Day 12...

Started the day off early at 6:30 am. was cold, not so much physically cold but, breathing in cold air had me awake. I decided to get up. Outside my jeep was a foot of snow.
I decided to just get up and get going. I went into town And stopped and got a coffee. I overheard that the roads were not passable north .. I was advised not to travel in that direction as the roads are most likely closed. i instantly got frustrated, there was no way I was spending another day in Valentine Nebraska. I decided to move on,drive North. Take the risk. Well it was not an easy drive it was treacherous.

When there is bad weather here they don’t plow the roads or drop cinders they just close the roads with gates. I got licky gates were open so I decided to keep going north. It was toughthe roads were ice. With the windy conditions I could only drive about 45mph. Because the winds would pick my car up and push me across the iced roads. very scary.

It took me longer than expected to get to get to my first Stop of the day which was the Badlands National Park. I finally got there around 9:30am. I changed time zones to mountain standard time . i Was an hour behind and still made it at 9:30 am. Haha . The snow and ice was present at first on my drive into the badlands. What a view, i have never seen a landscape like this. Even though there was a little snow you could see the red belt in the rock . I must say this was really fascinating . as I made it through the park the sun had come out and started to melt the snow. Made for easier travel.

next stop was Wall-Drug SD. I must say this was a very interesting village but a complete tourist trap. I am glad I stopped though.one store with lots of shops within. got my refreshing cup of water and explored the building. It was different. I guess word of mouth put it on the map.

From there. I made my way to Mt. rushmore.it was a nice drive there. Sun became very present and melted a lot of the snow. Which made fir a quicker drive to the monument. It was cool to see the presidents faces carved out of rock. The USA really has some amazing places to see and visit. The beauty of modern nature.

Next stop was crazy Horse. Very disappointed. Cost way to much and could not see much . It is underconstruction.most likely I won’t see it complete in my lifetime. The monument was to far away to get a good look at it, you could have paid to get closer. But I paid $12.00 already to get in. The Indian museum was pretty cool though, a lot of artifacts and history. But if I never come back to see it again that’s fine.

I decided to drive west to continue my journey. I was going to stay at Custer state park , but decided to keep going. By this time the sun had been shining and has the roads all cleared up. Made for easier and faster travel. 70mph on the two lane hwys which I have had a hard time grasping. But the roads are flat and well maintained. I been taking back roads the whole trip. I think you get to see more Whentoir on a country road. The only problem there is nothing around, gas stations are few and between. So when you see one you stop and fill up, even if you don’t think you need too.

The next place I came across was the d wind cave National park. Wow I really enjoyed this park. Only about 44 acres but I saw all kinds of wildlife. Prairie dogs, antelope, mule deer, and buffalo. that made the trip. I love nature and seeing wildlife. Made me smile.

Decided to keep driving and made it to Casper Wyoming where I decided to end my evening. Was a long day but seen so much. I found a hotel along I25. As soon as I got to my room I shaved and showered. It was nice to have a warm shower. I had embraced the stink fir a few days. I then straightened up the back of the jeep, did some organizing, I then went to the hotel lounge. Huge bar actually. I sat and enjoyed a few beverages. The bartender (Brittany) and I were having a jukebox war. Playing all the good older Country tunes. Good vibes for sure. It was nice to relax and have a few drinks. Happy to have a warm bed to sleep in tonight . Tommorow I am driving across the state of Wyoming toGrand Teton National Park.