Wyoming to South Dakota

Well I didn't mention in my last post how, even besides Yellowstone, Wyoming is absolutely amazing. We went from the crazy gorgeous park, to cute wild west town, then to the rocky wonder that is Bighorn National Forest. Bighorn was intense! Entering the forest it's really rocky and craggy, we saw bighorn sheep scaling the cliffs...a scene right out of Discovery channel!! COOL! We were loving the mountains...and going up up up...and before we knew it we were 9000 feet up in 4 feet of snow. It was totally amazing up there. We were so taken with the clear blue skies and the sparkly blanket of snow...such a wonderful surprise. We drove past some guys getting ready to go for a snowmobile ride and we so badly wanted to join them...if only we had had warmer clothes. :)

So then continuing on through Wyoming was great, just one beautiful scene after the other. The state did seem to go on forever though. We finally got to the northeast corner and got to see Devil's Tower. It's a monolith that stands 1267 feet tall above the Belle Fourche River. (Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind) Then we headed to the geological center of the US in Belle Fourche, SD, established after the addition of Hawaii and Alaska. Next was Sturges, SD, to the Harley Davidson store there.

As if all that wasn't enough for one day, we then checked in to our hotel and headed to Bear Country USA and Mount Rushmore. Two very fun attractions. Bear Country USA was a drive through animal park with wolves and elk and reindeer and bears and so much more. Thanks to the Fernicolas for that recommendation. Matthew LOVED watching the baby bear cubs run and tumble and play! :) Mount Rushmore was breathtaking and it was so great to see one of America's great landmarks. Finally we ate dinner at the Red Garter Saloon in Keystone, at the foot of Mount Rushmore. Great end to a VERY busy day. Now for bed...tomorrow's gonna be a long day of driving to Omaha, NE.

Are we there yet?