Old Cars & A Bunch a Rocks

This is why I don’t blog. It’s 2019, and I still haven’t posted all the photos from Pete’s birthday trip. We’re nearing the end… hopefully I get through it all before his next birthday!

Carhenge was really special actually! When we first met (4+ years ago) he asked the receptionist at his hotel (or a waitress? or random person?) what fun things there are to do in Nebraska, and they said to visit Carhenge! It’s like Stonehenge, but made of cars, and it’s only about a 5 hour drive…..but at that point he hadn’t acclimated to midwestern temperament for drive times, so he passed.

I was really excited to revisit Carhenge – the last time I was in the area (Alliance, NE) was for a nonprofit art project. My university’s art club teamed with a child advocacy organization and we painted a mural in their headquarters. Obviously – when in Rome – we had to visit the cars just outside the city. Pete was a sport and let me recreate some of the photos I took the first time I’d visited.

Cool didjaknow – Carhenge actually aligns with it’s inspiration – Stonehenge! A few years back we had that massive solar eclipse? Yeah it lined up perfectly with Carhenge and Stonehenge (though the creator says that wasn’t even a deliberate thing??? which is much weirder so I don’t even know).

This far out in western Nebraska we made sure to see what my family calls the “big bunch of rocks.” But if you’re into history.. it’s still sorta cool. These were the milestones that people trekked months to see. The Organ Trail and the Mormon trail are still visible to this day – granted they just look like slashes in the grass….but thats years worth of hundreds of families enduring hardship looking for a better life. Maybe I seem a little intense writing this…. but my country only has like a bicentennial worth of history, and the fact that you can still see wagon wheel tracks etched into the dirt is pretty cool.

Pictured here is Scotts Bluff, Chimney Rock, and Court & Jailhouse Rocks.

I definitely hope that Pete got something out of this trip – we’ve done a ton of touristy stuff so far throughout our relationship so I really hope he enjoyed it…but to be totally honest these were some location I wanted to check off of my bucket-list.

Anyway I feel really lucky I’ve found someone that’s happy to clear their schedule so they can drive off into the dusty sunset with me, just to look at a bunch of rocks.

…to be continued

SPARE Time…

Today was the day we finally made it back to Nebraska! But we missed our turn and took the wrong highway so we got a really good look at the Wyoming country side.

Take a look at the highway though… where one state’s maintenance ends and the next starts? Does it look like the promised land to you? Because it did to us (no offense Wyoming but sheesh).

Not sure if I’m supposed to disclose this, but I’m super proud of the fact that Pete got to experience standing in one state and pee in another. Hashtag goals.

So anyway, we missed our turn to get back into Nebraska so we spent the whole afternoon with our time riding along the uh, very exciting… Wyoming border… slipped right on past Fort Rob racing the sunset, got about one mile away from Toadstool Park where our next campground would be……but didn’t quite make it.

We were deflated. 

You could say we were tired.

It’s a good thing we spared enough time to take care of it before the sun did actually set….. no pressure. 

Having to fix a tire in the middle of Nebraska summer was complete rubberish. 

Toadstool park is a lot like the Badlands in South Dakota, and actually the earth system connects so technically it’s part of the Nebraska Badlands. It had a completely different feeling to it though. The “big” badlands in South Dakota were hot and sharp and abrasive. It was so beautiful there, but it felt dangerous.

Toadstool park seemed friendlier somehow.

I’m sure Toadstool park is just as dangerous. There is a risk of rattlesnake, falling down a deep ridge or rockslide. Collapses happen. Ankles get twisted. Maybe it’s because the weather was milder these days, but this place felt like it was happy to welcome us instead of telling us to watch our step.

To be continued…

 

Devils, Aliens, & Giants

Pete’s Dirty 30 was designed to be pretty rough, but halfway through South Dakota we came upon Sturgis and decided to book an actual motel with real electricity, a hot shower, and a bed with real sheets.

At this point he still didn’t know where we were headed yet, but I was completely delighted to find a ginormous hint posted on the wall of our room. There were also maps of highways and destinations all over this little motel though, so it didn’t take too long for him to discover where we were headed next.

 

Devils Tower

If Pete were paying attention at Crazy Horse, there was a series of legends collected from different Native American tribes depicting how Devil’s Tower was created. Most stories include some children getting lost and being chased by a giant bear, only for the earth itself to raise them up to the heavens for safety. The ridges scored into the side of the ‘mountain’ come from the claws of the giant bear, and the original name of the structure meant something like “Bear’s Lodge,” or “Home of the Bear.”

