Cheyenne, WY, to Keystone, SD

It was quite a good night in Cheyenne. The trains ran all night, but it was a soothing background noise that didn’t bother me. I would have slept late had I not been woken by a gaggle of kids around 7:00. I’ve been waking up between 5:00 and 6:00 for months, so that was a good stretch!

I took full advantage of the modest breakfast offered as well as the surprisingly good in-room coffee before leaving at 9:30. I had nothing planned for the day but to get to Keystone by mid to late afternoon.

It wasn’t far past Cheyenne when the landscape turned to the olive green rolling hills I consider to be ‘home.’

Wow, looks like home!

Wow, looks like home!

If I didn't have this labeled as Wyoming, I would think it's southern SK.

If I didn’t have this labeled as Wyoming, I would think it’s southern SK.

The first part of the day was along I-25. If I had kept going north, I would have hit home. But instead, I turned east on route 18 to head to the Black Hills.

Snow on rooftops.

Snow on rooftops.

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but you can see on the GPS screen the state lines separating WY, NE, and SD.

It’s a little hard to see in the picture, but you can see on the GPS screen the state lines separating WY, NE, and SD.

SD also looks like SK. :)

SD also looks like SK. 🙂

It got colder the closer I got to Mount Rushmore, with snow on the ground, but the sky was clearer.

Blue sky!

Blue sky!

First mention of the Black Hills!

First mention of the Black Hills!

First mention of Mt. Rushmore!

First mention of Mt. Rushmore!

Snow on the ground as I get closer to Keystone.

Snow on the ground as I get closer to Keystone.

Tons of blue sky!

Tons of blue sky!

Approaching Mt. Rushmore.

Approaching Mt. Rushmore.

Entering Mt. Rushmore area (I saw Washington carved in stone just a moment later!).

Entering Mt. Rushmore area (I saw Washington carved in stone just a moment later!).

I actually saw Mount Rushmore as I drove past. I know of people who park illegally on the roadway to save on the parking fee and take a picture that way, but I’m going to do it properly.

Vicki was awaiting me when I got to her RV park. She pointed out that we could see Washington, Jefferson, and a bit of Lincoln from her spot! Too cool! We did the introductions and settling thing, enjoyed a bit of sun, and then she surprised me by making an amazing dinner, a much appreciated gesture! We’re both working tomorrow and Friday, but the weekend will be for adventuring.

(Sorry for two boring posts in a row, but you might as well get into it since I’ll be home soon! 🙂 )

Walsenburg, CO, to Cheyenne, WY

There really isn’t anything interesting to report about today, I’m afraid. If you were planning to go to bed soon, keep reading as I’m sure you’ll fall asleep halfway through. 😀

I stayed at the Anchor Motel in Walsenburg and it was a great stay. The room was $50 with the tax. The motel is located at the quiet end of Main Street so there was almost no road noise. The room was very dark and the bed nearly as comfortable as the one in John’s RV. I only slept six hours straight through, but they were solid hours, and then I snoozed for another two and a half. 🙂 The room itself was neat, clean, and not worn or shabby even though it hadn’t been updated in my lifetime, I’m sure (except for that mattress!). I like that it had a proper desk and chair and that the shower was hot with good pressure.

The only negative was that they didn’t offer coffee. I did a quick Google search and found a coffee shop a couple of blocks away. I drove because it was pouring rain. The lady working the shop was a complete flake, but the coffee and scone were both excellent.

I didn’t leave till nearly 10:30 since I wasn’t doing too much mileage today. I had to drive through downtown Walsenburg and wished the weather would have been nicer as I would have stayed for a bit to poke through the antique shops, but it was definitely not weather for walking around. The streets were deserted, it was just that nasty and miserable.

I bought fuel before getting on I-25 and then headed north. By 11:30, I was ready for another coffee and getting peckish. So when I passed near Pueblo a sign for a Cracker Barrel, my guilty pleasure, I decided to stop for lunch. Service was unbelievably slow because the restaurant was packed, but my server was attentive, the coffee kept coming, and I had a full charged phone with good service, so I didn’t care.

