Saturday July 10, 2010

Wall, SD - Mon 5/7 (Day 25)
Wall was our destination because it is reputedly the gateway to the Black Hills of South Dakota, and our plan was to get to Mt Rushmore. Thankfully, the journey west goes through the Badlands National Park, and this was a real pleasure for both of us. Firstly, as we approached the park, we stopped by a little tourist trap where we could "feed" the Prairie Dogs (kind of like America's answer to meerkats). While it's obvious they don't enjoy peanuts (the food of choice they make you buy), we did manage to get pretty close and enjoy how cute they are! The entry to the National Park was mere miles from the P.Dogs, and we ventured onto the recommended scenic byway - the landscape was so breathtaking and raw. The Badlands resemble vast grassy plains that plummet into stark mountainous caverns and ravines which are very dry and quite like what you'd expect in a desert. It takes a while of driving through to get a sense of how it comes together because the vista is a little different, depending on which Park entrance you take. While there, we pulled out our hiking boots and made our way through some of the easier tracks (and our ears were always on guard for a tell-tale rattle of warning from one of the park's inhabitants). When we finally did make it to Wall, we were relieved to have finally made it after the 300miles of warning signs we had leading up to it (which, it turns out, is actually of historical significance). Wall is famous for their "drug store" (it started as a drug store in early 1930 but has evolved into much more!) We entertained ourselves by taking photos in/with the various props, had some dinner and did some planning at the motel. Good day.

Mount Rushmore, SD and Chadron, NE - Tues 6/7 (Day 26)
While getting the shocks on the car replaced (while still in Wall), we enjoyed lunch and a beer while watching the soccer again! (note about our mechanic: for those Family Guy fans out there, our mechanic avidly pronounced the "h" in words like "while" and "white", and would presumably do the same in "cool whip", but this didn't come up in conversation, unfortunately). In the early afternoon we made our way to Mount Rushmore, which was initially a little underwhelming. But we did the scenic walk-loop (maybe called the President's Trail?) and got a closer look which was definitely worth it. Mt Rushmore is in the Black Hills, which are very beautiful too (and a smaller scale of what we imagine we'll see in Colorado for the Rockies). Chadron was just a place to sleep on our way to Colorado. Today's town name of note: Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

Cheyenne, WY - Wed 7/7 (Day 27)
On our way to Cheyenne, we were intrigued to find coffee/espresso shots on sale at the gas station in Nebraska, and sale of these shots were limited to 18 year olds. We also tried to stop in at a Roadfood reco, but apparently the 91 year old propietor had "retired" and it was out of operation (we said a little prayer at her so-called untimely "retirement" at her prime of 91). We arrived into Cheyenne a little excited because it is meant to be a frontier town, and we were in a cowboy state of mind. Unfortunately, the weather was cold, we were about 2 weeks too early for the Frontier Days fair, and apparently not much else happens in Cheyenne apart from said fair. We went to check out the Museum, but decided it wasn't worth the $7 admission, so we briskly wandered around the botanic gardens, then headed to the motel. The one piece of excitement happened at the local liquor store, where they sold alcoholic freezies, available in everything from 12oz to a gallon! What an awesome idea! Fortunately we didn't partake in the freezies as we had a long night of locking in accommodation for the next part couple weeks of the trip (man, accommodation can get a bit pricey in summer, especially in hot spots like Yellowstone!)

Boulder, CO - Thurs 8/7 (Day 28)
We left Cheyenne bright and early as we'd planned to do a hike in Boulder before settling into the accommodation. The hike had been listed as "strenuous", and as we are not seasoned hikers, we had no idea what we were in store for (but figured our reasonable fitness level would get us through!) The hike went along Homestead and Shadow Canyon trails, to the ultimate destination of South Boulder. It was incredible, and probably one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. The hike was very steep up into the mountains, and we had no idea how close we were to our goal, but we kept persevering until we got to our peak - and what an incredible view! It was quite foggy on the day we climbed (thankfully, as it was quite a cool day to do it - we may not have lasted on a warm day!), but the view and euphoric feeling were not muted at all by the weather conditions. We were both very determined to get to the top, and it was good training for Machu Picchu in Sept (and fairly similar conditions, we think - but the altitude of the peak is a little off!) We were exhausted afterwards (it was about 6.3 miles all up - a 3000 foot vertical climb - and took about 4 hours), so we were happy to have a relaxing spa at the motel afterwards. Later we went to a micro-brewery in Downtown Boulder for dinner, and wandered along Pearl St mall where we found a fantastic candy shop to browse through! Not surprisingly, we slept really well that night!

Boulder, CO - Fri 9/7 (Day 29)
A more relaxing day compared to our first day in Boulder! We went for a drive up to Flagstaff Hill to one of the local lookouts. The people here are so fitness conscious - we saw lots of hikers, runners and bike riders out and about (and determined to make it to the top of the hill!) The skies were much clearer today, so we got a more sweeping view across the Rockies and Boulder. After, we headed into Downtown Boulder to listen to a lunchtime concert series the council organizes (they were playing instrumental surf music, so we left after about 30mins, but it was good!), and grabbed some Tapas and Sangria at The Med (thanks to Sherri for the reco!) Walked along Boulder Creek and considered tubing down it (but the water was a bit too chilly!), then did some journal writing back at the motel. That night, we headed to Rockin' The Garden, a free concert series put on by the Millenium Hotel, and there were so many people there (with dogs too), and boy, did they love to dance!! We watched and listened for a while, then headed to a Star Gazing night with a local Ranger, which he organizes on behalf of the Parks Dept. It was really cool to look through his telescope at Venus, Saturn, another star that I cant remember the name of, and a Star Cluster (which was actually another galaxy!), and at one stage we thought we saw a shooting star, but it actually turned out to be a satellite! Our guide, Dave, loved astronomy SO much, and it was really cool to be around his enthusiasm and passion for what he does. A surprising number of people showed up for it (probably around 20 or so), so I think that got a bit difficult for him to manage, but overall it was really good (except this one woman who kept repeating everything the guide said, and pretending to know all about it too).

Boulder, CO to Salida, CO - Sat 10/7 (Day 30)
We went for a run along Boulder Creek to get going for the morning, and wandered around the farmer's markets to see if we could grab something for lunch (unfortunately, it was all a bit too impractical for a pair of travelers with no kitchen!) Hit the road for Salida, and drove through the Rockies which was gorgeous (up until today, we had only been driving alongside them). When we arrived in Salida we discovered there was a beer tasting festival going on down town, so we thought we would check it out. At $25 though, it was a little steep (especially as it was only "on" for one more hour when we arrived), but it gave us a good chance to check out downtown. A beautiful little town with mountains all around, and the Arkansas (Ar-ken-saw for the Aussies) River flowing through it. We did find a little bar with a great beer garden though, and some live music playing which helped us fill the afternoon. For dinner we went to the great American drive in, Sonic, and had dinner brought to us in the duke (although the waitress walked rather than rollerskating, which was disappointing). A quiet night after that preparing for our ziplining the next morning.