Day 7 and 8: More Montana and Beartooth Pass

Day 8: Montana

Ok, so Montana got better. They don't call it "Big Sky Country" for nothing...

We stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument, which commemorates the Battle of the Little Bighorn (obviously). The battle is also known as Custer's Last Stand - although, in 1991, the official name of the monument was changed from "Custer's Monument" to the current name.

Gabe: "Custer fell... RIGHT HERE."

Me: "Do that again."

Gabe: "Ok. Custer fell... RIGHT ---"

Me with camera: (snap! snap!) "Ok, ok, thanks."

In 1991, Congress also authorized the building of a memorial to honor the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors that died fighting General Custer's men.

That night, we stayed at some silly, cheap motel called... get this - "The Yodeler," in a town called Red Lodge. We wanted to shower. And eat pizza.

Day 8: Beartooth Pass into Yellowstone National Park

We checked out of "The Yodeler" (auf wiedersehen) in the morning and headed to Yellowstone via the Beartooth Highway. See hairpin turn above - we are all very pleased that I was not driving.

Ok then.... good to know.

Oh, wow. Top of the world indeed... Why do I feel an urge to yodel...

This was the best -- just coming over the top of Beartooth Pass, we were suddenly among crystal clear mountain lakes and streams.

Coming down in elevation, expecting cows as directed. Moo.

Holy cow - I mean, buffalo! This is within the first mile of entering through the northern gate to Yellowstone. And (insert knowing chuckle here) there were oh-so-many more buffalo to come....

Day 6 and 7: The Black Hills and beyond

Day 6: Exploring the Black Hills

Our second day in the Black Hills was a wee bit rainy. We wanted to hike to Mount Harney, but someone (ok, it was me) thought a hike in cold rain sounded less fun than....

..... lunch and Moose Drool beer at the "Bumpin Buffalo."

We did take a pretty drive along Needles Highway, though...

Slight bottleneck along the way. There was a tour bus that somehow managed to wedge its fat self through the narrow tunnels along Needles Highway. It was weird.

Day 7: Bye to the Black Hills, onward to Yellowstone

That sign says "Wyoming" by the way...

We stopped by Devils Tower. Apparently it is famous and I should have known about it long ago because of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." I never saw that movie, though, until.....

Heh heh.... Thanks, Rick, for Netflixing it for me right before I left D.C. I started watching it about twenty minutes after seeing Devils Tower in person. I'll drop it in the mail when I get to Vegas tomorrow.

And then we went to Montana...

Which looked largely like this for the rest of the day.... >:|

Day 5: The Black Hills, South Dakota

Off to our camp site in the Black Hills...

View from the campsite, Horsethief Lake Campgrounds... Skip and a jump from Mount Rushmore...

Gabe: "Oooh, Presidential Soft Drinks!.... Flavors! Meg, want one?"

Me: "Richard Nixon Rootbeer... I'd feel dirty actually buying it, though..."

Gabe, as he scampers away with 'Gerald Ford Grape': "Heehee, you'll thank me later, when Gerald Ford quenches your thirst...."

Here is me, with the bust of the dude who designed Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum.

Day 4: The Badlands, South Dakota

Drove through the Badlands.... not so bad, really...

Actually, quite beautiful... The Badlands terrain is mostly the result of erosion and deposition. The formations are gently warped due to mountain forming activities that shaped the Black Hills to the west...

Rain, off in the distance...

Day 4: South Dakota, land of many billboards

On Thursday morning, we said bye to Ray and Dick and the terriers... and headed to South Dakota!

Bye, Chiquita. Thanks for the shirt, Ray and Dick.

Stormy weather.

Not stormy weather.

Me: "OMG, STOP THE CAR! STOP THE CAR!!!!"

We saw billboards leading up to this.... "FEED THE PRAIRIE DOGS!" then "WHEEEE! PRAIRIE DOGS!" and best of all "NO HOWL, NO GROWL! TAME PRAIRIE DOGS!"

