Road Trip Day 3: I want to be Laura Ingalls Wilder

Hey folks,

Yup! We're still on the road. Here are a few stats for you:

Miles driven: Around 1,600
Bugs killed on windshield: Around 2 million

Breakfasts eaten this morning: 2
DQ dipped cones consumed: 1
Billowing Clouds spotted: Around 1,000
Twizzlers eaten: whole bag
Redbulls downed: 2.5
Full moon enjoyed: 1
Speeding tickets: 1
Times I've cursed iphone 4's "Siri"s name: 7
Life changing moments: to be determined

Today was more of a driving day. We woke up in our AMAZING hotel in Cody, Wyoming. The Hotel Irma and that little town weaseled their way into our hearts and we are both convinced we will be returning. Charming people on every corner, delicious food, wonderful history, and gorgeous surrounding scenery to boot. Cody is worth a return visit.

I ate two plates of this. 

We had a bit of a late start because we were so into the town, but we managed to head off towards Mt. Rushmore around 11am. We drove through Bighorn National Forest, which again, was friggin beautiful. We stopped many times to enjoy the scenery and take pictures. Northern Wyoming is my 'ideal' natural habitat. It is the Laura Ingalls Wilder wilderness of my childhood fantasy. It is dandelions, bubbling brooks, sweeping mountains, and cotton candy clouds. This is the area that makes me want to live in the 1800s. Off the land. And go to school in a one room school house. And wash my clothes in the creek. This was my favorite part of the drive we have had so far. Here are some pictures: PS: if you click on the photos, you can see a larger version of them. :)
CLOUDS:

My dream outdoor place: 

The great thing about a driving day when you are doing it with a friend is that you get to 'go deep.' Drea and I really laid some stuff out on the table today! It's amazing to get to know a friend who you already thought you knew so well even BETTER on the road! We were laughing and crying today. Talking about our families, our dreams, the things about life that we suck at and more. In a way, it's what a good road trip is all about. Sitting in the car with someone you love and getting to REALLY love them. It's like they become family. You're stuck with the family you got, and when you're driving cross country with a pal, you're stuck with them. From coast to coast. If a friendship can sustain that, it has proven the ultimate test of time. And we are passing with flying colors! Number of fights had: zero!
AND we are singing, laughing, and organically finding inside jokes here and there. I would say I could not have picked a better partner for this wonderful trip. Drea, I LOVE YOU, girl!

We made it to Mount Rushmore at the worst time of day, around 6:30 pm. The sun was sitting directly behind the faces and you had to squint to look at it. It was neat looking. It's a beautiful sculpture! A little random for sure, and almost cruel the way it's cut into the natural landscape like that. But I got my tourist photo in front of it and a souvenir squished penny, and we were ready to go.

 

Then we had DQ. Nuff said.

It was a pretty American day.

We drove into the night as far as we could. The sky was lit by this INSANE moon, which made me very happy.

And we sang soul and gospel tunes and shouted "Hallelu!" We crossed through yet another time zone, and lost another hour.

And here we are, at some hotel that I can't name. In a town I can't name that might be Chamberlin. The front desk guy had painted on eyebrows and was not happy to see us.

Tomorrow we have a God awful driving day, but I think we are going to kick it in the ass! Literally! We're trying to make it to Chicago from here, and I think we can do it. Right!!!!!!!

Here are some pictures left over from Yellowstone & the drive that I just had to share. Did I mention I love this trip? Yup!!!!!!!!!!

 PS: I guess we're half way across the country. I'm feeling like it's the no turning back point. I'm moving to Boston and I won't be driving back to LA. The unknown stretches ahead of me like the never ending horizon of South Dakota. I don't know what's at the edge, but I'm going to keep driving. And hope for the best.