Campin.

over the past two days Mike and Cindy treated us to a weekend camping with them and their friends, the self-proclaimed working class of jackson, in the beautiful gros ventre mountains. It was fully enjoyed. they circled the trailers and campers full of atvs and pulled out lawn chairs that only moved when the shade did. different from our usual weekend escapades; a relaxing weekend of four wheeling, sitting in the shade eating peanuts and the most stories and jokes i've ever heard in the course of two days. i'm afraid most of them can't be repeated in such a mass media manner but may be relayed later in person.

Death Canyon

The name is not my own invention. Death Canyon is the actual name given to this particular canyon which we couldn't pass up. Twenty-six miles over two days, with elevation changes to make your legs turn to clay. in retrospect it was a bit long, but a very enjoyable hike. It did however begin on the wrong foot. The alarm rang saturday morning and we decided to sleep in instead of getting an early start. we eventually left the apartment and discoved vacum sealed tuna at alberstons. by 10 we were nearly at the trailhead but the road became too rough for the elantra to navigate so we saddled up and began our hike. There were a lot more people on the trail than we are used to seeing and the interaction was interesting. are there any true written rules for passing on the trail? we crossed paths with an older gentlemen who recently had two knee replacements and was persistently continuing up the trail without any water. it was at least 90 degrees. i lent him a nalgene and wished him luck. Later we came upon a man from cincinnati on his way to the summit of static peak. as we filled our nalegenes in the stream he stopped to talk with us. It turns out he was looking for adventure and headed towards the Grand the next day on a guided climb. the ranger he had met the day before told him the water wasn't safe to drink but after seeing us fill up he decided to dip in as well. Its my feeling that if you are careful theres a much better chance of dying from heat stroke without water than dying or even getting sick just from drinking from the stream. At static peak divide we met a couple from atlanta in jackson for the week on vacation. Its interesting to see the diversity and the numbers attracted to the tetons. seasoned hikers and clowns alike enjoy the mountains and will travel from across the country or even across the world. something to think about. At the boundry of the jedediah smith wilderness area we spotted across the basin an opportunity we couldn't pass up. doing so would leave us with a lifetime burden of regret. a small lake sat beautiful across the basin just below a hill of snow. the pictures explain more. The sport doesn't have a name as of yet, but one of the first rules will be no more and no less than underwear and hiking boots can be worn.
we eventually made our camp, by throwing down our bags, near mount meek pass. tuna wrapped in pitas filled us. waking up in the middle of the night i've never seen so many stars filling the sky.
the next day was slightly less exciting but it was a nice hike. we followed the trail to fox creek pass and then down death canyon shelf where we passed quite a few hikers who seem to be from all walks of life. a slurpee from loaf-n-jug was a perfect ending to the weekend.
oh beautiful glacial valley.

Heat of Summer

Revised picture compliments of Joe Boyd.
Classic rock wisdom of the week: "love is like oxygen, too much and you get high, not enough and you die."
The past week -
sunday night,
finish Jailbird by vonnegut
monday,
ranch laundry in town
horse fly trap construction
tuesday,
trail blazing and exploration
shoveling horse shit
Its interesting that on the east coast the concept of working on a ranch is seen as an adventure of a lifetime. In wyoming however, the ranch is a job similar to any other. most enjoy their job and thats why they do it.
wedensday,
hiking camp. only a stake through the heart will send the horse fly, spawn of satan, back to hell. possibly too many vampire movies. time spent sitting on logs in woods discussing everything.
science fiction; Rule Golden by Damon Knight, kyle if you get bored, find and read Incommunicado by Kathreine MacLean; not incredibly written but interesting.
Thursday,
trash to dump in town
splitting wood
painting the barn
swim in the lake
dinner dishes and serving
Friday,
cleaning cabins
working with kyler, hes 16 and a wyoming regular, a good kid. reminds me of luke occasionally.
i've decided that at 16 you think you know everything and you have no idea how to say it, but you try again and again to say it anyway. at 20 i still think i know everything and i even think i could say it fairly well, but i am a lot less likely to admit this to others. someday i'll learn.
tomorrow morning,
death canyon

