Vacation - May 25 2023

 We figured we'd have a hard time finding Elise's house so she offered to meet us at the Campbell County Public Library in Gillette WY where she works. We then followed her to her house.

  We arrived in Moorcroft late in the day and moved into a 25-30 foot trailer for our stay there. As it was fairly near a railroad track and coal trains ran all night, I didn't get much sleep. I'm very sensitive to sounds at night, being used to the country as I am. Tom's got an advantage here: he's hard of hearing. So he gave me his pillow and I sandwiched my head between the two and managed a few winks. Very few.

 Elise had a brief doctor's appointment in Rapid City, SD and that was added to visits to the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mt. Rushmore and Devil's Tower. It was another long day of travel (what? 300 miles?). We passed Crazy Horse first but did not go in (there's was a $30 fee for three in a vehicle).

 That's as much as we could see from our turn-around spot but it was good enough (with a telephoto lens) and it was free.

 Then to the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial ...

 I took this picture of a large picture posted on the wall of the visitor's center. It shows constriction of the memorial.

 It's quite an impressive sight. The following pictures were taken by Elise:

 Then on to Devils Tower National Monument ...

 Devil's Tower has a definite green tint from one side. That's due to lichens growing there.

Elise (l-r), Tom and Bill

Tom and Bill

 On the way back we stopped briefly at signs that pointed to Pine Haven WY. It has a special significance to me since our house is named Pinehaven and that's the title of my 1999 book. But the visit would come tomorrow.

Vacation - May 26 2023

  Friday we visited Pine Haven ...

 There's a lot of repetition here so scan through these quickly.

 We had lunch at R Place Bar and Grill. Elise used to work here and knew the owner who made a nice brunch for us.

 Then we headed back to Moorcroft where Leonard had brought me some earplugs and I was able to get a decent night's sleep.

  For our final day in Wyoming, we helped Elise with a flower garden. She had a pool set into the ground but we emptied it with a wet-dry vacuum and then added soil that she and Tom had picked up in Gillette.

Vacation - May 27 2023

 Saturday found us on the road for home. South Dakota is as endless as Nebraska. There are few gas stations and few exits. It's a little unnerving should one have car trouble. Even the cell service is marginal at best. How could one even call for help? We joined AAA before the trip but I wonder their usefulness in remote areas like this.

 Rest stops in South Dakota have a concrete teepee that seems the same design at all of them. These shots were taken at the Spearfish Welcome Center.

 And this is a view across (north) I-90. The red soil predominates. At Elise's house in Moorcroft, digging down a few inches produced a layer that looked like crushed bricks - red and granular. She said that was everywhere.

Warning taken! We stayed off the grass!

 We stayed the night at the Super 8 in Missouri Valley, IA.

Vacation - May 28 2023

  On Sunday all I recorded was our nighttime stop at a Quality Inn in Bloomington IL.

 We walked across the road and had a snack at Taco Bell but other than that we were dead tired from all the travel and headed to bed early and slept soundly.

 The next morning (Monday, May 29 - Memorial Day) we had a nice breakfast there, including a fresh waffle.

 We had a short day (compared to most we drove) at stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. We got home about 4:30 PM.

 Here's a general look at the route we took in both directions:

Westbound - Courtesy Google Maps

Eastbound - Courtesy Google Maps

 Total cost for me: $926.65 and I suspect Tom came in the same or maybe a little higher. It was a nice and memorable vacation with an important purpose: honoring his brother, John.