Day 21 - Reality Check

Yellowstone National Park to Cody, WY

The drive out of Yellowstone East toward Cody, WY was both short and scenic; about two hours and thirty minutes through Buffalo Bill State Park. That's a pretty short drive, at least by our standards. It occurred to me some time ago that while on this adventure, it's almost nothing to jump in the truck and ride 4 hours. Whereas back home on Johns Island, if you told me to wake up and hop in the truck and drive 4 hours to the upstate or to the hills of North Carolina, I'd do it, albeit reluctantly and not without whining and complaining under my breath. 

We reached Cody before noon and stopped at the first diner we saw when pulling into town. We'd skipped breakfast to make up time, and the only cup of coffee I could muster leaving Yellowstone was from a gas station. I don't know about y'all, but that's hard livin'! I need to be properly caffeinated to begin the day - especially when driving! (Obviously a First-World problem - I digress.) The diner was exactly what you would expect, a humble little place serving eggs and bacon, cheeseburgers, and BLTs. And with good, hot coffee.

While sitting and enjoying our late breakfast / early lunch I was finally able to get a cell signal and find a room without all the drama of having to drive into a seemingly endless State park looking for refuge. I travel quite a bit for work, or at least I did prior to the pandemic, and when traveling for business one tends to align ones self with specific brands so as to cash in on their points and rewards programs. For years I've predominantly stayed in Marriott / Starwood hotels, which are plentiful when you're traveling in and out of major cities and developed areas. But Marriott apparently doesn't have a more rural line of hotels. We've been unable to find much of anything under that brand in the Wild West, in fact. But what are plentiful are Best Westerns, and they're a decent product, too. Clean rooms, included breakfast, Keurig coffee machines in every room, and reasonably priced. If you're following us along this journey and giving any consideration to traveling as we have, I suggest signing up for a Best Western rewards program from jump-street. You may well end up with a free night or two by the end of your journey, and they have adventure planning (horseback riding, white water rafting, etc.) available through their website that you can apply points to as well. Food for thought.

Cody is a great town, but I feel we may have enjoyed it more had we been traveling West, coming through Cody on our way to Yellowstone. Given that we were coming from the West, traveling East toward home, I think the town and the romanticism of it all falls flat. I mean, how do you follow up Yellowstone? Our indifference was met with exhaustion given our exploits in the park the day before, and suddenly what should have been one of the best museum tours imaginable given the road we're on was more like a quiet walk through a labyrinth of artifacts; not really taking the time to stop and read any of it. 

I don't blame the museum - it really is an amazing complex. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a large museum in the center of town that is really five museums in one complex. Expertly curated and laid out with purpose, I should definitely love to revisit this place one day and take my time in it. The museum boasts five spokes from a central hub. The five museums include the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indians Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Draper Natural History Museum, and the Cody Firearms Museum. We made it through 4 of the 5 museums, choosing to not venture into the Whitney Western Art Museum which was also a guided tour. Again, I recommend anyone travelling this way to prioritize this as a stop. But if you're dragging an exhausted ten year old along with you, God speed.

We managed to muscle out a few hours in the museum though as I said, exhaustion set in and Conor was just not himself. When we finally made our way back to the truck he was mumbling and complaining. It was only about 3 in the afternoon at this point and there was a carwash facility across from our hotel, so I decided to take a bit of time and clean up Ms. Sylvia. Conor protested, then he whined, then he protested some more, then he started talking about wanting to go to Walmart to buy some small toy. That was the point I decided to come up and meet him on the road he was on. I got frustrated, argued back, and even yelled at one point for him to knock it off. It was here that I realized it wasn't only him who was worn out, it was me, too.

After the argument we both got quiet. I turned Ms. Sylvia back to the Best Western parking lot and we went into the room, neither of us saying a word. The moment he climbed into bed, he put his face in the pillows and started to cry. And not an ugly cry, just a missing cry. He said that he missed Momo (Moultrie, his dog) and that he just wanted to be home. A minute later he was fast asleep.

I sat with that for a good while. Was this all too much? Was the road taking a toll? Should we go home? These were all the questions swirling around in my head, but none of them would have answers until Conor comes to and we can have a rational conversation. After all, I'm not going to make him come along on this trip if he's unhappy. That would defeat the purpose I think. If he wants to head home, I suppose that's what we'll do.

About an hour later he came to and was quiet. Stoic. I let him be and gave him the space he needed. He got out of bed, put on his shoes, and walked out the door without saying a word. This is uncommon behavior for Conor - he's seemingly always engaged or at the very least communicating his intentions. I got up and watched him out the window of course, as he slowly meandered across the street to a park with a picnic table where he would sit and watch a couple of birds for a bit. After about 5 minutes I walked over and joined him. He apologized for his part of the argument and so did I. I then gave him the choice... Mount Rushmore? Or point the nose of the truck toward the Southeast and head home. And that's when he surprised me once more...

"Dad, you've put so much into this and we've come so far, I really think we need to see it through. It's what Mommy would want." he said. 

For me, there was something so profound in that statement, especially from a ten year old. It showed resolve. It showed maturity well beyond his years. It showed caring and empathy and grit. That statement made me proud, if nothing else.

"You got it, Bud. This is your trip as much as mine. It's a partnership out here. If you're determined to see it through, then so am I." I said. He got up from the table and gave me a long hug. "Okay, then where to next?" he said. "Mount Rushmore." I replied. "A six hour haul. Can we make it?" I asked. He said, "We can do anything, Dad."

Every day is a gift. Often we take that for granted, especially from the grind of our daily routines. Though on the Healing Road, there are no routines, so we're going to take today's gift and push East into South Dakota - determined to see it through.

Off we go.