 

It’s a sacred place to Native people that live near or visit the land, and if you pay attention the wind will catch items representing prayers in the trees. There were ribbons, bits of cloth, strings and even jewelry, but we were careful not to touch anything… except for a key we found when Pete went to climb a bit of the mountain.

 

A key was hidden underneath a loose rock that gave way. Pete went right to it like he knew where it was… but it was just guarded by a giant grasshopper. We put it back if anyone else wants to hike around and try and find it, lol.

When I first went to visit Pete he took me up the northern coast to visit the Giants Causeway and he taught me all about the legend of Finn McCool, so it was really cool to visit the home of the giant bear from my country. Plus we watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind while he was here and that was a hoot. Game and Parks gave us little envelopes to “catch aliens” on our hike….which were invasive plants that blow in and take over.

…it’s only just now occurring to me that I’ve been conned into literally weeding for the federal government… a step up I guess from my grandma’s “garden parties.”

…to be continued..

Bad to the Bone – Day 6

We made it to the Badlands JUST as the sun was setting, and let me tell you… seeing the sky turn pinks and purples over just how vast the badlands really are… this might have been the most breathtakingly beautiful place I’ve ever been my whole life. I’ve never seen anything like it. This was the type of beauty that makes a person feel small, like standing at the edge of the world. Pictures don’t do it justice.

The National Grasslands that surround the Badlands are protected, so the wildlife that lives there really aren’t that afraid of cars driving past. Plus, all of the cars were just as starstruck as we were, so traffic always slowed to a crawl to admire the ‘locals.’ We spend so much time hurrying in our daily lives, but out here there’s few signs of industrialized life, and certainly no cell service. It was soul enriching just to unplug for a while.

We made it to our campsite with the sun setting faster than we could set up our tent. There were about 12 other campers set up all rounded up into a circle, so we followed suit. Good thing,  because you couldn’t tell in the dark but the center of the camp circle was housed by a prairie dog village!

It was. So. Quiet. Not sure if it was peaceful or eerie – normally when there’s people around there’s noise. After admiring how bright the stars were out here, we drifted off to sleep only to be awoken in the middle of the night by the most bizarre sounds. Stomping? Snorting? Munching. Steps and breathing that obviously belonged to a very large animal. Animals.

The moon was bright enough that we could see the buffalo casually walk right through our camp. Buffalo are peaceful, but wildly dangerous if they were to stampede or charge. We don’t know what time it was since we were too nervous to turn on a flashlight or a phone to see a clock. We didn’t move or speak or breath because what if it startled the nearest buffalo, causing a chain reaction.

I have to wonder how intelligent they are. One came right up to our tent to look in at us through the screen window, nudged its horn at our tent, and tore up some grass to snack on. A baby snuck up to nibble our chairs I forgot to put away, and then spaz-frolicked away.

It was such an honor, and such an adrenaline rush to be in the presence of these huge creatures. So many of them. When dawn came they had loosely surrounded our camp. One by one the other people slowly, quietly creeped over to the outhouse, careful not to startle our guests. Or hosts, really.

This night, the evening of Pete’s actual birthday, was my favorite of the whole trip.

As the sun rose and morning took, the buffalo just sorta drifted away and passed us by. As soon as they were far enough away to seem smaller, us and the other campers started moving to pack up.

Today’s mission would be hiking the Badlands.

Turns out, I’m afraid of heights. If you would have asked me before, I would have said pshh.  Ask me again at the top of a cliff, where the ground crumbles a tiny bit every step you take, when everything is hot and sharp and steep, and probably home to a nest of rattlesnakes.

Why is it called the Badlands?

The original name for the area literally translates to “land that is bad.” When people explored this area (and I cannot express to you how truly vast it is…) it would be very difficult to safely move forward. You’re at the mercy of the elements, nothing seems to grow for food or shelter, hunting would be a trick, and don’t trip.

The outlaws were also known to hideout in the depths of the Badlands as well, because what sheriff is going to chase them safely into that labyrinth?

My advice? Be respectful of your surroundings. Don’t get cocky. Bring twice as much water as you think you need. And as always, constant vigilance.

Some places make you feel small. Like a single drop in the entire ocean. The world, the universe is so big, and there is so much to explore and see and learn. It’s so exhilarating to get to be a part of it all, and I feel so lucky to have someone to stand at the edge of the world with me.

To be continued…

 

Bad Rushing… Day 5 Continued

Okay I told Pete we weren’t rushing today… but then again it would be pretty important to get to our next site before sunset.

We made some friends in Custer that said, “OH if you’re doing the tourist thing, you have to visit Wall Drug! You know, the billboards?!” We didn’t, lol. One of those remarkable phenomenons where you don’t notice something until you’ve been made aware of it, and then start seeing it everywhere!  I can’t believe we didn’t take any photos of the billboards we passed along the way, but they were magical. All I can really say is, keep an eye out for signs saying “Wall Drug – Free Water – XX Miles away!” And if you have the time, follow them. Totally worth it.

It’s really hard to describe what Wall Drug store even was. A tourist attraction? A restaurant? A gift shop? A museum?

This day landed on Pete’s actual birthday! I managed to surprise him on the river with chocolate cupcakes in place of a birthday cake, but I didn’t have an actual cake lined up for the actual day. I tried, but panning this trip without a few hiccups wasn’t going to happen. Honestly, it was just as well though because we were well into our holiday and had overindulged in sweets a long time ago.

In place of a surprise cake, he got a gravy drenched roast beef sandwich and mashed potatoes… what could possibly be more surprising than that?

To be continued…

Rush Rushin’ Around – Day 5

Told Pete to expect to RUSH today… he knows I can be terrible at time management, so he wasn’t surprised when we packed up as quick as we could and threw our stuff in the car… only to calmly drive away at the regular speed limit.

We weren’t in a hurry! We were going to Mount Rushmore! Surprise!

Compared to Crazy Horse yesterday, Mt Rushmore had a whiplash level different vibe. Even though it wasn’t  busy time of year, there were so many more people crowding for photos than Crazy Horse. The history was structured so patriotically, which is understandable as it’s one of the great icons of the United States.

A super cool place to visit, and something I’ve always wanted to check off my bucket list. Plus, the architect’s family can be connected to Nebraska!

 

You can only be the tourist for so long until your brain starts to melt. We commemorated our trip with a drink and OUR FIRST ice cream cone as a couple?! And an ugly face competition that somehow I only took part in.. Bae left me hangin…

 

To be continued…

Needles to Say – Day 4 Continued

See what I did there? Needles to say….? Get it! Nevermind.

I have always wanted to visit the famous Needles Highway. It’s said to be one of the most beautiful roads in the entire world, and for good reason. It took us forever to find our direction and get to the iconic “spires,” because every few feet we drove I felt this overwhelming urge to stop and get out to explore again.

We stumbled onto THIS beauty not having researched it at all. This is sylvan lake… apparently a well-known spot for family vacations among my friends. This was by far the most rewarding place to impulsively park illegally and go hiking.

I feel so lucky to have someone that I can spend days in confined spaces with – cars and tents. Someone to spend hours with deciding to learn about geology or history or architecture with. Tours and museums. But also someone that will jump and play and climb rocks with me. I feel just like a kid.

Found Needles lookout point finally! “Found,” as if we weren’t just following the highway they would inevitably get us there… but I think it probably took us 2 hours from the base to finally cross the 20 miles of irresistible pockets to explore.

The goal was to find that horrible adrenaline filled tunnel to drive through, and then hike the Cathedral Spires trail. We didn’t hike the whole length of the trail because it was finally getting dark, and I didn’t want to gamble a twisted ankle on the side of a mountain cliff in the dark. However, we’re pretty sure that we actually may have went off trail so far at the top that we had actually crossed over into spire trail territory by pure chance.

To be continued…

Tiny Bit Crazy – Day 4

This morning we woke up in a Tiny House, but that was the last thing that was tiny about today. Time to see something big.

The Crazy Horse Memorial was much much larger than I thought it would be. The museum portion was very cool, and it was very impacting to learn about the history of why it was built.

Crazy Horse was built to commemorate a great Lakota chief after the Treaties were broken  by the United States government at the expense of the Native Americans. In response to Mt Rushmore being built, the tribes wanted to state they had great heroes as well. The monument shares a message of hope and reconciliation, and new projects are being taken under to further preserve culture and education; such as a university, new cultural centers and exhibits, and perhaps a hospital.

My grandparents visited the memorial 30 some years ago, when they were just barely getting started blasting around the face. Now the face is DONE! Pete & I decided to plan a trip to return in another 30 years (for his 60th birthday), to see how far they’ve gotten by then.

Crazy Horse is currently the largest sculpture in the world, and the entire establishment is carried out on a 100% non-profit basis.

To Be Continued…

Feelin’ Windy – Day 3

Today we packed up our campsite and raced the rainclouds closing in. I swear you can learn a lot of about a person’s communication skills when you’re trying to pack a loaded car, fold up a tent, and not quite be faster than the rain drops falling. I am amazed by his efficiency and patience with my “helping.” Either we work extremely well together, or he has the best poker face I’ve ever seen my entire life; win/win either way.

A reminder, Pete didn’t know what our next location would be until we got there. I gave him a vague itinerary with clues on it, and today’s clue was “windy” and I tossed him a can of beans to cook over the fire – my attempt of misdirected humor I was very proud of.

Our actual destination was Wind Cave National Park, and to get there we had to drive through the South Dakota grasslands. These was a reserve for wildlife, and we got our first siting of real buffalo doing buffalo things!

 

 

We were so excited to see them “up close” right near the road (wait til you hear how close we would actually see them later on during this trip…), and a few spottings of prairie dog villages! …turns out though, when a buffalo flops to the ground and rolls in the dirt, it’s agitated and may or may not decide to attack you soon. NEVER approach a buffalo. They’re beautiful peaceful giants, but could also totally disembowel you and then trample you to bits. Cool!

If you’ve ever tried to text me while Pete and I are in the same country, you’ll know I’m pretty hard to get a hold of. True to habit, upon arriving at Wind Cave my phone promptly died, thus I didn’t get many photos here.

At some point, we became “cave people.” I’ve always been interested in earth science and natural history, but never really sought it out. So far together we’ve visited the Marble Arch caves in Northern Ireland, swam through Rio Secreto and other cenotés in the Yucatan area of Mexico, toured the Scotia Chalk mines in Nebraska, the stone-quarries and catacombs of Paris, and now the Wind Caves in South Dakota.

These were unique because of the box-formation that happened in the stone because of the limestone situation in the Black Hills, if you’re curious about that sort of thing. Air moves through the tunnels as if it were actually breathing. Various Native American tribes knew of it as a sacred place that either tells the story of the creation of mankind, or a passage to and from the afterlife.

 

 

That evening we made it to Custer for dinner and drinks, and our accommodations for the night! Not another campsite, but a tiny house!

To be continued…

Dirty 30 – You’re My Valentine

The next morning our friends and us woke up and had a nice breakfast by campfire; beans, coffee, and a bacon competition (that ironically didn’t involve pork at all… a friend brought beef bacon, and I brought turkey). It was a nice lazy morning and everyone slowly rolled out. Very slowly for a couple who lost their keys in the river, haha! Safe to say it was an adventure for more than just Pete.

When it was just us two, we explored Valentine, Nebraska. All of the street signs have little hearts on them (and I didn’t make a single cheesy joke… land of missed opportunities).

I told Pete this was our one day that we didn’t really have any huge plans or itinerary, so we just kicked it really. We lazed around our campground, got him a Runza sandwich, and found a hiking trail to visit Smith Falls again.

 

Look close… we found bigfoot creepin in the distance…

 

We found a couple historic bridges. One had one some construction awards when it was built, which made his engineer brain light up. The other replaced a historic railroad that crosses the Niobrara River. It’s actually part of the Cowboy Trail, and crosses the whole state, and later on our trip we actually found ourselves driving next to it for miles! Apparently hardcore bikers (the bicycle kind) will ride across the state like no big deal.

Special thanks to Nebraska Jaycee’s State President & Vice President, Tiffany and Codie. We got lost (Yes. In Valentine.) looking for how to access that bridge, and they were just a text and a phone-call away to get us on track!

Day 2 was a simple one that ended back at our campground, just us two. Most of the entire grounds had cleared out since the weekend was over, so we were totally alone in the quiet darkness. He wouldn’t let me tell him ghost stories, haha. The moon and stars were so bright we didn’t need flashlights (but I’m glad I took one to the outhouse with me because there was a giant killer wolf spider that tried to rob me of more than just my dignity)…

Day 3 to be continued…