Thunderstorm

A thousand hands
rolling under hills
of beating snares
unaware tapping tips
five off beat
fingers muffled as
if outside laughing
sounds between cotton
sheets of tumbling
maleable spheres creamy
center of sunlight
now very faint
clouded muddy stream
of conscious flowing
freely falling dropping
through open space
too cramped for
clacking bellowing energy
a thousand hands.

not dead yet

saturday afternoon we left for driggs idaho, much like jackson but smaller, less tourists.
we spent the afternoon at the used book store and wandering around town until we decided to begin our hike up devils stairs. the stairs weren't bad, the flys could drive a man insane. we pitched our tiny tent and crawled inside. we awoke, sometime later, to find people on the trail and our bags scattered where we left them. these things happen. a nice sunset. sunday afternoon we threw food in a plastic grocery bag, this is how we've begun carrying our food. not exactly hip, but it works. we also each carry a nalgene. a few weeks ago i read an article about water purification in backpacker and since we've given to drinking straight from the stream or spring. no one has died yet. arriving along the top edge of the alaska basin we constructed a snowman. possibly wilderness blasphemy but we had a good laugh indeed. moose sighting even without moose calls. the flys begin to attack again. rock collecting. not really any idea how far we walked..somewhere between 5 and 25 i'm sure. we were hiking in the jebediha sp? wilderness area; a bit different environment than the gro ventre even so close by. it was beautiful.
only 4 weekends left until we begin our traverse of these united states for a second time.
Snakes on a plane. does anyone else find this to be an awful idea for a movie? civilization ha.

the lone ranger

I do believe the idea for showers was God's gift to man.

Its true i enjoy spending time in peace and solitude. The past few weeks however have given me a new perspective on the sailors loneliness, the brokeback phenomenon as well as the mountain mans curse. While we haven't turned to whores, homosexuality, or hunting? for gold?, theres a chance we could be spotted chasing chipmunks with spears or threatening each others lives over a game of cribbage. Formerly played by housewives and grandparents, cribbage takes on a new importance while alone in the mountains. I understand why men were killed over a game of poker in the wild west. Matt and i spend half of our work week at a hiking camp. we're there to watch over the camp, take care of work etc. there is no one else there. this is in addition to our self imposed weekends in the wilderness. i suppose we enjoy it. i'm fairly certain we get paid to go hiking. we have yet to discover the catch.
Matt and i take each solitary moment (that we spend together, i promise its possible. someone related it to marriage, explains some things, a lot to learn) and do our best to savor it. the lone rangers downfall is beautiful and terrible. a week after we get home matt flys to rome. from wyoming, no cities, to the the eternal city. I shall soon after be headed in the direction of Leeds, another large city. it should all prove interesting.
tonight shall be our first real venture into the "social" jackson...if you can call a midnight showing of The Goonies true interaction. tomorrow to driggs idaho.

address

If you are so inclined.

ryan, matt etc.
PO Box 9760
Jackson, WY 83002

we'll be enjoying wyoming
until august 20th, or something near there.

