Sunday, July 20: We packed up and left our cabin around 9:00 AM and went back to Aspen for a picnic at Rio Grande Park and Rugby Field. Yes, it was a fourth day of wedding festivities, but it was a nice chance to say goodbye in a low-key setting. The park is adjacent to the John Denver Sanctuary, built in memory of the famous singer, who called Aspen home for much of his life. A former drainage ditch, the 4.5-acre sanctuary is lovely, with trails winding through trees, shrubs, wildflowers, wetlands and has boulders carved with the lyrics to several of his songs. Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. in Roswell, NM, he changed his name when a fellow performer suggested that Deutschendorf was too long to fit on a theater marquee. John Denver recorded 33 albums and more than 300 songs, writing about two-thirds of them himself. He became politically active later in life and was passionate about the environment, world hunger and sustainable living, among other causes. Fun facts: “Annie’s Song,” the ballad dedicated to his first wife, Annie Martell, was composed in ten minutes while sitting on a Colorado ski lift. During the couple’s bitter divorce, he cut their bed in half with a chainsaw. An avid pilot, John Denver died in 1997 at the age of 53 when the plane he had recently purchased crashed in California.
We said farewell to our Evans relatives, then drove four hours to the Denver Airport, encountering heavy traffic west of the city, presumably weekenders returning home from the mountains. We dropped of Kathleen, Danielle and Jay at the airport, then Amy and I drove back to Longmont to pick up our camping gear and return the suit and bolo tie that I borrowed from my brother for the wedding reception. Next we headed north into Wyoming, and stopped at Curt Gowdy State Park outside of Cheyenne, arriving at sunset. After a quick dinner at our lakeside campsite, we gazed at the stars before falling asleep. The park is named for sportscaster Curt Gowdy, who grew up in Cheyenne.
Monday, July 21: We awoke to a flock of noisy geese on the Crystal Reservoir, the source of Cheyenne’s drinking water. After a breakfast of leftover juice and pastries from Sunday’s wedding picnic, we packed up and headed into Cheyenne (population 65,000), where we visited the public library, Wyoming State Capitol, Buffalo Soldier Monument, and did drive-bys of Warren Air Force Base and Frontier Days, the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and western festival. Wyoming was the first U.S. territory and state to fully recognize women as full citizens, regardless of race, and elected the nation’s first female governor, Nellie Taloe Ross, in 1924. Map link: Cheyenne, WY
We cut across the northwest corner of Nebraska and stopped at Scotts Bluff, a prominent group of sandstone cliffs visible throughout the North Platte River Valley. For 10,000 years, the 800-foot peaks were a navigational landmark for natives, trappers, wagon trains, stagecoaches and the Pony Express crossing the region. We did a short hike to one of the two 4,600-foot overlooks, but the bright sun and 101-degree heat index kept our exertions to a minimum. Map Link: Scotts Bluff, NE
I’m always on the lookout for one-of-a-kind oddities on road trips and Carhenge in Alliance, NE, definitely fit the bill. Built by local engineer Jim Reinders and 35 relatives during a 1987 family reunion, it is a scale model of England’s Stonehenge, the mystical and mysterious stone structures dating back to 3,000 B.C., believed to chart the sun and moon phases. An avid traveler, Reinders had visited and admired Stonehenge and wanted do something lasting and unique that would draw attention to his tiny hometown. Map link: Carhenge, Alliance, NE
In South Dakota, we stopped at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre, where nearly 300 Lakota were killed by the U.S. Army in 1890. We also drove through Badlands National Park, which we’ve been to before, but are always blown away by the beauty of the amazing rock formations and grasslands.
After a full day on the road, we again arrived at sunset at our campground, Oahe Downstream Recreation Area on the Missouri River outside of Pierre, SD. We had trouble finding our reserved campsite, since there are three campgrounds and got escorted by the friendly campground hosts in their golf cart to the correct site. It was dark, hot, humid and buggy, and we were too tired and sweaty to make dinner after setting up camp. We sat in the tent vestibule and watched a lightning storm to the northeast until we cooled off enough to fall asleep. It was a rough night, as a parade of storms passed nearby, bringing high winds for hours that rattled our tents and kept us awake. At one point Amy had to go out and reattach the vestibule stakes that had pulled out of the ground.
Bonus Question: What is the world’s newest country? (answer at end of post)
A. Kosovo
B. South Sudan
C. East Timor
D. Montenegro
Tuesday, July 22: After sunrise and on little sleep, we took a quick shower at the campground, then left in a hurry to avoid more thunderstorms and drove to breakfast at Perkins in Pierre, SD. Our only other stop in Pierre was at the South Dakota state capitol, my fifth in two weeks. The classic-style capitol was finished in 1910 and modeled after the Montana State Capitol in Helena and a large annex was added in 1932. Just to the east is a picturesque, five-acre man-made lake that is surrounded by the governor’s mansion, visitors center and memorials and statues of all types. Map link: Pierre, SD
After crossing back into Minnesota, we stopped for lunch at Dari King, a local restaurant skirting competitive trademark issues, then visited Pipestone National Monument, a sacred native site and an active quarry for the red stone used to make ceremonial pipes for 2,000 years. Native Americans still quarry using hand tools, breaking through thick layers of hard quartzite with sledgehammers and crowbars to reach the soft pipestone underneath. Pipes are also carved by hand and several native carvers were in the visitors center to demonstrate their craft. Map link: Pipestone, MN
 |
| Display quarry. You can see the thin layer of pipestone under many feet of quartzite. |
 |
| Active quarry |
 |
| Winnewissa Falls |
Most of our drive through South Dakota and Minnesota was on two-lane backroads, passing through small towns and tribal lands. Traffic was light, although we did have to pull over for a house moving down the road. We returned home to St.Paul around 8:15 PM, more than two weeks since I’d left home in the truck.
Bonus Question Answer: B. After decades of civil war, South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. Kosovo is the next-youngest, separating from Serbia in 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment