Wandering Spirit

We left Wyoming on Hwy 191 and drove along the Flaming Gorge into Utah.  Beautiful drive with almost no traffic. Last night brought us to Ashley National Forest, Deer Run campground. No, I didn’t see any deer, but Shiloh saw a rabbit or two. Turns out I’m afraid of rabbits now because I’m worrying that Shiloh will take off on a chase and “somebody” might get injured again!

My wifi works great here but I’m going into unknown territory over the next few days, so I wanted to let you know not to worry if I don’t write.

The time feels right to do some “dispersed” camping…boon docking, if you will.  The location is right also, since the area of Utah and Nevada that I’ll be driving through has an abundance of BLM land. I’ve been studying my Benchmark maps.  Now if I can just be brave and think about my mentor and ask myself…

“what would RVSue do?”

🙂

Cheyenne….am I still captivated….am I still charmed?

My love affair with the city of Cheyenne goes back to when I first visited it at about age 15. It was as close as I could get to my fantasies of the old west. At that time, Wyoming had only been a state for about 75 years. (Granted statehood July 10, 1890). Each time I returned….5 or 6 times over the next 40 years, I felt the same, charmed and captivated…and this time was no exception.

Oh things have changed, yes that’s for sure! There are things I don’t like, but I won’t talk about those here. The things I do like…

I can still find my way around ‘downtown’ without a map or the GPS.

The “Cheyenne Motel” is still there…which is where my (ex) husband and I stayed in 1971. When we signed in the guy behind the counter exclaimed “you’re from near DEtroit?! Bein’ out here you must be thinkin’ you died and went to heaven!”

The old train depot is still there…it’s remodeled and is a museum now, but it’s there.

“The Wrangler”, a big western clothing store, still sits there on the same corner, painted red.

Parking is still free…no parking meters, and there are still no lines painted on the street to park between!

The Capitol Building is totally accessible, (there’s a stop sign in front of it!) and I parked right across the street, under a tree. You can walk the grounds,climb the stairs and go inside and explore all three stories of the building, which still looks like it did long ago. It was modeled after the White House, so it’s quite beautiful. I walked right into the governors office and was greeted warmly. Not by the governor however. 🙂

Ok and the K-Mart that I shopped in back in 1971 is still there and I went to it…just because.

I took lots of pictures…I’ll try to get them posted soon.

This morning, September 16, we left Cheyenne to drive across the plains…it goes on and on…the windswept rolling countryside. There is so much space.

So Much Space.

This country is big. Vast.

I’ve thought over and over again about the settlers that came west on wagon trains, and what that must have been like for them. So many unknowns and so many dangers. Such risks they took! Did they truly understand that they were invading an occupied land? What would it be like today if the Europeans hadn’t felt the need to wipe out the native way of life as best they could?

What if we’d all just gotten along? Goodness knows, we had enough land to share…

We had enough space.

Friday September 12, it has stopped snowing, the sky is blue, the air is crisp at 34 degrees as we set out for the Black Hills, Mt Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The Black Hills have turned white and we are driving through a winter wonderland.

Miles of snow covered trees

As the temperature rises into the high 30’s the snow begins to fall off the trees in big blobs. Look out below!

As I approach the entrance to the Mt Rushmore parking area, the lines are long and it costs $11 to park.

Lines waiting to get into Mt Rushmore parking area.

Since I’ve been there before I decide to view the presidents from pull-overs along the roadside instead.

Presidents in the snow.

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We continue the beautiful drive on to the Crazy Horse Memorial, 10-15 miles farther. No lines here, and parking is also $11. I’ve never been here before so in we go. Dogs aren’t allowed in the buildings or on the bus that goes out to the mountain so I walk them around the grounds first. Joy rolls in the snow every chance she gets and they both get lots of pats and attention.
They wait in the car for me while I go into the huge museum, watch a 20 minute movie of introduction, and wander around the museum.

Though this project was started in 1948 it is still no where near completed. Big problem is that the sculptor passed away. His family carries on the work, but it s a huge undertaking.