Jackson Peak

book lust

watching reality bites.
saturday morning = yard sales in jackson wyoming. so we walked away with used books; as you do. we stopped at the great used book store supported by jackson as well, but i restrained myself there.
It rained thursday afternoon and we spent our time off reading in the tent. i listened as matt called home and proceeded to confound mr. page. he didn't understand who was calling claiming to be, "your son, matt". matt couldn't understand how he dialed the wrong number. in any case we got the chance to talk with kyle who, as i understand, has two cds in the works. jazz as well as the combovers. thats my promo. i look forward to free cds.
we were tuned into the rumor of an abandoned canoe earlier this week by mike and cindy. they work at the ranch and have somewhat looked out for us. they advise us in practical matters and are always eager to point us towards a neat trail or place to camp. in any case we spent the afternoon searching for the canoe which we planned to commadere. sadly we spent 3 hours traversing the sage brush and rocks around the lake with no pirating. something about wandering a shore adorned in sandals and ripped pants with an old oar in hand makes one long for the sea. i can't imagine what people thought of the two guys carrying paddles down the gravel road. im' sure we looked lost. we hitched a ride from the end of the lake back to our car in the back of a pickup truck driven by friendly fishermen from california.
we've discovered that jackson hole, although it gives off an auro of hustle and bustle, is really just a small town in the middle of no where. with one or two main roads we've run into or seen the same people over and over again. if you aren't in the backcountry, where you would be alone, you are at albertsons (grocery as well as liquor), the library, or wandering the streets. we saw a german couple at the rodeo who we later saw in a parking area in teton national park. i've seen the same crazy bearded old man outfitted with rucksack and blue jacket twice now. i see people from the library everywhere. the same drunken mazda who stopped to discuss directions with us while we walked on the road was also seen at albertsons. of course the yardsales had a regular crowd as well. its an interesting phenomenon.
father and brother are coming to visit next week. i'm excited, i think they'll enjoy the mountains as much as we do; we'll enjoy pretending to be locals. on that note, this nearly thought provoking bumper sticker seems appropriate. "my wyoming has an east infection".
matt just pranced across the room singing something about ice cream; bearclaw. its fantastic.

Helter Skelter

CABLE TELEVISION!!!!

7:14am a short walk to breakfast and coffee and coffee and its still cold but its only a short walk and....then.
"sorry guys."
"the what?"
"Again?"
"no one's seen the horses."
"Theres been an escape."
"A break out."
"They've discovered charley tunnel, we dig through the night."

I feel like its been much more than two weeks, but we're in town once again. the following is excerpts from letters and random writings and thoughts on another letter and anything.
Last weekend matt and i crossed 7 mile mountain, as it has been nicknamed. there is a summit just above the ranch known as the sleeping indian and this hill as we've begun to call them is connected by saddle and summit to a number of other mountains whose total distance is roughly? yes. sentences. no. not far up the trail we discovered a fantastic waterfall which matt claimed looked like a movie set and essentially it just had to be done. we discovered a beautiful green lake that gave us our precise location on the map. the water was clear and sparkled in the sunlight. evergreens lined the bank and of course there were wildflowers. Its peaceful on top of the hill and without a trail we drap ourselves to the nearest high point for a look around. we've discvered the edge of a cliff which we need to travel around. a similar story repeats itself, a number of times. this is partially due to what i've named the deceptive mountain distance. it can be related to more than mountains. the connected peaks are all sparse meadow and rock with the occasional patch of snow this late in the season. the snow reminds me of the merainge topping on lemon merainge pie. a discussion of they get that golden tint just near the pinnacle of the merainge gets us soundly around another cliff.
i think i'm learning to appreciate how the same trail can give new insight and new adventures at a different time of day or year. even only weeks apart hiking the same trail we've seen so many new things. matts glasses are now under only two feet of water in disappearing lake. i suppose its very possible that a second glance at a different time could change many things, in many aspects of life. maybe i should keep my eyes open.
Elbows.
rubbing elbows and elbow grease. what we do. who we meet. and don't.
the people who come to the ranch as guests are generally well off as far as i can tell. they come from across the country in private jets and bring nannies to watch the kids as they fly fish. they have ex-navy seals taking care of their kids and insist on the bell boy bringing their bags into the next room. all together though they're nice folk. polite, etc.
generally our work encompasses all areas of the ranch. we work in direct consultation with the chef to ensure dish sanitation and serving. manage the upkeep of secondary energy resources, supplement the labor force needed for habitation adjustments, work alongside those in charge of overseeing the recycling and wastemanagement programs and occassionally feed the horses hay, which subsequently is found in all of our clothes.
Wilderness camp.
For the past few weeks we've been setting up the wilderness camp where matt and i will spend nearly half our summer. with no one else in sight. we cut wood. and look at wildflowers. and build things. we cook. somewhat. and read and hike and find trails. we hiked with our boss, joe earlier this week and tied yellow tape around trees to mark our trail. a bit lost; along the way we passed red, white and orange tape. it was a good hike and will eventually be a good trail. ups and downs. like the mountains. such is life. "those are some big rain drops." "twould be hail"
matt and i sit cross legged at the edge of the meadow just above the camp. a large twisted evergreen tree accompanies us atop the hill and together we listen to the rustling long stalked yellow wild flowers whose name is unimportant in light of their grace. there are many insects. they buzz. tomorrow is another day.

