“Going to the mountains is going home.”

In the morning, I reloaded the large red Coleman cooler that my husband has had for over 40 years. Not only does it keep things cool, it makes a wonderful seat and attracts hummingbirds, who love anything red. The smaller cooler, my tech backpack, and small suitcase follow and I’m on the road again.

The dawn fog is beautiful, followed by a beautiful sunrise behind me (but nowhere to safely stop for a photo), putting a smile on my face as I set the cruise control at 85 mph, 5 mph over the speed limit.

Here’s my first sight of the Badlands off to the south.  I’m very careful when I take photos while driving, so you don’t have to worry.  Just relax and enjoy the view.

Wyoming 2017, day 2

I know it’s a bit early, but we want to get on the road. You snooze while I load the van, then we’ll stop for breakfast at County Fair.

Can you believe that we got 2 eggs, toast, and almost an entire dinner plate of crisp-on-the-outside hash browns for $3!!  What a great place!  What? Yes, I dug in too fast to get a photo.  Sorry about that.  Into the van and fasten your seat belt. The rest of South Dakota and Wyoming await.

This part of South Dakota still looks like (and is) farmland, but when we get to Chamberlain and cross another wide river, the Missouri, the landscape will change to more grazing, although we’ll also start seeing fields of cheerful bright yellow sunflowers.

Whenever I cross the Missouri, I think of an American folk song we sang when the girls were little. I’d play “Oh, Shenandoah” on the piano and we’d all sing.  Here’s a version I like, although the lyrics are slightly different than the ones we sang.