Day 22 - The Road Goes on Forever

Cody, WY to Hill City, SD and Mount Rushmore

While our stop in Cody wasn't what I thought it would be, it turned out to be so much more. Sure, Conor and I limped our way through a museum and took in a few sites, and assuredly that town had more to offer, but what it gave up was pure gold. For the first time on the Healing Road our resolve was truly tested - at least as it relates to travel. And it's the response in those situations that matters, not the test itself. Whether running a marathon, fighting cancer, or traveling across the country (yes, I recognize how very different all of those things are, and no, I don't run - unless I'm being chased, and even then I weight the alternatives), there comes a point where you just don't want to go anymore. Physical exhaustion, mental fatigue, and just a general sense of burning out all play their part; reaching a point where you face that down or just simply give in. It's a choice, plain and simple. Without question Conor and I were on the brink. Evidence of that was that I gave him the choice - do we pack it in or do we keep going? Conor's response, "We keep going. We can do anything, Dad." was like a bolt of lightning to my soul. Because he's right, we can. And there's a huge lesson in that for me...

Officially, we've made the turn. The first three weeks of the Healing Road has led us on a sort of half loop around the country, but seldom has Ms. Sylvia been pointed East. From here it's all East by Southeast. Leaving Cody, we turned the truck toward the rising Sun and hammered down, because East of Cody Wyoming, there's not much of anything.

Two lane highways in this part of the country are straight and long. The speed limits vary from 80 MPH to 70 MPH to 30 MPH through small towns and villages, and then back to highway speeds. Conor and I would make guesses as to town populations as we entered each place, because there's always a sign showing both population and elevation. The smallest town we would pass through across Wyoming was a population of 78 - at least that's what the sign said. It also revealed that the census study was certified in 2020. Can you imagine? If two babies were born between then and now, that would make that place a veritable boom town!

One such town forced us to slow down and pass through slow and steady, and as we were regaining speed (Ms. Sylvia goes Zero to Sixty in about 2 minutes) I spotted a sign for "Dinosaur Track Site". Conor didn't see it. I didn't say anything to him either, because the day's drive would be over 6 hours, so really I felt a sort-of relief that he didn't see it and kept my foot on the floor. But then I saw another sign, "Dinosaur Track Site - 1 Mile". He didn't see that sign either. WHEW! And then we passed it. There on the right hand side of the road was a gravel trail that wound its way up into the hills; it looked pretty empty. In fact, there wasn't another car on the highway in either direction at the time. Something came over me and I felt almost selfish. Fool hearted. Why are we even doing this if we don't take the time to see the out of the way places? In many cases they're as interesting as the destinations! So I put on the brakes and made a U-Turn right in the middle of this lonesome highway.

By this point Conor is out of his phone asking what I'm doing. "You'll see", I respond.

As we pulled off the blacktop onto this well maintained trail there was a placard on the right hand side, "Dinosaur Track Site - Know Before You Go". We stopped to read the sign and learned that we were heading down a 36 mile off-road track where "Four-Wheel Drive is recommended, but not required." There was a map showcasing a series of five interest points along the route, as well as where the trail would dump you out. I did give about 15 seconds of consideration to making the whole thing but then quickly decided against it as the placard also stated the whole journey would take between 3 and 4 hours and we had plans to make Mount Rushmore that evening with a hotel reservation right near by the monument. However, the actual Dinosaur Track Site was the first stop, 5 miles up.

Driving into those hills was surreal. There was not another soul for miles along this trail, yet the edge of the road and its shoulders were well maintained for vehicles needing to pass one another in opposite directions. I also noted a number of trails that went off the main trail further up into the hills and canyons, but those were certainly Four Wheel Drive and ATV trails, more recreational than purposeful. When we finally reached the Track Site there were two other vehicles there, but they were packing up and leaving as we were pulling in. By the time we'd stopped the truck and gotten out, they were gone and Conor and I had this entire Paleontology site to ourselves. Meanwhile, I still had no idea what a "Track Site" was.

Turns out, this site is a large swath of exposed rock called "The Ballroom" very clearly showing dinosaur tracks immortalized in the stone. And I'm not talking about one or two footprints... I'm talking about thousands of them. The site bore an explanation as to how those tracks were captured, the dinosaurs believed to have made them, their respective sizes, and patterns they would follow. This place was really cool, and Conor was absolutely over the moon knowing that his feet were squarely in the middle of a dinosaur migratory track site. 190 million years ago, dinosaurs walked this same ground. Pretty spectacular really.

After about 30 minutes exploring the site we loaded back into the truck and started to make our way back toward the highway, but I'll be dammed if I'm not gonna explore one of these trails on the way out. As Ms. Sylvia turned off the gravel trail onto the soft sand and jagged rock of the plateau, I could feel the tires gradually sink down and the engine whine to propel the truck forward. I dropped her into four wheel drive and began navigating the trail. After about a mile we came to the edge of a ridge that was about a 35% grade to the hard canyon floor, about 50 yards down, and was covered in cactus. I gave serious consideration to making the descent but before we would I wanted to have a look around to see what I could attach my winch rope to in the event we can't get back up. There was nothing. Not a single rock or tree that could support the weight of the truck and pull us back to safety were four wheel drive not enough on its own. Couple that with all the Rattle Snake warning signs and the fact we were in the middle of nowhere and had no idea when we would see another passer-by and I aired on the side of caution. Cool photo op, but that's where this part of the adventure would end.

Back on the highway now, something I didn't realize until his trip was that so many of these State and National Parks are connected. I guess I always figured them to be separated by counties or towns, but we would roll from one park to the next, the only indication being a National Parks road-sign on the shoulder. Yesterday's drive took us through Bighorn National Park right into the Black Hills National Park where we are today. After about 8 hours in the truck, detours and off-road adventures included, we made it to Mount Rushmore.

This would be the third time I've seen Rushmore (my work has taken me to this side of the country a few times) but I wanted Conor to see it as a point of remembrance. We've travelled this great country these last weeks and Mount Rushmore to me is a destination of appreciation and gratitude for what that means. It's an opportunity afforded to us and we've taken advantage of that opportunity. To look upon those faces and know that this country is a democracy founded, supported, defended, and protected by the republic, for the republic. The greatest nation in Earth's history - bar none. Simply being born in the United States is the greatest privilege any of us (Americans) will ever know.

At least, that's how the conversation played out in my head as we exited the truck and began the trek up to the monument. But when we finally reached the top, before I could recite my carefully prepared monologue Conor said, "That's it?" I looked over at him and responded, "Yep, that's it." He stared at the faces on the mountain another moment more and said, "There's nothing else to see here? Just that?" I chuckled, "Yep, that's why we drove all this way." He responded, "Cool. I'm hungry. Can we go now?" I turned my gaze back toward the mountain and laughed out loud. "You bet, Bud. Let's go..."

I'll save that little speech for the next time we come through this way. Maybe then he'll at least pretend to be impressed...

Now in Hill City, SD, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and kitschy sites. We grabbed a pizza and a beer (root-beer for him) and talked about the day ahead. For we're off to the Badlands and Conor's got his eye on another Junior Ranger Badge...