good trip!  

Side Trip Scenarios

Another bright and sunny day.   I think we had plans to see Deadwood, South Dakota so we planned to head west.  As we were going through downtown Rapid City, a wayward car came barreling through the red light right at us.  We both came to stop about a foot from each other. If either of us had not stopped, we would have T-boned him or he T-boned us.  Thank goodness, I was in the right (green light) but that did not stop my nerves from being jangled a lot!  

We headed out on Interstate 90 and decided to venture into Wyoming (about 60 miles away) so that sister, Robyn Austin could add that state to her list of states visited.  

Then the conversation turned to who had seen Devil's Tower and discovered only my mother had.  So figuring out the round trip would not be too many more miles, we headed that way.  

*** WiFi is very low strength tonight and I'm not able to download photos.  Sorry!  Tune in tomorrow night for the rest of the story!!  

Black Hills, South Dakota

Saturday, we stayed at friends, Don & Betty, in Sioux Falls, SD.  What a beautiful city and the falls were exceptional with all the recent rain.

Sunday, we traveled through lots of rain and low-hanging clouds.  Today, woke up to sunshine and clear blue skies!  Black Hills, here we come!

First stop, Mount Rushmore.

What an awesome group of guys, huh??  My sister, Robyn and I took the Presidential Trail hike up close to the monument.  Gave us lots of opportunities to take more photos like the one below with a little different angle.

On to the Crazy Horse Memorial.  The head is complete and much larger project than Mount Rushmore.  

The next photo shows the projected sculpture with the completed head in the crook of the arm.

Now on to the Needles Highway in the Custer State Park.  Twists, turns, steep drop-offs, and tunnels!  What a fun road to drive!

Saw a beautiful lake surrounded by rocks.

Rocks everywhere!

The needles eye, therefore the name of the highway!

Traveling again!

Last Monday, I finished the first trip of the summer.  Tuesday, I traveled to see and stay with our Texas neighbors, Bob & Joan in Park Rapids, MN.  Wednesday, I traveled over to NW Wisconsin, stopping for dinner with my sister, RoAnn, her husband and son.  Thursday, I did not drive one mile.  I relaxed and helped my mom clean out her coat closet.  Friday, it was laundry day and travel to the Twin Cities to meet all my siblings and three nieces for the Electric Run/Walk.  It started at 9:30 pm and had lots of lights and neon lights and paint.  A long night!

Saturday, I started my second trip of the summer.  My mom and sisters, Robyn and Rachel headed for Sioux Falls, South Dakota where we stayed with other Texas neighbors, Don & Betty.  Sioux Falls is a first-class city!  Today, we continued our travels to Rapid City, SD.  We visited with my nephew Tim and his family of three adorable boys!  I am somewhat glad that I'm not a grandmother, because it would be soooo hard to live far away from them. Tomorrow, we will tour Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and some other areas.   

On the road again! 

Highway 281 Milepost 1715 - 1920 The End!

I did it!  I did it!  :)

Eight days and a total of 2287 miles (includes side trips and miles trying to find hotels, food, gas, etc)!

Jamestown, ND   Went to Buffalo Museum first thing this morning. They have the only albino buffalo in captivity.  I did see her waaaaay in the distance, but I was lucky as there are signs all over with disclaimers that the buffalo are wild and roam the property....however you MAY not see them.  I felt lucky to see one buffalo and it was the albino.  I did see another 66 ton one....largest (man made) buffalo in the world!

At this museum I talked with one of the workers that asked me where I was from and after telling him about my trip, he said that northern North Dakota has gotten so much rain.  He mentioned Devil's Lake which Hwy 281 goes by, has raised 22 feet in past 15 years and they have spent over billion dollars on raising and moving roads.  

I left Jamestown in heavy clouds, rain drops and 58 degrees.  As I drove north I saw more and more evidence of water taking over farms.  

Milepost 1800    Devil's Lake.  I made a big mistake when I left Jamestown and did not get gas.  I had a quarter tank and figured I would get gas at next town.  Guess what?  I was so busy looking at the scenery that I forgot to get gas!  I noticed when the yellow gas light came on and I had 17 miles range.  Well, in looking at map and signs, I could go out of way 16 miles one way or about five or six miles the other way and hope they had gas station.  I started praying BIG TIME!
I drove to Minnewaukan and it looked quite small town and surrounded by the lake.  I noticed their welcome sign by highway showed a gas pump, so I was hopeful.  Once I drove into town, I was very much less hopeful.  I could see that town was about 3 streets wide and no gas station in sight.  I stopped by a bank and someone pulled in front of me.  I yelled at them, "Where is the gas station?"  "There is none," was the reply.  My next question was how far to get gas and the answer was not good.  "Miles."  