Someday it will look like this.

What a beautiful, unexpected treat it was to be able to see the Black Hills in the snow, yet with dry roads and blue skies. Good to Be-Here-Now.

As I post this it’s early Sunday morning and we have spent the night in the tiny town of Fort Laramie, Wyoming. The population here is 300-ish. We are in the plains now….as far as the eye can see…. wind swept rolling hills of grasses. Small towns are few and far between. Think of the scenes from “Dances With Wolves”….it looks the same.

We are right next to the railroad track. A lot of l-o-n-g trains blow their whistles and roll through here during the night. 🙂

Today we will travel on to Cheyenne and spend a couple of days there. Cheyenne captured my fantasy way long ago and I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the place. At a present population of around 60,000 (it’s grown!) it is the largest city in Wyoming and the capitol of the state. It has always held a certain charm….for me anyway. Last time I was here was about 8 years ago and the ‘sprawl’ had really set in.

I’ll be letting you know if I’m still captivated and charmed!

Thursday morning, September 11, it begins to snow as predicted. It doesn’t care that the Rapid City area has not seen snow this early in the season since 1888. Big fluffy, wet flakes fall and they really are beautiful.

I’ve only signed on for three nights here, but I have no desire to drive any distance in the snow. They say they can put me in the ‘overflow’ area. That means I’ll be parking on the street. Doesn’t sound good. I’m in the office trying to figure out what to do and begin talking to a man who is there to pick up his mail. Brian has been full-timing in his Casita for 10 years! He tells me about an RV park on the other side of town that he likes and where there is plenty of space. He says it’s about 10 miles and the roads are clear. He gives me the phone number and I call and tell them I’ll be right over!

I’ve met another RVSue blog follower while at America’s Mailbox. I tell Krystina my situation, we hug good bye, and I’m out the door. When I arrive at LazyJ Campground I immediately feel more comfortable. Only a few spaces are in use and there are nice, snow covered views all around.

I bundle up and walk with Joy and Shiloh. They frolic in the snow and seem entranced while they watch the flakes falling. Joy has seen snow once before,(I don’t think she remembers:-) but Shiloh never has.

Later I go inside and make a big pot of lentil soup. My little heater and the cooking soup keep WS comfy and warm.

Through the night with my two fluffy companions and two comforters I never feel the slightest chill. This morning it’s 30 degrees outside and 62 inside and the coffee is delicious as I watch the sun rise.

My right chest and arm are still sore from my fall, but slowing improving. I feel peaceful. I feel joyful. I’m grateful to be here.

Once again I messed up with pictures! I’ll post them later!

I was going to write this tomorrow (another day 🙂 ), but due to some concern from friends and family, I’ll post sooner rather than later.

I’m healing and doing fine!

First, I decide to stay here in this…umm….RV Park…I guess you could call it that…for 3 days so the pulled muscles have some time to heal.

In the morning I dig around looking for another pair of glasses. I know I brought them, but I have a hard time finding things in here. I find them! There is very little change in the prescription so they should work.

I am set on getting the SD drivers license today, so I pull out my make-up. I haven’t used any since starting on this adventure, but now it comes in handy! My right eye looks like I’m wearing blue/gray eye shadow. (tomorrow it may look worse!) I goop on foundation. With the glasses, perhaps it won’t show. 🙂

I take some Tylenol and head to the DMV. Fifteen to twenty minutes after I arrive I’m walking out the door with my new drivers license! Hey, the picture isn’t half bad, either!

Later I drive to two different eye clinic type places, hoping my glasses can be repaired. It seems these California glasses are like foreign objects here. The best I get is ‘maybe we could get a similar lens but it would take at least 3 weeks…’
Later when I’m back in CA I will see about getting them repaired where I bought them. In the meantime I have this other pair that are working fine.