early afternoon walk

this is true.











from the apartment we decided to take a short hike up and around the hills in our backyard.
the green roofed buliding at the foot of the hill is the apartment we stay at on our days off. this is a veiw just south of jackson.










i couldn't even force myself to go out in public. i'm going to shave right now. but how could i resist posting? matt laughs every time he looks at me.

Gros Ventre

i had some wonderful correlation between great expeditions and my notes from last weekend but upon review almost a week later i've decided that what i wrote was mostly crap. these things happen. so the notes from our weekend in the gros ventre are only notes, thoughts etc. i've been trying to rethink my idea of a travel narrative. combine a strict account with reflection and thought. maybe even make it interesting. i've discovered the blog idea to be very different from a personal journal in that the blog needs to interest not only the writer but the reader. obvious of course, but often a journal is only interesting becasue it is written for a single person with no thought given to the reader. hopefully this will improve.

"Two roads diverged in the wood and i took the one less traveled, this has made all the difference; Frost."
"yeah, but we're trying to get somewhere."
"maybe we should get out the map"
-with a slight miscalculation matt and i have rolled up our jeans, changed into sandals, and waded bravely, yet inncorrectly into a stream of waist high snow melt.
-dinner is a hobo; no, but tinfoil packet of leftover chicken, vegetables and pasta. compliments of andy, a cook a the ranch. they claim the only difference between a chef and a cook are tattoos. as far as i know its true. andy cooks in puerto rico during the winter, his girlfriend and her friend are also working at the ranch. if it were not raining we would have warmed the hobo on coals, but instead we throw wood on the fire and eat it cold.
-theres snow
-we are following flat creek south, upstream to the source
-with snow melt and rain the water is high and everywhere. we cross streams and creeks by log rock and leap. we shimmy, wade and stretch from one spot of dirt to another. streams and meadows are crossed in a similar manner when the water is this high.
-its raining and cold, but beautiful.
-snow covers the path, but its not hard to follow the stream or tracks of elk and coyote.
-make camp and attempt to build a fire with wet wood; fall asleep next to the half constructed fire when the sun comes out.
-always bring more dry socks than you think you will need.
-continue our ascent as there is still daylight left.
-there is 3 and 4 feet of snow covering everything. the stream can be seen rushing by through tunnels of ice and snow. it would be best not to fall in.
-i continue up alone. myself, rock, ice, sparse trees, the sky is getting closer. maybe a roof of the world.
-moose calls to matt
- fill my pink nalgene with cold sweet water from the side of the snowy peak.
-sound my barbaric yawp (i dont know any bloodhound gang(smile)) ski down on my shoes
-Matt has followed my footprints and he spots a sign pointing towards flat creek in one direction and granite creek in another. barely rising above the snow this is a graceful indication of our current location.
-biscuits and summer sausage, kings of our domain. humbled by the power that surrounds us.
-reading james joyce, a portrait of the artist as a young man.
-gets cold in the mountains, sleep between rocks and chills
-collect rock for ross, bask in the sun beneath a tree
-the small white flowers in each clearing are very small. they present themselves so subtely that they go unnoticed until one is standing directly upon them. it is only then you will look up and notice the green clearing speckeled by offwhite is actually blanketed by flowers.
-matt fills his boots with fish on our return trip. (those streams are wet and the decaying logs are slippery) no lifeboat, only a short quickening of the heart.
-we stop at disappearing lake; it will be gone by august and return again next spring with the snow melt and rain
-of course we are inclined to swim; a leap from a nearby rock gets us in and most likely when matt looses his glasses. i've been in some seriously cold water, but this may win.
-one weekend, 20 miles, a mountain, a stream, snow, rain, and two beat ranch hands
-home sweet home.
this is our summer residence, the bachelor pad. everyone else lives in fancy cabins. somehow we were convinced to set up the tent. one could say its quaint, or even cold.

