We spent the night in Hastings at a place called the Rainbow Motel. It didn't look like a great place, but we were tired. It smelled like fried food. Troy went out to my car and got a lavender scented air freshener tree and placed it over the air conditioner to make it smell a little better. And he had to run to Walmart in the morning to pick up stuff we assumed someone else was packing, like hair brushes, toothpaste, etc. But it was all smooth after that.
Loong drive through Nebraska. I'm sure it's just because I hadn't researched all the cool places to stop along the way, like I did in Kansas, but we were thinking the only state more boring than Kansas might just be Nebraska. (I don't actually think Kansas is boring, I love Kansas) And we really needed to get up to Scott's Bluff. We remembered it from last trip and we loved it.
Quick picture in front of Chimney Rock, it's about all you can do there.
But you know, it was an important landmark for people on The Oregon Trail, The California Trail, The Mormon Trail and such. It is very difficult to fathom what those people went through on those journeys, which is why places like this are so cool. But they don't let you hike up to it, so we were on our way again.
Oh, after purchasing a pair of bison socks, of course. Bison. We have them a couple miles from where we live, but Alina loves them and it's what she's drawn to for souvineers.
Scott's Bluff is a very cool place. Not historically. It's named after a guy that nobody knows anything about, they think he was abandoned and left to die at the base of the bluff. No story there. But it's geographically cool. And you can see wagon ruts from the top of the bluff. I think Pride Rock from The Lion King when I look at it, because I relate everything to a Disney movie somehow. This picture is actually what it looked like the next morning when we went, because when we arrived Tuesday afternoon, there were extremely strong winds and a storm moving through. We drove to the top anyway. Troy let himself get very close to the edge up there on foot and felt the strong winds blasting upward after hitting the wall of the bluff. He finds that stuff exhilarating. Kalyn and I let him go off and go out on ledges and climb stuff and just walk away so we don't have to watch him nervously. Alina got upset with us, but we explained that we have to let him go off and do his thing, he usually always comes back. Kalyn said "We've had to do this before, Alina."
It's just so different looking from home. But it was very windy and cold and about to rain or sleet or something, so we did not hike up there that evening. We found a Mexican restaurant in town because it's my favorite, and it's sort of traditional that I get a giant Margarita at some point on these trips. And we'd go back in the morning.
So we get there in the morning and the air is so fresh, the sky is sunny, it had snowed a little on that desert landscape, and Troy and I were in Heaven. I have a book at home called The World's Best Hikes and it's just picture after picture of trails like this. I know not everyone appreciates scenery pictures, but we can just imagine ourselves there and it feels good.
I made it a good portion of the way up. I have a fear of heights, and I do very well usually if it's just me and Troy. But with Alina, I can't seem to manage my panic attack near the top of the trail. Even though it's not really that scary, there's not a sheer drop. But since Troy had the girls and they were fine without me, I went back down to the museum, visited with the rangers and planned to drive to the top to meet them up there, but no keys. So I turned around and went back up the trail to meet them on their way down.
Yes, Troy encourages them to get off the trail and climb the rocks. Ha, ha, ha.
Then on to Crazy Horse! I had read mixed reviews on the Crazy Horse Memorial on the internet. Some people felt that the story of the sculptor and his family was very inspirational. Others thought it was too much about the sculptor, it was taking way too long, and the cost to get in was outrageous. I found the story to be very inspirational indeed. I don't care about it being all about the sculptor, his feats were amazing. And they don't accept federal funding, which is admirable, so I didn't mind paying $27 to get in. And the Native American Museum there is amazing. I found myself thinking about things I saw there days after I left. The monument is HUGE! In a way I wish we'd gone to Mt. Rushmore first because it seemed so small compared to Crazy Horse.
We checked into the Super 8 in Hill City, and when Troy came back to the car he told us we were going to visit the Teddy Bear Town across the street in the morning because the lady who manages the hotel owns it and has the world's record for teddy bear collections. Over 7,000. Kalyn and I went to the front desk to ask about where in town we could get get a swim suit for Alina (didn't bring one) and she couldn't think of a place. But she had some that were left that she washed for guests to use if we didn't mind. We didn't. So we followed her to the laundry room and she told us about how someone called her the day before and told her about a blue teddy bear in a dumpster. So she went down and rescued it, it was covered in oil. She took it to her place and cleaned it with Dawn dishwashing liquid and wondered if that might make a good commercial. How she rescued it, cleaned it, and let it join her collection. We thought it would.
And then we went to Mt. Rushmore. It's very different in the off season. No tour guides, which is nice during tourist season. Some buildings are closed in the off season, BOOO. But absolutely no crowds. We were like, one family of 5 that were there that morning. Weird. Had it been my first visit I would of thought it wasn't a very big deal at all. But I know better, because I've been there with all the people from all over the world, and Abe Lincoln, and the fireworks.
I'm gonna have to post the Badlands tomorrow, because it's late and posting pictures is exhausting! I'm sure there's an easier way and I will want to kill myself when I figure it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment