The adventure to MONTANA

(Above:  Selfie outside the Minuteman Missile National Park.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

For months Steve and I were looking forward to the drive to Hamilton, Montana for my one-month art residency through Open Air MT at Explore the Arts in Hamilton.  The trip would take us to several unique places, and it would be the first time either of us stepped foot in South Dakota. God Himself seemed to smile on the trip as the weather was picture perfect for the entire week!  Our first sightseeing stop was the Minuteman Missile National Park.  It was an eye-opening experience.  I don't remember much about the early days of the Cold War but Steve remembers the Cuban Missile crisis.  He once fell asleep under his desk during a emergency preparedness exercise.  I do remember standing on a platform in Berlin, looking over the wall into the eastern side of the city. Emotionally, I couldn't help but to cry for joy when that wall came down.  At the Minuteman Missile National Park, a piece of that wall is on display with a sign encouraging visitors to touch it.  I touched it, holding back more tears.  

 

(Above:  Landscape in Badlands National Park.)

The exit for the Missileman Missile National Park is the same one used for the eastern entrance into Badlands National Park. From flat prairie lands, the landscape changes dramatically.  There are all sorts of rather short hiking trails into the vast wilderness.  We did several: Doors, Windows, Fossil Exhibit, Cliff Shelf, and Notch.

(Above:  Steve on the floating ladder along the Notch Trail.)

We had an absolutely marvelous time on this floating ladder along the Notch Trail.  During the day, we saw a lone buffalo, a couple mountain goats, and lots and lots of cute prairie dogs.  

 

The next day we went to Custer State Park.  Luckily, we weren't a day earlier.  Sure, lots of people wanted to be there for the annual Buffalo round-up.  In fact, more than 24,000 visitors were expected.  It would have been a sight to behold, seeing cowboys and cowgirls herding approximately 1,300 buffaloes into corrals for vaccinations, branding, health checks, and to be sorted into groups to be released back into the park are readied for the upcoming auction.  We, however, didn't want to fight the traffic!  We did see plenty of buffalo but we also saw a big horned sheep, wild goats, and these free-roaming burros.  Although signs cautioned against feeding the animals, it was obvious that these burros were used to being fed!

These wild goats weren't the least bit interested in the cars.  It was fun waiting for the herd to munch their way across the road!  Steve and I drove all the scenic loops, marveling at nature and enjoying the great weather.

There are several very narrow and short tunnels cut through the mountains.  Most could only handle one vehicle at a time. In our cargo van, we just fit through them but one was particularly tight.  To amuse people waiting for their turn, this Star Wars stormtrooper was on site for selfies and and photos.  As it was Saturday, many were wearing their college football team t-shirts.  We weren't but we saw many Ohio Staters.  There were plenty of shouts:  O-H followed by I-O!
 

Our next stop was at Mount Rushmore National Monument, likely the best known landmark in South Dakota.  Plenty of people said we'd be disappointed, that one just looks for a couple moments as if Chevy Chase at the edge of the Grand Canyon in the movie National Lampoon's Vacation ... a few nods of the head, done and over.  We weren't the least bit disappointed.  

The monument is glorious.  The movie inside the Visitors Center is first rate.  Parking was easy and plentiful.  Despite the vast number of people, it never felt crowded.  Seeing Mount Rushmore was on my bucket list and I'm glad I got to go!

Our next stop was Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.  This amazing formation is truly sacred and absolutely magnificent.  We took a well maintained, paved 1.3 mile loop around the tower.  Plenty of others were out walking too, but everyone was captivated by the nearly one dozen climbers who were scaling the cliffs in three different locations.

On a day like we enjoyed, a bad photograph was impossible!  I would return here in a heartbeat.  There were so many other trails I would have liked to hike!

Our last full day on the road was in Yellowstone National Park, a place bigger than either Delaware or New Hampshire.  We'd been to this amazing "first national park" before, going to the typical sites that most first time visitors seek to see ... Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic ... in the southwestern section.  This time, driving in from the east, we decided to check out the northern section with its amazing waterfalls and massive canyon.  The hike along the north rim was gorgeous.  The steaming plumes and hot springs in the Norris Geyser area were out-of-this-world. Again, I would have liked to hike more, see more, smell more trees, and listen to more birds ... but my art residency was calling!  Steve and I arrived last Tuesday afternoon.  Orientation was the following morning. I've been stitching and getting acclimated ever since.  Next post:  The start of the residency.  Meanwhile, please scroll down for some of the dozens upon dozens of photos I snapped at Yellowstone.