Yellowstone backcountry weekend

In Jackson we sauntered into Albertsons grocery store and immediately lost all sense of direction. It was nearly 40 minutes later when we emerged from the vast store of produce, packeged, frozen, and organic goods (for not only the rich but the hip as well). With us we carried the scant items we purchased; milk, jelly, trail mix, loaf of bread, 4 bannanas, and a 5lb bag of rice. If matt can catch fish (no problem) we eat like kings, on a limited budget, for at least another two or three weekends.
We spent our first friday evening sitting at the kitchen table in the apartment on deer drive. The evening dwindled away as we drooled over recently purchased maps of the area and discussed possible weekend pursuits. early the very next morning found us in Yellowstone National park.
Stopping at the backcountry office we learned more about the valley where we hoped to spend our evening. As soon as we walked through the door of the small brown wooden trailer office we were persuaded to watch a video, most likely made before we were born, about the dangers of the backcountry. bears, bison and thermal activity oh my.
After a lunch of peanut butter and bannanas, we hoisted our packs onto our backs and hit the dusty trail. It was soon discovered i packed too much crap i didn't need, but alas this knowledge arrived too late.
Not a mile into our hike we were confronted with a bison. the very same species continued to force us into arcing circles off the trail for our entire trip. to fully appreciate the rudeness of the bison who will not step to the side of the trail you must first understand that in yellowstone, bison are rarely rare. in fact they abundant in the area we were hiking and tend to use the trails because they are easier walking. The typical yellowstone tourist (later i'll discuss the elitist theory) however, seems to find the bison incredibly interesting and tends to pull off the road at every sighting. it becomes unnerving. we saw a bison hitchhiking on the highway. frankly after the first two or three bison neither matt or i could understand the further fascination. they can be entertaining, but i digress.
Our hike saturday afternoon was somewhere between 8 and 9 miles and quite enjoyable. nearing the top of every ridge we hoped to find a bear on the far side, at a safe distance of course. to our dismay we arrived at the top of every ridge with no bear on the other side. There was only matt and i (we saw no one more than two miles from the road) with heaving chests and sweaty brows sarcastically discussing the effects elevation will have on the pa hiker. feel the burn. our trail began in lamar valley and rose slightly through the valley intersecting with the cache creek trail which we followed until stumbling upon our lovely campsite. we set up our bear bag near a grove of evergreens by the stream, and pitched our tent approx. 100 yds away across the meadow/bog area beneath a tree amongst bison droppings. nearly quaint. completing this task we followed a stream up the side of the mountain and purified water before making our ascent straight up the relatively small mountain. needless to say we were zonked, i dont think i've ever actually used that word before but it was typed, by 7 and fell asleep by 8:30. we intended to awake at 5 but took a nap after the alarm and awoke at 6. we broke camp, ate poptarts, purified more water and hit the ole dusty trail once again.
due to a fire in 1988 that ravenged a large portion of yellowstone most of the trees in lamar valley and along cache creek are downed and lay on the mountain sides like a box of toothpicks dropped by some divine being and never picked up. we were lucky enough to spot a heard of 12 or more mule deer crossing the stream and bounding away up the mountain. we didn't encounter any bears on our return hike but did run into more bison, which we strategically avoided by skirting around them through the downed trees. we figured the bison wouldn't be able to run through the tree trunks but read later they can jump six feet high. i think i may have accidentially ganked a book of yellowstone trivia.
we decided to see the sights and stopped at firehole river hoping for a swim but were disappointed to find the river closed and most likey for good reason judging by the whirlpools and high water. we drove on to old faithful where we sat with the rest of the tourists and waited for the geyser to erupt. while the eruption is impressive and amazing i'd like to be there the day it doesn't errupt. that would be a day. we forgot a camera. sitting on the bench we were situated beside a chubby 10 year old with a digital camera and his grandparents. the jokes and the discussion of the building crowds were less than lovely. to be there alone when the great geyser erupts would be bliss. man and nature in combat far from flash photography, ice cream, and lines of cars. we're elitist and thats just how its going to be. dodging the patron in kakhi pants, brand new hiking shoes and a hawaiian shirt with camera slung around the neck i occasionally wish i were there alone. do i feel like i hold a greater appreciation for the wilderness around me just because i've hiked a bit? maybe. i once had brand new hiking shoes, how am i different? then again maybe its something more. or less. we really shouldn't judge. the people surrounding me could be the most interesting people i'll ever meet. but i never do. so we continue to judge and wish we were there alone. elitist i believe. i'm ok with it. such is life. old faithful was impressive.
we met eric, who is on waitstaff in yellowstone, 40 mintues later and he treated us to a cheap employee dinner that really hit the spot. eric we forgot to pay you. we will. thanks for dinner. visit jackson. eric then joined us in our search of huckelberry springs. the spring is between yellowstone and teton parks behind flagg ranch on grassy lake road. find it; the trail isn't very long at all. huckelberry springs is a hot spring that flows into a larger stream. the spring is damned in places to create warm pools of water that rival yergeys hot tub. the view was beautiful.
thus ends our weekend. tomorrow is work and the arrival of the first guests. we're attempting to do wash at the moment and i think the washer is going to explode. best to all.

