Wandering Retirees

Red Lodge, MT to Buffalo, Wyoming to Rapid City, SD.

Connie filled in for me yesterday because I was a bit stewed after an evening of cocktails with new found friends.  So tonight, I need to catch you up.  On Tuesday, the 27th, We left the Yodeler Inn in Red Lodge, MT for Buffalo, WY on our leg toward Rapid City, SD where we will spend several days. The Yodeler is a terrific stopping point for bikers (and others) with a wash station for bikes, and in-room steam baths to soak the grime of the day away. The manager is also a biker who is attentive to our needs.  
We decided to take the most direct route to Buffalo because several days of inclement weather have been in the forecast. The land is very pretty with a number of huge ranches lining the highway on both sides. There’s a lot of enduring evidence of Montana’s and Wyoming’s volcanic past with ancient lava flows and rocks jutting from the pasturelands. We managed to outrun the storms that were moving east from the Tetons and Yellowstone.

Upon reaching the Z-Bar Lodge in Buffalo, we ensconced ourselves in the cutest little cabin for the night. Our neighbors were Stan and Toni who were on a bike trip out of Pocatello, ID. They are a friendly and funny pair and we hit it off from the start. Stan was a long haul trucker, Toni is a mistress of many trades, including billing and payroll for a trucking company.  And they are delightful company. Stan has a basket full of stories that kept us laughing.  One story comes to mind about “cattle guards.”  For those who grew up in more rural surroundings, you’ll know that cattle are sometimes moved along roads that connect separate pastures. “Cow guards” are metal grates that cows find really uncomfortable to cross and will keep them from straying too far. Anyway, Montana was short on highway funds to make needed highway repairs. Stan had such fun telling the story of a Montana politician who publicly stated that they should fire all the cow guards and use the salary savings to pay for repairs. It is funny. Every time they ride over a cow guard now they point and say, “You’re fired!). The next uptime we get together, we’ll share some of our juicier NJ tales, some of which are even humorous.

After fond good-byes this morning we set off for Rapid City, stopping along the way to view Devil’s Tower in northeast Wyoming. (remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind?) it is really impressive. One theory is the tower was formed by lava stalling as it arose through a volcano some 50 million years ago. Gradually, the cone eroded away until a few million years ago, leaving a cylinder of solid basalt, which is what we see today. Very, very cool.

In the little town of Hullet, WY, population 383 as of the 2010 census, we saw a really interesting sing advertising the Crazy Woman Realty, featuring an allegedly crazy woman and a male companion toting rifles, and promising they will always have your back when buying/selling a home. (See the pic.) My, this is not Hamilton, or Ocean City, or Beverly, NJ. American society surely has a lot of different cultures, no?  By the way, Crazy Woman Realty was featured in a NY Times article a few years back. Worth a gander. 

All across the western/northern states (Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, S Dakota, etc.) we have seen a lot of Highway warning signs (with gates) that advise motorists to turn back the way they came should the lights be flashing. Not just on state and county roads, but on the Interstates, too, winter snows, ice and wind can make roads impassible for extended periods of time. Winter weather can extend from October to June in some places, and becoming stranded on the highway in those conditions is a very serious, even deadly business. There are huge snow fences and many pull-offs built specifically for “chaining up” your wheels. You can see some of this on the Weather Channel from time to time. The Going to the Sun road has just opened this week in Glacier Nat’l Park, and the Tioga Road in Yosemite just opened today because the snow has just now been cleared.  In the winter, the temps dip into the -20F on average.  Yikes! I’m not sure I can complain in good conscience any more about the rigors of NJ winters any more. 

We got into Rapid City late this afternoon and completed our shopping and unpacking just before some ferocious storms over ran the area. We have hunkered down to enjoy some supper and watch the rough weather pass through. We have again been blessed with a day that avoided some nasty skies. Tomorrow is another day, so now to bed.

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An honest to goodness haystack.  You don’t see much of these around anymore.

Red rock in Montana and Wyoming. 

A lot of people stop just take pictures of Devil’s Tower and keep on going.  We saw this sign just after a scenic overlook where we took pix.  We even stopped in the driveway of this place to take another photo of Devils Tower.  We felt kinda bad.

Hulett, WY.  Definitely going for the real Wild West look.

Yep, read the sign.

Roads are closed due to snow or wind.

Snow fence.