Beautiful Waterfalls, Scenery near Sheridan, Wyoming

Today we really enjoyed driving around Sheridan, Wyoming, voted the #1 Western City in America. It is a beautiful little town and has so many wonderful art pieces everywhere--in hotel lobbies, restaurants, etc. We figured this was because the atmosphere is so conducive for painting. The light is beautiful here, there are so many amazing vistas, flowers, wildlife--everywhere one is immersed in nature. We were in snow that was 4-5 feet deep, in a rainstorm, in the middle of fluffy white clouds high up in the Big Horn Mountains--then we saw the Shell Waterfalls, the Big Horn River, lakes, rock formations, deer crossing the road. Down near our Super 8 we were in 70 degree weather. All in one day. It was lovely and we also watched the new Terminator movie at an old movie theater in Sheridan, then went to dinner at a Country Kitchen. Tomorrow we head for home, after a 12 hr. drive. It was a wonderful 4-day weekend!

Prairie Dog Village

That was a prairie dog in the picture posted below. A huge village of them exists outside of Devils Tower (really called Bear Lodge by the Indians). Devils Tower was one of the most special spots we have ever visited. There is a feeling of sacredness there. It was always considered sacred by the Indian tribes, and a white explorer named it "Devils Tower" which definately does not fit. Legend has it that a family of children were out playing in the woods one day, and one of them turned into a bear. The others ran off trying to escape and came to a huge flat rock. The rock lifted them up towards heaven creating this huge monolith. The bear tried to catch them and his claws scraped the walls of the tower. The children lept into the sky and became the Pleides system (the big dipper) with the bear still chasing them.

Hello South Dakota and Montana

We are on a long-awaited vacation to two states I have never seen. We left Thursday night right after work in a rental car that is birds-egg blue and oohhh so nice, a 2009 Toyota Camary. We have had great adventures--a huge rock was thrown up from a truck and struck our windshield, but we suffered no damage and we don't know how because it was a really loud "thud". We were pulled over by a Wyoming highway patrolman for speeding (we were desperately looking for a bathroom--there was absolutely no place to stop and we were in the middle of nowhere and it had been over 4 hours of nothingness!). When he asked us were we were headed we said, "to any bathroom" and he just gave us a warning, not a ticket. (whew!). Then, yesterday we were in the middle of the Big Horn Mountains on a really remote dirt road, up in high altitudes and ran into horrible road conditions with snow and muck and ice and we had to turn around and come back down. But the views up there were amazing and even though we were practically biting our fingernails (how ARE we going to turn around on THIS road???) we made it and it was well worth the journey. We have driven over 1000 miles already and plan to double that by the time we get home, but we love driving. It is not the destination that is important to Grady and me--although that is always nice--it is really the pleasure of the journey itself. We have such a good time laughing and talking and seeing the prong-horns and deer and scenery along the way.