mountains and moose

wyoming is big and wonderful
i dont have pictures at the moment.
we're in the jackson library. there are tree trunks supporting the ceiling in places. its spectacular. the ranch sits on a lake in a valley shadowed by snow capped peaks. this morning while splitting wood matt and i took a break to follow two bald eagles around the lake. more when there is time. the library is closing. yellowstone this weekend. hopefully we won't get too close to any grizzly bears.

notes on the road

Matt and I have been keeping notes along the road in what has been dubbed the Captains Log. We are currently a few hours from Jackson Wyoming in Pronghorn Lodge for the evening. This is our trip to date:

may 26, 2006 -

9am-Rendeveous at Blue grass trail in coopersburg 9:15- Adventure hats in place, our trip has begun 9:17 enter cvs, note the bearded guy in blue jeans and cowboy hat wearing sandals 9:30 leaving center valley after filling up 9:35 listening to sand canyon...directions? oh well we have a map, adventure ensues 9:39 guitar solo..look for signs to wyoming, "I dont know where we are...this way!"-matt driving 9:46 beginning to rain and all of the windows are open, windshield wipers turn out to be less than ideal, im sure they sell them in wyoming 9:50 Moose calls. there don't seem to be any moose in Pa, 30 minuts of driving and still not to wyoming 9:55 first tunnel, bobdylan 10:16 west 80 driving 10:18 "jesus is lord" mudflaps 10:55 driving behind a sheriff car, death cab, still driving 11:40 begin the odyssey by Homer, a book on tape 12:46 discussion of the traffic we are currently slugging it in, but who would even drive if it weren't for the rush you get in traffic. peanut butter and chocolate teddie grahams for lunch 1:39pm bad news. pulled over by a friendly state trooper who mentioned we were speeding. 84 in a 65, fine will put a dent in our funds. however, in the immortal words of the grateful dead "keep truckin" such is life. Note: adventure hats were removed as trooper approached confidence was thin 2:25 welcome to ohio. open present from kyle, poems by Japanese monk and cds, thanks kyle 3:04 if it were ever raining cats and dogs it is now. we've pulled over for a moment so the rain can let up 5:59 Riddles and the first gypsy sighting of the trip 6:23 Welcome to Indiana, the crossroads of america 6:30 Indiana looks a lot like ohio 6:45 slight detour into michigan while searching for a diner. there are no diners in michigan. 7:57 back on the road, we have no idea what time it is here. Ate at clays family restaurant, i recommend the pecan pie and coffee. staff is wonderfully friendly not bad food. 8:03 Note: driving off into the sunset in a lone ranger fashion means the sun is in your eyes. lower sun visors. toward the wild west. 10:03 welcome to chicago, i've lost track of states, but we must be in illinois 10:39 Like the bony hands of a corpse rising through fresh soil, the top floors of high rises and church steeples rise along the interstate. they are buried by tons of concrete and majorly concealed from view. Houses rise in rows from behind wooden fences 7 feet high. listening to death cab. i think cities make me clausterphobic, sp? 11:52pm the belvidere oasis, apprx. 