Oh my!!  I am in deep trouble!  I explained my stupidity and he said, "I have some gas at my place.  Follow me."  Famous last words, right?
I followed him a couple of blocks away and then he got a funnel and gas tanks.  I was elated, to say the least.  So he put in about four gallons in my car and as I was getting money out of my purse...he said, "Pay it forward."  I told him I would but I still insisted he take a $20.  I don't  know his name, but his licence plate said "1YANKEE" and had a New York Yankee sign on his garage.  I don't want to hear anyone say, "Damn Yankees" in my presence.  As it turned out, I had to drive 35 miles until the next town that had a gas station!

After getting gas and getting my wits back with me, I noticed several farms (house, garage, and barns) surrounded by water.  It was like they were on an island.  Very sad that these farms are losing their land to water.  I saw many roads going off the main highway that were closed due to water over them.  Below is a photo of business place with a little too much water.

Milepost 1906  Dunseith, ND.  Stopped here to get my passport out and ready for the border.  Do you think I could remember where I packed it?  Second panic moment of the day!!  Finally, I looked in the most logical place, my briefcase, and found it.  I am getting too old for these moments.  

Milepost 1920  International Peace Garden on the USA/Canada border.  I made it!  Spent about two hours enjoying the peace and quiet of the garden built by CCC in the 1930's.  They have a Peace Tower and Peace Chapel.  

As I was taking this photo, music started coming from somewhere!  It was so beautiful!  Speaking of beauty, I had been traveling 200+ miles in heavy clouds and rain.  I knew that I may have to wear my raincoat in the gardens, but I was OK with that.  Within 10 miles of the border, I thought I could see a break in the clouds and as I drove into the garden, the sun came shining through.  It felt like an answer to prayer, AGAIN!

After this I saw a sign for 911 Memorial.  It was an area that held several I-beams from the World Trade Center, contributed by Canada.  

As I was reading some of the information surrounding this display, I notice a flock of birds (white pelicans) flying overhead.  There were about 20 of them and as they got to where I was standing, they circled around once and then continued onward.  All of sudden, I sat down on the stone wall and sobbed....tears of gratitude! 

I wish I could show you more photos, but this hotel Wi-Fi is very slow.  I am now resting in Rugby, ND, the geographic center of North America.  Today, I also went over the North -South Continental Divide.

Well, this ends my Highway 281 blog.  I am now going to drive across Minnesota to Northern Wisconsin to see my mom.  Then on Saturday, she, my two sisters and I will cross back over Minnesota and South Dakota to Rapid City.  So, I will continue blogging.   Then on June 30th, hubby and I will be traveling about five weeks, so you are welcome to join our travels as I blog about that trip!  I am so blessed!  Life is Good!  God be with YOU wherever you travel in your journeys.

HIghway 281 Milepost 1379 - 1715

Yep!  I put a few miles on the car today!  Started out in northern Nebraska and ended up in southern North Dakota - Jamestown.

Milepost 1428  Fort Randall dam on the Missouri River.  I forgot that I would be crossing Lewis & Clark trail too!   At one time there was a fort located on the river.  But now all that stands and only partially stands is a chapel.  The fort remains would be on this photo, bottom right.

Here is a photo of the part of the chapel.

Milepost 1447    I must have taken photos of a dozen or more barns today! The one below was on an old abandoned farm.  I was busy getting photos when a car pulls in the driveway.  I told the "elderly" gentleman what I was doing.  He said, "that's OK, a lot of people do that here.  I own this farm."  We had a nice chat, he told me about his problems with the VA (how time appropriate is that?).  He told me about finding his mother dead in a lawn chair right by the house we were at.  I told him about my trip and then he asked how old I was...."Oh, you're a brave young un!"  :)

Milepost 1490  Took a side trip to Mitchell SD.  Went to the Pre-Historic Indian Village.  I was the only one there so I got another personal tour of the place.  Of course, my guide wanted to show me everything so it was almost two hours (including the 20+ minutes film).  Did you know that pre-historic means it happened before there was a written language to document it? Below is a recreation of the lodges they made on the banks of the river here.