Remember I mentioned that on Monday it was 90 degrees when I arrived in the Rapid City area? I use the air conditioning during the day and sleep with the windows open through the night. Tuesday the high temperature is 56! It’s windy and drizzling rain most of the day. As I write this it is 45 degrees and raining. Possible thunder storms tonight, and a high on Wednesday of 48 with more rain. It will be a good day to hibernate and heal. The topper (Maureen you warned me!), Thursday, the day I’m planning to leave, the high is supposed to be 39 and there is snow in the forecast!

Yikes! 90 on Monday and 39 on Thursday!

Monday I plan to leave Buffalo, Wyoming in the morning. I will be Traveling about 200 miles to Rapid City, South Dakota. I already have a South Dakota address, and once I spend one night there and get a drivers license I will be considered a resident of the state. There are a few states that make it easy and advantageous for full-time RVer’s to call home. SD works the best for me.

I walk the dogs before I get ready to leave my campsite…we like to walk in the morning. Except this walk doesn’t turn out very well. I have a ‘dog-related’ fall! Long story but the short of it is that I end up flat on the ground eating dust, while Shiloh chases after a rabbit.

I hit the ground HARD. I don’t lose consciousness but I am stunned for about a minute. First I notice there is something in my mouth…hopefully not broken teeth!…no, it’s gravel. Next I notice that Joy is still right by my side. I feel her presence rather than see her. I’m amazed she didn’t chase the rabbit too. I praise her for staying with me.

I think my glasses are broken but then realize they are not, but the right lens is scraped and scratched badly. My hand and my knee are bleeding and my lip is swelling but NO BROKEN BONES. I’ve fallen and broken and/or dislocated bones in the past so this is a huge relief. My right side hurts and I’m not sure why. About the time I stand up, Shiloh returns rabbit-less.

I’m upset and scared. That was a close call. What if I’d been seriously injured? No one is around. I limp back to my camp and tend to my wounds.

I break camp and my right side hurts more. I realize it must be pulled muscles in my chest, arm and back. I search for the Tylenol and can’t find it. It hurts to take a deep breath. The upset and scared feelings end up staying with me for hours.

I arrive at my campsite in SD and it’s 90 degrees. I’m very uncomfortable, but I have to set up camp. I turn on the air conditioning asap. I finally find some pain med, and then all three of us crash for awhile.

When I get up I notice in the mirror that I have a black eye, a swollen and bruised lip, and a scrape above my lip. Nice for my new drivers license picture! Arrrgh! And then there are the scraped up glasses, and of course the only test I need to pass for the license is a vision test….

To Be Continued!

The sky last evening.

There is no playground here where I am camped, but there are two swings…big sturdy swings on steel poles with heavy chain….uh….swing holders.

We walk by many times and they sway slightly in the small breeze, tempting me. Finally the temptation gets the best of me and I tie Joy and Shiloh to a nearby tree and sit on a swing. I grasp the chain links and they feel so familiar to my hands! It’s just like at my grade school where I often ran for the swings at recess.

Gosh, holding those sturdy links, I feel 10 years old again!

I push off with my feet and begin pumping my legs. I go higher and higher and the wind blows through my hair, back and forth. My smile is big. 🙂

The words to Robert Lewis Stevenson’s poem “The Swing” come into my mind:

“How do you like to go up in a swing
Up in the air so blue,
Oh I do think it the pleasantest thing,
Ever a child can do.

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside-

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown-
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down.”

“A child!” A wonderful part of me is still 10 years old!

One of my favorite things about getting older is that all of my previous ages are present within me. Part of me is still 5….still 10….still 15….and on it goes to 60, and now 65. Thankfully I am not just 65, I’m all of those ages and I can connect with them at will. And I do!…as I pump my legs into the air over and over again.

Life is good at age 10!

Later as we continue on our walk I realize I left the loaded doggie poop bag back at the swings. Back we go to pick it up and put it in the trash can because I’ve returned to adulthood and responsibility and being 65, which is fine, too. 🙂

But I touch those heavy chain links one more time, as the swing sways in the breeze. Maybe tomorrow I’ll let it tempt me again.