18 October 2016, Tuesday

Today O and I finish the left-over bacon-pecan pancakes for breakfast. Even though we divide them between us, we are both stuffed. After breakfast we drive north a little way and then east across Wyoming.  Much of the day we go miles without seeing another car. The landscape is generally flat and open. In between herds of cattle we pass herds of pronghorn.

I am looking forward to driving across a large national grassland in Wyoming. We have been in national forests, but never in a national grassland. It is rather disappointing to see an open coal strip mine just after we enter the grasslands. It is an ugly use of the land. Wyoming is not all flat here. We do pass occasional buttes and mesas which are starkly beautiful.

In the early afternoon we reach the eastern edge of Wyoming and enter the Black Hills. Lodgepole pines begin appearing on the hillsides. There are also bare hillsides where the trees have been devastated by pine beetle infestations. Great cumulus clouds have formed over the hills and we spy showers in the distance. As we enter South Dakota we pass rugged granite rock formations. We also see small herds of mule deer. We turn from 16A onto 87 south and reach the Blue Bell campground area. After one false start up the wrong road, we finally find the entrance to the campground. It is the only one open in Custer State Park at this time of year. There are a few large RV’s here and five widely scattered tents. It is very peaceful. If I could photograph the silence, I would.  After two days on the road we love it!  We dry our tent, still wet from the rain at Crater Lake and prepare dinner. We have an appointment early tomorrow morning in Rapid City for an oil change for Jazz. It has been 10,000 miles since our engine rebuild, and she has been running smoothly. We are hoping to get to Mount Rushmore after the appointment.