The trip back

I am writing as we drive through the Oglala Sioux reservation near Pine Ridge, South Dakota. We are going through a very interesting part of the country, and it's sort of a shame we can't stop and check it all out in some depth. But that would not take hours - it would take days and even weeks. Last night we stayed in Newcastle, WY at the Fountain Inn. We had never been in Newcastle before. It's actually a nice little town. More attractive than many Wyoming towns are. The Fountain Inn had only a 2.5-star rating, which had me a little anxious in advance, but it turned out to be fine. It had a very comfortable mattress and a super walk-in shower with grab bars, which made it perfect for me. It was also clean, non-odorous and had a good, quiet AC. It cost $107 with tax, which is turning out to be average for this trip. 

The Fountain Inn, Newcastle, WY, from an old postcard

There was no motel breakfast, but that meant we got to eat at Donna's Main Street Diner, which was just the kind of local hang-out we like to find. Each booth had a little spiral notebook, Tell Us Your Story, with a pen - you could write a blurb about yourself and what brought you there, and read other people's blurbs. I had never seen that in a diner before. 

Three scenes of Donna's Main Street Diner in Newcastle, WY

Just this morning we have stopped briefly at Jewel Cave National Monument, gone by WInd Cave National Park, brushed the Badlands, gone through Hot Springs, SD with its 35 historic sandstone buildings, and are now within hailing distance of Wounded Knee. We have also driven through some beautiful scenery. Jewel Cave is reputed to be the largest cave in the world - most of it unknown, unmapped. That would have been the perfect place to explore along with our read-aloud book on this trip - Underland. But I suspect that even with all the time in the world, I probably would not have been able to navigate the cave tour. In any case, we didn't make it beyond the Visitor's Center. But that was interesting, and Ellen found postcards!

The Evans Hotel, one of the monumental sandstone buildings in Hot Springs, SD

Jewel Cave N.M.

Ditto

A scene from Jewel Cave - I did not take this photo!

Yesterday, we said our goodbyes amidst tears and hugs, and drove from Alpine up through Teton N.P. to Yellowstone N.P., and went out the East entrance. We saw bison up close, and got pictures. Wild flowers in profusion and great views of Yellowstone Lake and old burn areas. Traffic wasn't too bad. After leaving the park, that route took us through Cody, WY, where Buffalo Bill has been fully exploited - lots we could have stopped to explore there, but we didn't. Then we went through Worland, Buffalo, Gillette, and down to Newcastle. A 550-mile, 14-hour trip! Long day! The scenery was wildly diverse as we drove along.

Ellen and Max - saying our goodbyes

Max, Paul and Jenny - we love you!

A beautiful view of the Tetons as we drove through Teton N.P.  But there isn't much snow this year. Usually at the end of June, there is more.

Bison crossing the road in Teton N.P.

A big one!

Yellowstone Lake

Old burn, new growth

Scene in Yellowstone toward Cody, WY

Picnic spot near Cody where we ate a little lunch

Two scenes from Shoshone National Forest near Cody

A maverick Museum of Aerial Firefighting near Worland, WY

Bighorn National Forest near TenSleep, WY

Today we will drive across South Dakota on US 18 and SD 44, and we have a motel reservatlon in Rock Valley, Iowa, just over the line from South Dakota. It will be another 500-mile day and I expect it will be after 9p.m. when we get to the motel. But Ellen is doing well. We both are. It's sort of a miracle.

Later: We actually got to the motel in Rock Valley by 8:15p.m. The drive across South Dakota was ideal: the road was turnpike quality, but with no other traffic. Ellen could go along at 70 mph much of the time, which is why we made such good time. The route took us through beautiful grazing and agricultural countryside; it was a beautiful day, not too hot, we were going East, so the sun was not in our eyes most of the day. (On the ride  out West, Ellen was often looking right into the sun later in the day, which is a real strain). We snacked out of the box, listened to music, I read aloud from both Marfarlane's Underland, and from Jill Lepore's, These Truths - which we also brought with us as an alternate to MacFarlane. It all went very smoothly.

And here we are in a very nice motel, The Heartland, in Rock Valley. And it is less expensive: $84 instead of $107, and that includes breakfast.