Finally, it was Ralph’s turn to drive, and get us to our hotel. We arrived at the hotel after 1 am (that’s 3 am, Connecticut time). After spending 32 straight hours in the pickup truck, we were way past exhausted. That hotel bed was just about the best thing we’d ever seen. As we were collapsing into bed, Ralph informed me that we’d have to be up in 3 hours to shower and drive to Powell, Wyoming to pick up the car. Why so early? Because it was springtime, the road we originally thought that we’d be able to use to cut across Wyoming was closed until the end of May due to snow and hazardous conditions. That meant that our drive from Rapid City to Powell would require a detour into Montana. This would make our round trip to Powell and back to Rapid City roughly 1000 miles, instead of less than 700 miles. And, Ralph expected us to get back to the hotel that same night, so we could have part of the next day (Wednesday) to do some sightseeing before the trek back home.

     Just a couple of short hours later, we rolled out of bed, took a shower (Ahh, clean again!), and headed up the road. We crossed the border into Wyoming and drove thru its expansive plains. Tumble weeds blew across the road and the spectacular Rocky Mountains grew in the distance.