Next stop was the Walmart in Colorado Springs because the forecast for the weekend is just more and more wet and I needed at the very least some waterproof footwear and hoped to find a fleece hoodie and some sort of waterproof windbreaker. I found a really cute pair of rubber booties for $15, but struck out on outerwear. They only had summer stuff. I didn’t think to check the time and headed to a Target, where I struck out, too. It was only as I was about to head to JC Penney’s that I thought to look at the clock and realised that at the rate I was going, I was going to hit Denver at 3:00, right at the start of rush hour! Moron!

By this point, I was so deep into Colorado Springs and away from I-25 that I had to drive 15KM to get back on it, so I got a chance to see quite a bit of the town. It’s really nothing special. The name Colorado Springs features on two favourite TV shows of mine, Dr. Quinn and Stargate, but of course those Colorado Springs have nothing to do with reality. I’ve been to the Stargate Colorado Springs; it looks suspiciously like the Greater Vancouver Area. 😀

From Target, I hurried back to the truck and drove and drove and drove, not daring to take any time to stop even though I passed a Cabela’s where I could have gotten what I needed.

Heading out of Colorado Springs into Denver.

Heading out of Colorado Springs into Denver.

Traffic through Denver was thick and slow, but fluid, and I made it through in 30 minutes flat. Phew! Only the scenery around the city looked familiar to me after 20 years. There was a bit of clearing and a wisp of blue sky past Denver, but it didn’t last.

Castle Rock.

Castle Rock.

I pushed on from Denver, with the plan being to stop in Cheyenne for the night. That was as far as I was willing to go tonight and it would mean a reasonable day tomorrow to Mount Rushmore.

Something tells me the Wyoming border is approaching.

Something tells me the Wyoming border is approaching.

I was right. :)

I was right. 🙂

It started to sleet heavily as I crossed the Wyoming state line. I pulled into the rest area to do some motel research and found the pickings dire. There is tons of accommodation, but it’s firmly divided between luxury accommodation and roach motels with barely any middle ground. I read recent review after recent review of motels in the $70 range that are the cheapest in the area pricewise and have bedbugs and other major issues. It looked like my two best options were the iffy Motel 6 (middling reviews) and the Super 8 (great reviews, but pricey at over 100USD. Yes, for a Super 8!!!).

I came into town and checked a couple of the better reviewed non-chain motels and they were terrifying! The cheapest one I could find was $75 and I’m not sure I would have used the bathroom! I went to the Motel 6, which was $50 and right on budget, but there were four people ahead of me in line complaining about their rooms. So I headed to the Super 8 and was quoted $83 with the tax, much better than the online rate, and it includes a basic breakfast of toast, fruit, and coffee. I really wasn’t happy dropping 100CAD, but I was done shopping for a bed and the room was nice and about as far from the railroad tracks as I can hope to be.

There were no food options period within walking distance (which I would have done even in the sleet to avoid getting back in my truck), so I resigned myself to either not eating or doing more driving, neither option being particularly appealing. I searched for pizza and found a Little Caesar’s 10 minutes away, so that was perfect. I made it there without incident and they had my favourite $5 pizza (sausage) ready, so I took that as a sign that I’d made the right dinner choice!

I got back to the motel and called Zenni Optical between slices of pizza. My latest order is taking a bit longer than usual to process, so it won’t make it to Mount Rushmore by Friday, as I had hoped. I was able to have the shipping addressed changed to home, so now I don’t have to worry about having the order sent on to me by reader and host Vicki.

I’m so close to home I can almost smell it… I am really glad to be taking in the Black Hills this weekend and still want to make the relatively minor detour there, but wish the weather was looking better so I could enjoy my stay more. I’m getting to Mt. Rushmore later tomorrow afternoon and will be working Thursday and Friday. Vicki, a friend of hers, and I are going to do touristy stuff over the weekend, including Mt. Rushmore and the town of Deadwood. Monday, it’s off to Devils Tower and then an overnight in Scobey. I can’t believe I’ll be home this day next week.