Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Out West Day 33...Sunday, August 23, 2009...Devils Tower






For once, I'm up early this morning and on the road at sunrise. Devils Tower is about eighty miles west of Gillette, so I should be there early.
This part of the drive is familiar from last year...off the Interstate and thirty miles or so of winding two-lane road. Again, I am impressed by the fact that you don't really see Devils Tower until you're almost on top of it..then you come around a bend in the road and...wham!...there it is. The road only circles up the west side of the Tower from the south, so the views are somewhat limited...as a result, the angle of the sun is not good for photos today. Undaunted, I shoot half a roll of color and a full roll of Black & white.
On my way out, I stop by the prairie dog village for a few more photos...then...back on the road. My goal is to get out of Wyoming, through South Dakota and into Minnesota before stopping for the night...I want to be home tomorrow night.
Driving is good...light traffic...overcast, but no rain. I see some billboards promoting a little town just over the border into Minnesota..."Stop here", they say..."plenty of rooms in a friendly town". Around 8:00PM, I get to this town...and...it's very disappointing. Hotels are scattered far apart...no restaurants (just fast food joints) and, most disappointing of all, not a single friendly "tavern" in sight.
I decide to press on for another hundred miles to the city of Albert Lea...it's going to be late when I get there, but that's a fair trade-off for more civilized accommodations. At around 10:00PM, I exit the Interstate and find a Days Inn...and...right next door, another Applebee's...I'm in luck. After I check in, I walk over to Applebee's and...I'm in luck...it's late-night Happy Hour...$2.00 drafts. And...still more luck...appetizers are half off. A platter of sliders and a few drafts later, I'm feeling relaxed again. Another night in a bed...what a luxury. I sleep well knowing that tomorrow...I'll be home again.

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