Okay!!! . . . Where did I leave off?? I must apologize for not being here more often. I am alive and well . . . slimmer and tanner, simply because I have been going and going, having too much fun . . . that I have maybe had one “good” meal a day, miles of hiking in the relatively BLAZING SUN (yes . . . hydrating like you would not believe . . . I think gallons per day!) and just having a blast!! I know, that does not explain why I have not been posting!
Well, in a nutshell, the weather on the plains after about 5 PM every day has been dicey. I have seen thunderstorms with lightning displays that were truly incredible in sheer number of electrical discharges. I only dared to climb out of the tent once, during a lull, to stand and watch the spectacle unfold. I now understand the adrenaline surge that storm-chasers feel!! The thunder so close and so loud that once I thought I had hearing damage, and rainstorms and hailstorms made it sound like I was living in a snare drum.
But most impressive than any of these issues by far has been the wind. I have been in storms before that had gusts that impressed the hell out of me, but nothing like the winds across the plains. The sound of the wind, as it approaches, is enough to make you cringe, then hold on for dear life! LOL One night the sheer force of the wind pushed the rain up the sidewalls of the tent, under the rain cover, and suddenly it was raining in the people tank from water leaking through the zippers in the roof. I have already lost one laptop on this trip, I will not risk getting my new one wet in the tent. Two nights ago, the storms were so severe that I was laying on my back in the tent, using my legs to hold the side wall supports in place against the sheer push of the gusts, watching the periodic downdrafts flex the roof four to five inches. It was a very, very long night!! LOL
Where have I been . . .
In South Dakota I started at the Minuteman Missile National Historic site. I then spent a couple days hiking in the Badlands National Park. From the Badlands, I pushed west and toured both Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park. Next, on July Fourth, I visited Mount Rushmore National Monument as well as drove Iron Mountain Road (two lanes, very narrow with one lane bridges and tunnels!) Thanks to my good friend Jim Erwin, I also got stuck in a wonderful Buffalo Jam in Custer State Park (worrying the whole time that one of the huge shaggy beasts was going to rub down the entire length of my car!) as well as driving another fun road known as Needles Highway!
Moving further west, into Wyoming, I spent two days hiking around Devils Tower National Park and getting blisters on my toes from boots not fully “broken in”!
Finally, today I changed shoes and moved a few hundred miles north into Montana, where I walked the entire length of the Little Bighorn Battlefield and National Monument.
I tried posting a few pictures here this evening, but the connection is so slow that the photos will not load. I am traveling again tomorrow through Yellowstone National Park and into Teton National Park. With luck, the next stop will have better wi-fi! Let us keep our fingers crossed.
Be safe!!
What the Walrus said . . . 