What's the matter with Kansas?

We're driving through Arkansas now on the way to Memphis. Feels like it's been a long time since the last post in Wyoming, so it seems time for an update. Leaving Wyoming we headed to the Black Hills of South Dakota. After visiting Devils Tower, Deadwood (Wild Bill Hickok's grave, etc.) and the surrounding area, we veered off into North Dakota. We spent a few days in the N. Dakota badlands at Teddy Roosevelt National Park, where we stayed at a pretty state park campground with the best-looking horse camp we've ever seen. We then drove to Bismarck to see the town named after the first German chancellor, which was originally settled by many German immigrants. That also gave us the chance to visit the burial site of Sitting Bull in the Standing Rock reservation.

Pretty Horse Camp

N. Dakota Badlands

Sitting Bull Burial Site

Driving back to S. Dakota we breezed through Badlands National Park – actually bucked the breeze as we drove into seriously heavy winds. I couldn't even open the car door to get out at the scenic overlook to take a picture, so we forewent the camping there (nothing to do and campfire being out of the question and not allowed anyway).  Instead, we  headed back to the Black Hills where we found a good campsite by Sheridan Lake. Matthias gathered lots of firewood and we spent the next few days exploring the area – enjoying the the views of Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse monument and the mountains from Custer State Park – and also taking care of laundry and getting an oil change. Next, we drove through Nebraska, spending one night at a local county park campsite before entering northern Colorado. We found the one remaining National Forest campsite that was still open in the Cache La Poudre River Canyon and used that as our base to explore the area and Rocky Mountain National Park. Unfortunately, the road over the pass in the park was closed for the season, but the views from the east side were lovely nonetheless. Anyway, Matthias was pretty much over being dragged around to see more spectacular scenery....

S. Dakota Badlands - from inside the car

Bison at Wind Cave National Park/Custer State Park area 

Nebraska campsite

After a couple of days of rain, we arrived in Denver for a real trip highlight – a visit with Jennifer and Brenda. They were fantastic hosts, taking us to Red Rocks, on a couple of local hikes, out for traditional green chile (YUM!) and to experience a newer Denver tradition – a recreational pot store. I'll admit I wasn't really enthused about visiting the pot store, but it was really interesting and nice – and I'm still reeling from the idea that I can go into a store and buy something for $2.50 that will get me high for six hours. I didn't have the nerve to try it because Brenda's family came over that evening, but there may be a cookie stashed away somewhere for a rainy day...

Red Rocks

At the pot store

Two great cooks (not too many) in the kitchen

Leaving Denver was a downer, not just because we had to leave our friends and drive across Kansas (we were warned to do it quickly) but also because the first Kansas State Park was really disappointing (half closed and no place to make a fire) and the next day a rock hit and cracked our windshield. Once we crossed into Missouri, though, we found an auto glass repair shop in Joplin, which just happened to be on historic Route 66 (and that lifted my mood a bit, somehow). Since we spent a little time getting the windshield repaired, we decided to shorten the drive that day and make a stop at a state park in Branson, MO, which I kinda always wanted to see. The drive through the Ozarks was stunning (hadn't seen foliage in a while) and the park was nice. Next morning we took a quick drive through Branson (no, I didn't subject Matthias to one of the shows, though I was slightly tempted) and drove through the Ozarks to a national forest campsite near the Arkansas border. Which brings me to where we are now. In about an hour I'm going to try my first Memphis BBQ and then tonight we're going to hit Beale Street. But that will have to be a subject for the next blog post – probably from Florida, where we should be in less than a week.

Windshield repair on Route 66!

Probably a good thing I didn't subject Matthias to this!

Click here for next blog post - back into the frying pan