Road Trip: August 2024

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one, two at the most, people to adjust their physical bonds to the locality in which they reside, and venture into the expanded realm of existence that is evident and visible around them. In these times, it is essential for one people to say “Roadtrip?” where another one people shall respond with “Aight” and allow the commencement of a journey where the beginning and end are the same as the end and the beginning, yet the space in between resides in an alternate universe hencebeforethough unseen. Much like the word hencebeforethough.

This, dear reader, is a small excerpt of such a venture.

All adventures have a central character, have to start and stop somewhere, and must be documented for posterity. Who would take on such a challenge? Not all have the heart and the fortitude for flights of fancy of this ilk, and most would plan it with ultimate precision and detail. This is not that type of explorer.

But with trust that the universe would provide, the adventure began.

With this clear omen in hand, the open road beckoned, and our intrepid crew launched into the wilds toward the South Dakota Badlands. Picking travel companions is not easy, and you’ll find out if you’ve made a mistake quickly. It’s good to have big open stretches like this early in the trip so you can recover from a mistake and continue on alone if needed.

With a beautiful weather, enough gas and water, and a few bars to discover along the way, we found the Badlands not so bad, but so badass.

Others have heard the call to endeavor on this journey, and they walk past and stand right in front of you.

Eventually you must rest. Some of us wake in the middle of the night and need a stage on which to perform. This hotel understands.

Did you know there are super views of Mt. Rushmore from outside the park? Here are a few shots with closeups of George, James, Theo and Ringo. I had never seen the profile angle before, so I’m glad was able to capture this pensive moment between shows.

The next stop was to Crazy Horse Memorial. I am embarrassed I knew so little about this, and that I had never visited in the past. This has been in progress for 75 years with no government support, and much of the early work done by a handful of people doing manual labor. Incredible monument and vision for the entire area and dedicated to the native people and cultures of what we now call America. Make a trip to visit and support this incredible creation and more importantly, learn the story and history it signifies.

We also went to Little Bighorn, but it was only open 9am to 5pm. I’m sure there is a deeper meaning there. Let’s move on.

Somewhere between Crazy Horse and Deadwood, there is a lake.

The local wildlife in the Deadwood, South Dakota has mutated into creatures that are terrifying until subdued with stellar whiskey. Don’t get too close, or you will rage quit your job mid shift and Nick and Mr. Ed will have to cover the bar the rest of the night. Get a hot dog.

These creatures are sometimes found wandering through the graves of strangers buried on top of hills. They were seen at the entrance to the Mt Moriah Cemetery, wondering about why the dead are carried all the way to the top, and then buried where they can’t see the view.

After talking with the dead and the other near dead that had hiked around this mountain top planter, greedily devouring the minimal oxygen and welcomed ice cream cone, the journey continued into the parlor of the Devil. Only aliens are welcome in this place, and all who enter should understand how to read signs, especially the ones that say Do not take your pet – any pet – on the path around this testament to geological nipplery. My friends, in the closest encounter possible – Devil’s Tower.

If you look closely at this last photo, you can get a better idea of the size of Devil’s Tower. About 1/3 from the left, and 1/3 from the top, there is a long dark crack that ends in the area framed by the tree branches. At the bottom of that crack is a climber. When we left, they were still there. I’ve not heard anything from that person since, but there were strange lights in the sky recently.

Next we went to the tallest building in Billings, and saw all of Montana. There are 23 steakhouses in a 3 block radius in Billings.

The journey from Billings to the next stop, Yellowstone, goes on Route 212 through Beartooth Pass. Those who follow this course will travel hundreds of miles, back and forth, back and forth, to achieve 12 feet of forward progress, and several thousand in vertical. The driver will become friends with a cliff wall, and the passenger will learn to stop looking down over the edge. Well worth it. There is also an exchange program that brings tourists from the Badlands to stand in front of people here. They use specially built orange vehicles to make the trade.

The next logical point for this journey was into the heart of Yellowstone National Park. If you’ve never been, no photos will do it justice. Just go. Spend a day or two there and walk the boardwalks through the geezers to get up close and personal with the geysers. Don’t stop in the road, use the pullouts, and be sure, if there is one bison on the side of the road, around the corner there will probably be a lot more.

Mammoth Springs is an ever changing cornucopia of active water, rock, and heat, and has been different each time I’ve visited. It’s like being on a weird wet moon with boardwalks. Once when we were there, the entire town was filled with a herd of elk animals – big, pointy horns, didn’t share the pathways – I don’t know what they were, but our dog loved rolling in their poop. Bring wipes.

Yellowstone has the most amazing bokeh caverns that I’m honestly surprised hasn’t hit the insta influencer circuit yet. Truly a marvel of the natural world.

Pro tip – make sure you are in video mode when you want a video, or you’ll just get a still photo of Old Faithful. It fires off every 90ish minutes, so you’ll get a second chance. Or third.

Once you’ve seen it, turn around to the building behind and see if there is room to sit for a while on this porch. Everyone walks away after Faithful blows, and the peace here is like a soft blanket. And you can get a beer inside.

After leaving the big Y, we were able to stay in an amazing cabin community on the top of Union Pass. 5 stars, no complaints, but I do wonder if the person before me had a similar experience.

In Conclusion

My companion on this journey was a friend from long ago and we still get along somehow. I suspect they thought I was a different friend and our contact information got mixed up in the planning process. They accepted that fate had shuffled the deck, and went along with the adventure.

You may wonder if there is a point to this foolish endeavor of sharing silly words with mid photos. So do I. I’d like to think that as with any endeavor, the words of Buzz Holstrom ring true, it’s about the doing of the thing. The journey, the experience, the filling in of empty spaces in our mental map of our world – that is where the point lies. It is there waiting for us to pick it up, examine it, let it infect and grow within until it drives us to feed it with yet another journey.

These photos are to hint that there is somewhere else out these. Go somewhere else, see something with your own eyes, allow your internal narrator to build the story, and let it become part of you. I’d love to hear your story.

Additional Shots

Here are a few shots that were on a different card so didn’t make it to the main post.

While it feels like its own planet at times, Mt Moriah Cemetery is in fact part of Earth, and plans to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

And of course Seth Bullock took the top spot.

One thing most people don’t know is that ever since Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the attention it brought to Devil’s Tower, there is a long control access tunnel you need to walk through to get to the actual tower. But it’s worth it.