18 Days, Round Robin from Tickfaw, LA to the West

[ng2951]

We had a great time getting to Hell On Wheels in Cheyenne, Wy. I haven't added up the miles but we were mighty close to 3,000.

I did not know there was so much corn in Iowa.

I could not find a town in South Dakota that did not have some kind of Dances with Wolves memorabilia in their museum.

If you are trekking through Wyoming and South Dakota bring spices. Salt and pepper are considered exotic spices. On the other hand the beef, buffalo, and elk are fantasic. Great deals on $1 all you can eat pancakes.

The fires in Colorado are contained, but their is still a lot of smoke.

If you travel on the back roads bring fuel. One stretch we went more than 100 miles without a gas station.

There is nothing like a 100 gallon fresh water tank!

Keep a strong leash on your dog if she doesn't know what a cliff is.

The Badlands are worth the visit.

Be careful visiting small, tall chain linked fenced enclosures...they contain lots of concrete, rocket fuel, and nuclear missles.

The Black Hills are a great visit.

Drink lots of water because you are sweating whether you know it or not. I would bring saline for the nose too.

If you can drive for an hour and see windmills from horizon-to-horizon, they have got to be changing the weather. I never realized how many of them are out there till I drove from Colorado into northern Texas.

Give yourself 3-days for Fredericksburg, TX and at least a week for the Texas Hill Country. It is great. The Auschlander in Fredericksburg lets you dogs stay with you on the patio at lunch.

The Joe Gish Museum is closed as Mr. Gish apparently died early 2012. We visited the museum twice and it is too bad it is all gone now. What a history and collection of Ranger lore, Hollywood cowboy movies, and real cowboy stuff, plus the man who knew it all. I was honored to see it all while he was still alive.

Onalaska KOA is a nice campground, but stay away from trailer space 61. We are still trying to get the ants out of our trailer.

Do keep maps, atlases, a GPS handy. We lost phone service a lot which was bummer using YP to locate cheap diesel.

Our dog Lady, though a little deaf, having cataracts, etc. can still tell you that conditions are ripe for tornadoes. She is a great Skywarn pooch. However, she terrifies my pardette when she issues her "warnings" (heavy panting and scarey eyes).