20 minutes from the border of wisconsin. the plan is to sleep in the car while parked in the rest stop parking lot. its an art only perfected through practice. find an inconspicuous parking space. not alone in the back corner where no one can hear you scream, yet you can't sleep in the front entrance on the sidewalk. of course not too close to the sign telling drivers there is a two hour parking limit. crack the windows a hair and lock the doors. pray the cops aren't too nosey. nap time. more driving ahead.

Saturday Morning the 27th, 6:50am Air is cold, sun is rising, the primal search for coffee begins. 7:45 welcome to wisconsin, yay! 10:15 Crossed the Mississippi river and entered minnesotta. wisconsin was nice. 12:10 just exited the SPAM museum. we couldn't not stop. they love their spam 12:38 nilla waffers and green pepper all smeared with peanut butter for lunch on the road. i think its nearly healthy. matt contemplates his new theory that peanut butter tastes good on everything. 1:59 minnesotta sp? who cares, its a long boring interestate 2:24 the beach boys in the midwest, guitar solo, windows down, i think i smell the ocean 2:43 apparently i missed the sign for south dakota, barbara anne 3:47 short trip into mitchel to see the worlds only corn palace "Be A-Maize-D" we were. 6:10 South dakota smells like cows and it easily wins for most billboards. the state is complemented well by modest mouse and the unicorns. sudden realization, we've driven pretty far 6:34 now entering mountain time zone sign. so here it is now 4:34...7:43MT Staying at the sunshine inn located in wall south dakota. sweet sleep, wyoming tomorrow 7:02am complimentary coffee to go and on the road again. discussion of travel west by wagon train. I'm willing to bet 80% of our generations knowledge of wagon travel is constructed around the oregon trail game. for better or for worse 9:06 Mount rushmore. surreal, really neat. hiking and rocks etc. first trees of any significance we can think of since Pa 10:25 Leaving the crazy horse monument. at first we were a bit upset about the $20 addmission fee, but it turns out the entire set up is privately funded through a nonprofit organization that is run mostly by the original sculptors wife and kids; fairly groovy if you ask me. meeka was right, its huge. time to hit the dusty trail 10:53 rocky racoon 11:08 Wyoming welcomes you, yeehaww and other such shouting 12:06 first tumble weed sighted...tumbling across the road. we both yelled, its true. its been a long drive and we're easily excited by that sort of thing anyway. what are the wooden fence like looking things along the road? 1:04 just entered and passed the town of Lost Springs, population 1 ...2:20 stopped for gas in lasper and noticed the bird we hit was still stuck to the front of the car. removal was necessary and an old map came in handy. 7:54 we're now in Landar, aka lamar if you ask me, but we were pulled over again, at least the cops are friendly. (we kept our adventure hats on) who changes the speed limit from 45 to 30. hotel with internet makes this post possible. the pronghorn lodge. jackson tomorrow. mountains with snow. we're excited. occasional yelling can't be stopped.