They were exactly the way prairie dogs should never, ever be. This one popped out of his hole and then just sat on his rump and stared at us. He was very dusty.

Sigh. The Corn Palace. We had to. And, for the record, the Corn Palace is emphatically NOT palatial. It isn't even really made of corn, for that matter. I hate it.

There was this, though.... so, you know.... one point, Corn Palace. Just one.

Day 3: Minneapolis

Farewell, Chicago. Hello, the rest of Illinois... and Wisconsin... and Minnesota...

Wisconsin

Me, apparently practicing my L.A. paparazzi pose, at some rest stop along the way...

ARE WE THERE YET???????.......

Aaaaaand, we finally make it. At Ray and Dick's place, Minneapolis, MN

Ray and Dick are Cairn terrier enthusiasts. These little guys were born about 6 or 7 weeks ago...

Ahhhhhnom, nom, nom, nom, nom.... Mmmm... cargo shorts....

Ray and Dick's mini-van. Told you they're enthusiasts.

This thing is by Claes Oldenburg. It's at a sculpture garden Ray and Dick took us to on our mini-tour of Minneapolis. Ray noted that it had been taken apart and re-painted earlier in the year.

Ray: "What do you think, Dick - the cherry's darker now, isn't it?"

We all stare at it for a few moments and contemplate.

Ray again: "I seem to remember a more... maraschino look..."

More staring and contemplation.

We also canoed through Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake, and Brownie Lake, and in the evening, we went to a Greek Restaurant called "It's Greek To Me" and then walked next door to see a one-woman play called "The Syringa Tree," which was awesome...

We came back, put the puppies to bed, mapped out our route for tomorrow, and now I am typing this.

Day 2: Chicago

Millennium Park and "The Bean"

Went to Millennium Park first. The Park itself is beautiful, and "The Bean" (officially called "Cloud Gate") is awesome. It's a three-story, 110-ton reflective steel sculpture. People (like that funny-looking kid in the second picture) like to stare at themselves and take pictures of themselves staring at themselves in its surface... Surprisingly FUN! (Not just "fun.", but "FUN!")

"Take a picture of me, Meg! .... Meg? You there? Comon, take the picture."

"Ok, Gabriel..."

Staring straight up, directly under "The Bean"

We ran across Daedalus performing at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion, designed by Frank Gehry. Really great concert space.

Architecture Tour from the Chicago River

We took an early evening boat tour/crash-course in some of Chicago's notable architecture.

The building formerly known as the Sears Tower. For some reason that I didn't catch, they officially renamed it the Willis Tower in July ("Whut you talkin 'bout...") (Sorry. Bad joke.)

108 stories, 1,450 feet tall.

It makes me think of Jacobim Mugatu for some reason...

One thing I found interesting was the plentiful use of greenish / aqua-tinted glass along the riverfront. According to our guide, the choice was deliberate, intended to reflect and complement the Chicago River as much as possible.

(Chicago looooves its river, let me tell you. Verrrry proud. A marvel of modern civil engineering, the river was completely reversed in 1900 - made to flow toward the Mississippi rather than toward Lake Michigan, where it previously emptied. They (the Chicagoans) also dye it green on St. Patrick's Day. Wheeee...)

The elite gym that Obama used to work out in. That is all I remember about this building.

Designed by Mies van der Rohe, pioneer of modernism. Exemplifies the highly abstracted, minimalist aesthetic he would become known for.

The Aqua Tower, designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects. It is the largest project ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman. The undulating ledges along the facade are supposed to look like waves. I believe the tower is still under construction...

One of the many bridges that span the Chicago River (There are 88 in total, I believe). The double-layering is an interesting feature of Chicago's design - something Daniel Burnham was really into when he and Edward Bennett wrote up "The Plan of Chicago."

This appeared around the corner just as Gabe and I were remarking how "American" the city of Chicago feels. I am not really sure where we were going with that, but hey... When a giant, 3D homage to "American Gothic," titled "God Bless America" appears in front of your face, I feel like you can say "This city feels very 'American'..." and just leave it at that.

From the top of Hancock Tower...