Cody, Wyoming - 2,112 miles into trip

This is my "original" blog for the trip from SD to Cody.  It got lost in "the cloud".  (technology at it's finest, plus a newbie to blogging).  I am posting it, because of the dialogue below:

Both mom and I were not too excited to be heading back to Wyoming, the part we saw earlier in the trip was not too impressive.  Boy did that prove us wrong.....Wyoming has water & critters!!  We saw so many deer, it was incredible.  Oh and WATER, rivers, creeks & lakes.  We traveled today from Rapid City, South Dakota to Cody, Wyoming.  The drive was beautiful.  We went from high peaks to low valleys.  From 60 degrees to 91 degrees.  I will never say Wyoming is ugly again.  The small communities we passed through today were, Gillette, Buffalo, Bighorn National Forest, Worland, Greybull and finally Cody.  Like I posted earlier, it is spring here, there are so many wildflowers, mom is in heaven!

Sunday - Rapid City, South Dakota to Cody, Wyoming

We began our trip back home.  We are a long way from home!  We traveled from South Dakota, to Cody, Wyoming.  There were several small towns we passed all along the way.  Mom and I were pretty disappointed with Wyoming on the first part of the trip - and then we saw another totally different area!  There is water, critters & GREEN everywhere!  The wildflower season is in full bloom.  The drive was spectacular.  We even passed several lakes, wah, no fishing for me!  But we saw several fly fishermen at all the streams and lakes we passed by.  Here's a few pics.

I have a new found love for the "Golden Arches" - it's Tea & Pee

We stayed here in Cody, haha same name as mom's campsite!

This handsome fella lives behind the motel

He has an awesome view from his stable

Historic Greybull downtown

We gave up on buffalo & began counting beefalos! (cows)

These were tiny little flowers up on top of the Pass

Water!

Above the tree line yet these flowers were growing there

Perfect bouquets

A Yeti with a snowball!

Deer

Penny, Penny, a tye dye shirt!

Everything in these parts is "historic"

We had lunch and beer here!

SO many choices!!

I had Dain stop on the I90 so I could take a pic of the snow, little did I know we'd be driving right through it!

We traveled from Cody to Jackson via YELLOWSTONE!!  We saw bunches of animals, we made it safely to Jackson, late but safe.  Everyone is asleep right now, so I better sleep too.  I will post my Yellowstone photos tomorrow.  We head to Salt Lake City, Utah in the a.m.

Crazy Horse Memorial

After Mt Rushmore, we decided to take a look at another monument being sculpted in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  It is in honor of Crazy Horse.  This is a work in progress, and is HUGE!  To put it in perspective, the entire Mt Rushmore sculpture can fit just in the "hair" section of Crazy Horse.  Like I said it's a work in progress.  The artist was an assistant to the guy who created Mt Rushmore, so he was familiar with how to sculpt on rock.  There is no government funding, or grants for this project.  That is why it is taking so long to complete.  It is a family who is doing this work.  Their father has passed away, so his wife & children have taken on this project.  They live & work right on the property.  Learn more about this work of art here, http://crazyhorsememorial.org/.  Here's a few pics from this place.  It was really neat & interesting.  Dad said maybe in Carson's lifetime, this project will be completed.  They have been working on it for years, and is no where near completion.

 This was a huge gate, and the cutouts in the gate, are artwork the artist's kids & grandkids had drawn, and he cut them into brass pictures.  Then welded them onto this giant gate.  All are wildlife pictures from the animals in South Dakota.  Very beautiful, I should have taken a pic of the entire gate too.

 This is a brass sculpture of how the finished mountain one will look one of these years.

Chan's cat.

The other peanut gallery.

We have decided we are a LONG way away from home.  The traveling itinerary is: Sunday travel to Cody, Wyoming.  Monday Cody, WY to Yellowstone, spend the day there & then head to Jackson, WY.  Tuesday, Jackson, WY to Salt Lake City, UT, Wednesday, Salt Lake City, to Page, AZ, Thursday, Page AZ to Miami AZ.  Friday Miami AZ to CG AZ.  WOW that's alot of miles.  We have currently traveled 1,696 miles!  Pray for us to have safe traveling mercies.  I'll snap pictures along the way.  And mom & I will be hanging on for dear life in the backseat! :)