And inside the lodge

All the information on what these lodges were like was discovered through archaeological digs.  In fact they are still digging and I got to see that area.

I always thought that the hump on bison was full of fat or muscle, I never realized that it was another set of bone rising out of the spine!

Here's an example of a bull boat, made of one hide of the bison and stretched around wood frame.  Person would kneel in it and row across water.

Next quick stop in Mitchell was the Corn Palace.  I have been there before and I may be going again in a week or so, therefore I took a photo of one of the outside displays....made of corn and other crops.

Milepost 1540  Almost hit my first pheasant with car...too close for comfort.  I have heard that hitting a turkey is like hitting a moving bowling ball.  Pheasants are probably not as heavy, but then I don't want to hit a half-a-bowling-ball either!  Not too much further down the road, saw another pheasant.  Then....

Milepost 1570   Redfield - Pheasant Capital of the World.  

Milepost  1612 Aberdeen, SD  I had wanted to visit a museum here, but got here too late in day and tomorrow they are closed.  Another time.

Milepost 1646   North Dakota

Milepost 1708   First sighting of LILACS!  :)

Here's the road sign that I mentioned  in yesterday's blog.

If all goes well, I will complete my Highway 281 trip tomorrow with a visit to the International Peace Garden.  It's been seven days now & it feels like forever!  However, a positive and enlightening "forever."  

Jot down notes of this Journey

I realized last night that I have shown you a lot of photos about sites and written what I have done.  But I have not really expressed my feelings about this journey.  This journey was not only to accomplish something...drive the distance of Hwy 281...but to see what makes RAYNA tick! 

Topography, geography and history have always interested me.  Driving along and seeing the changes in the terrain has been fascinating to me.  Some people would think it's boring, but not me.  I notice when there is more trees or the changes in the degree of slope in  the hills.  Yesterday, I saw wetlands (marshes, small ponds) appear.  I am a visual person and I guess that fits my interest in photography.  

History of this country and its people has been fascinating to learn.  Granted, every town seems to have their own historical museum and I don't have the time to visit them.  I can tell you that many will be quite similar with old tools, furniture and dress.  It's often the Indian culture that I am least familiar, so seeing their history on display is great.  Even so, you often see repeats in these displays just as you do for the Anglo people.  I still have picked out places to visit, just in case there is a "new" piece on display.

Regarding feelings on this journey..... I am alone, but I am not lonely!  I am in contact with my husband via phone and text messages.  I can still keep  up with people's lives via facebook.  As I mentioned in last night's blog, I feel centered and at peace.  

You may have wondered about the unique name for my blog...thepesproject.  The original name of this blob was not Rambling Rayna, it was The Peace Project.  In the beginnings of this blog, 2007, I was striving for peace in my life....physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  If you take the first letter of each of these it spells pes.  Also, if you look up "peace" in the dictionary the phonetics spelling is pes.

One of the surprises on this trip is how few cars there are on  Highway 281 in many spots.  It has made it much easier to look to both sides of the road, instead of looking straight forward all the time to watch and concentrate on other cars coming my way.  That has allowed me to see so much more.  I have taken photos of the sites, but sometimes I have had to "take a photo in my mind."  Yesterday that happened again!  As I looked to the east up a hill I could see an animal and as I got closer I could see it was a deer.  I slowed down to stop and take a photo, he turned and gave me a full silhouette of his huge rack of horns!  By the time I got stopped, he had strolled over the hill.  Awesome sight! 

I see things like that and I'm excited.  I have seen so many old barns and stopped to take photos of them!  But not all old barns with do...my husband can vouch for that!  It's not only the barn, but the surroundings and background that make the photo.  If it's really run down, that may not be photo-worthy.  

During my research for this trip, one of the books listed this area Oklahoma to North Dakota the Plains states and the "fly-over" states.  So many people fly-over these states going to and from the East and West coasts and states.  Granted there is a lot of wheat and other crops, but where would we all be if these local residents had not decided to settle here and make a living off the land?  We would not have all the food available unless we imported it all.  The history of our country also shows us that people did not fly-over this country, but did travel over on their way to California, Santa Fe, and Oregon.  Of course, over time people did settle in this prairie land.  Granted, some people would think this land all looks the same, it doesn't.  I have enjoyed seeing the shades of green and gold, not just because I'm a Packer fan!