South Dakota

Started the day like this, at Rocky Point State Park, near Belle Fourche. Yesterday’s stormy weather was nowhere to be seen as I hitched up and headed out.

Lovely blue skies, no headwinds or crosswinds, so happy driving for a while through eastern Wyoming.

I started over Route 16 through Bighorn National Forest and saw amazing vistas.

And then came the bad weather…

But only for a while…

All worth it, to get to Cody, ready for a couple of nights in Yellowstone!

Today’s quotation

Trip stats

• Miles Driven: 361 (2540 overall)
• MPG:  16.2 (14.9 overall)
• Side trips: Route 16 through Bighorn National Park.
• States/Provinces: South Dakota, Wyoming

Map

South Dakota seems like a normal-sized state until you decide to drive across it. In one day. And with either headwinds or crosswinds tormenting you the entire time. I mostly set the cruise control to 55 mph and watched the scenery go by. And amazing scenery it was. No picture I took really gets across how BIG the sky is here, how far you can see, and how wide open everything is. I’m not saying drive across the state, but at least visit it sometime, it’s got some beautiful landscapes.

And it has the Missouri River. One reason I wanted to cross the state on US-212 was that in January, from a plane flying Seattle to JFK/NYC, I saw this from the air and thought it would be cool to see it on my trip.

South Dakota also has some quirky sights.

This next one is not a trick photo, the cross is bigger than the church. The pickup truck shows the scale of both.

And this is where I ended the day (Rocky Point State Park near Belle Fourche), hard by the western border of the state, ready to jump into WY tomorrow to spend 3 days near/at Yellowstone.

Today’s quotation

Trip stats

• Miles Driven: 367 long, hard miles (2179 overall)
• MPG:  11.6 (14.7 overall) Note: Headwinds and crosswinds all day, 7 hours of it.
• Side trips: None.
• States/Provinces: South Dakota

Map