Buffalo to Rapid City. It's Hot!

On Sunday, June 3rd, we rolled out of Rawlins, WY, heading north on US 287 toward Casper. After almost a week on Interstate 80, we left that highway and began to do some actual driving....where we had to concentrate while on a two lane road. Just north of the intersection of US 287 and WY 220, we found one of the most famous of the Pioneer landmarks: Independence Rock.

This granite monolith is/was a destination for an estimated 500,000 pioneers moving west toward California, Oregon, and Washington. The trails split just west of here, but this area provided water, grass, and good weather for those hardy souls, and a chance to stop and rest both themselves and their animals.

While they were resting, these travelers carved their names into the rock, both as a form of graffiti (Kilroy was Here!), but also as a marker for friends and family that came afterward. No cell phones here! We took a two mile walk around the landmark and got a few pics of some of the remaining names, and some interesting rock formations.

Back on the road again, we cruised through Casper, WY, and jumped on Interstate 29. This area is a gateway to the Tetons and Yellowstone, and is well traveled this time of year. We decided to stop for the night in Buffalo, WY, a little cowtown near the intersection of I29 and Interstate 90.

While we don't generally stop at KOA campgrounds, the reviews for the facility in Buffalo were good, and it was on our route, so we stopped. We were assigned a site that was so out of level that the leveling system gave us an error message and quit. We spent the night leaning toward the right....

It had been a long time since we had had a special meal, so we acted on the recommendation of some other campers that had stayed in Buffalo in the past, and visited The Winchester Steak House. This is not a diet-friendly establishment! Donna ordered stuffed baked shrimp (with drawn butter) and pronounced it awesome!

Being a meat and potato kind of guy, I ordered a filet with a baked potato. This was probably the best filet I've ever had. Two sizes were available, 10 ounce and 14. I ordered the smaller of the two and it was not only cooked exactly as I had ordered, but was fork tender. Wonderful!

Buffalo was just an overnight stop, so on Monday, the fourth, we hit Interstate 90 going east. Two hundred and thirteen miles east we rolled into Rapid City, South Dakota. If you've followed us in the past, you know that we've spent some enjoyable time in this area...Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Sturgis...there is a whole list of things to do here. We're looking forward to a couple of days rest here.

On the way east, we stopped for lunch at one of the nicest rest stops ever! Large parking areas and plenty of dog park grass made this a great stop.

We set up camp in a rather rustic rv park and enjoyed some of Mother Natures cloud formations.

After a lazy day on Tuesday, we enjoyed even more of the spectacular thunder and lightning shows that are common to this area in the summer.

With a few lightning strikes, much thunder, and some ominous clouds we closed out Tuesday. Tomorrow a few errands and a bit of sightseeing should satisfy us until our next visit to this lovely city.