Finding America

Day 76 Wednesday

With the Siren’s call of the road luring us again, we got up early, hooked Kodi up to the Fox and pulled out of the campsite. A block north of Jackson’s Square is a nice parking lot that could accommodate all 50 feet of our traveling home and chariot. Just east of the Square we grabbed some breakfast at the historic Jedadiah’s House of Sourdough. The food was outstanding and the quaint little restaurant was reminiscent of something right off the wagon trail.

Heading north out of town we passed back in to Teton National Park before heading southeast along Hwy 26. It wasn’t long before all signs of human development were a thing of the past and we were loners in the wide open vistas of the Wyoming. The only friend we had was a small fox loping along the roadside as we climbed east. After crossing over some mountains we descended into more arid climes and through the little town of Dubois.

Driving through town we saw quite a buzz and a few signs let us know that Dubois annual Antler Festival was about ot kick off. With chuck wagons and plenty of antlers I’m sure the upcoming festivities were sure to be a hoot. To bad that we were 3 days too early.

Dubois was the only town of significant size we passed through on Hey 26. There were a lot of ghost towns along the road. Places where people had staked their claim and had either been wrong about their prospects or profits had dried up like the arid steppes.

Passing through country like this it isn’t difficult to envision wagon train crossing this inhospitable wilderness fueled only by the promise of gold and the freedom that comes from being beyond the reach of the law.

We refueled and grabbed a bite to each in Riverton. We usually steer clear of fast food but the options were severely limited. When the local Wendy’s is slammed at lunch with senior citizens you have to know there isn’t a lot else to choose from. K-mart and Wal-Mart had staked their claim here and other than a smattering of industrial warehouses and auto lots Riverton didn’t have much to offer.

We drove on until late afternoon and finally made it to South Dakota and into the KOA campsite near Hill City and Mount Rushmore. Before the sun fell below the horizon I gave Kodi a good scrub down and Kam wrestled us up some grub. The park was huge and with all the hustling staff buzzing around it was obvious they were just a few short weeks away from the beginning of their season.

Once we ate it was off to bed. We had another long driving day planned and we wanted to see Mount Rushmore before leaving the area tomorrow.