Day 6 – Day 8: Keystone, SD to Gillette, WY to Yellowstone, WY

SO MUCH FOR SUMMER VACATION

Back on the road…Back to civilization…Back to my 20 inches of leather (that is now coated with a film of dirt from our spelunking adventure from a few days back). I look out the window to see the ground covered in white stuff. Back in Ohio, we were flabbergasted to find a half-inch of pollen coating the grass…We picked it up and threw it at each other as one would in a snowball fight but it wasn’t nearly as effective on account of the lacking mass. Who would’ve known that in less than a week, Billy & Kyle would be throwing LEGIT SNOWBALLS as we frantically scramble towards the Durango - our only source of refuge. Yes, SNOWBALLS…In reference to SNOW. We just spent the past two days in Yellowstone where temperatures dropped below freezing at times. As we drove up the mountain, we saw less grass and more snow. I think we all secretly wished it was some kind of sick joke, but we kept our mouths shut and our smiles big as we lightheartedly cracked jokes about how this wasn’t exactly how we envisioned our SUMMER vacay. When we got to camp it was already close to 9pm so as soon as Billy put the Durango in park, we all jumped out and got grindin’. The boys tackled the fire; TP & I pitched the tent; and Kristina organized the food in our bear storage box and snapped a few photos. If this was a Road Rules Challenge, the girls would’ve DEFINITELY won, but I WILL admit… Billy & Kyle WERE hitting a few roadblocks: our fire pit had about a quarter-inch of water in it and our lighter sticks were nowhere to be found. FAIL. Sooo we had a wet base and matches that stayed lit a solid 2 seconds, BUT we also had some very friendly neighbors J They suggested we dig out the water/mud and replace it with dry dirt. FAIL again. The matches just weren’t cutting it. Finally the neighbs came over with a HOT WOOD and a lighter to save the night. In an attempt to salvage Billy & Kyle’s manhood, they successfully started one the next night on their own….just in time for a rainstorm! J

That first night was a rough one for me. I’ve always prided myself on my sleeping abilities, but it just wasn’t happening. I have a pretty solid resume:

-I conked out every year at the Jersey Fireworks Fair just before the fireworks started crackling right above my head

-I slept comfortably in my closet on top of several pairs of shoes because I was too lazy to take them out

-My mom found me snuggled up in a cardboard box a few weeks after my first visit to NYC

Now I’m not sure if that proves my sleeping abilities or simply how weird I am…..Anyhow, I may have gotten a whopping two hours of sleep that first night in Yellowstone. I offered to take the end (closest to the grizzlies), but I was regretting that a couple hours into the night when I had yet to get warm enough to drift off into a peaceful slumber. I was NOT a happy camper…literally. Thankfully, there was a little comedic relief at about 6:15am when Kris’s nature was calling and she refused to walk the 200 yards to the bathroom in the grizzly-infested woods. Instead, she decided she’d drive the outrageous distance, and after we heard the Durango running for a bit, we wondered what the freeeeak she was doing (only to find out she was waiting for the windshield to defrost-figures). Finally, we heard her kick it into reverse…or what we thought was reverse…..VROOOOOOOM! The engine roared and we (and the rest of Yellowstone) were startled for a hot second. Thankfully, it was neutral and not DRIVE since our tent was about 8 feet in front of the Durango’s bumper. Anyhow, she made it to and from the bathroom without any grizzly encounters…(but we did hear coyotes or wolves howling on night #2).

Monday was the one full day we had at Yellowstone, so we decided to take the 40 minute ride to Old Faithful - a geyser that faithfully shoots boiling, stinky sulfur water up to 180 feet into the sky every 76 minutes. Old Faithful wasn’t the only geyser that was going off that day. Billy had one coming out of his butt. His faithfully erupted about every 4-6 minutes. Every time he let one loose, I’d say, “BILLYYYY!!!” and he’d be like, “IT’S THE GEYSERS!!”…even when we were back at the campsite. I’m sure this’ll be his excuse for the remainder of the trip. After Old Faithul, we took a 3-mile hike up to the overlook and around to see the other geysers and mudpots in the area.

REWIND: SPELUNKING, MT RUSHMORE, CUSTER STATE PARK

Day 6 we woke up later than expected and began to discuss our plans for the day: we wanted to go to Rushmore Caves to spelunk, head over to see the presidents, drive through Custer State Park via Needles Highway, and then drive to Gillette, WY. Kyle thought it might be a good idea to call ahead for the Rushmore Caves and they said they could only get us in at 10….it was 9:47am. They waited up a few minutes for us, and we made it! For those of you who don’t know, spelunking is basically crawling through tiny little crevices hundreds of feet underground. I’d call it caving, but apparently spelunking is the OFFICIAL term. Tric and I had been once before in CO with Sethy and Jeffy whom we had met at a bar the night before….Momma wasn’t too fond of that whole scenario and ever since I came home from Colorado last July, she has been trying to convince me to never go caving again. Even the night before I left for the road trip, I walked upstairs with my headlamp on, and she FREAKED out saying I wasn’t going caving until I explained that headlamps are ALSO used at campsites so you don’t have to cart around a flashlight….not JUST for caving. I never promised I wouldn’t do it though. Sorry momma…you know I LOVE YOU TO PIECES but you just can’t tame this WILD BEAST!!!! Anyhow, we spent three and a half hours underground for a mere 35 bucks each. That’s like 10 bucks an hour. SHWEEET. Words can’t possibly give this experience justice, so I’m going to leave it to pictures, but I’m not sure that’ll even do it. My advice: DO IT. Oh, there was one thing worth mention – Brennan, our guide, took us back to “The Fissure,” one of the tightest spots in the caves where they don’t typically take tours. I guess that’s why Brennan started FREAKING OUT when Kris said she was stuck. I don’t think his boss would’ve been very happy with him. Kris eventually got herself backed out, but stayed behind for a few minutes as we went ahead to the next “room.” I have to say, I am blown away by Kris right now. Some of this stuff isn’t exactly in her comfort zone, but she’s pushing her limits and realizing that she’s capable of waaay more than she ever knew. Kudos Kris J

We came out of the caves covered in dirt, grabbed a bite to eat and headed right over to the monument. Even though I had seen it once before when I was 12, Mount Rushmore was still pretty cool. You see it in your history books for years growing up so when it’s really right there in front of you, it’s pretty exciting. It was a first for the rest of the Drifters, so I’m sure their experience was a bit more overwhelming. We walked towards the mountain as we stared up at Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Jefferson in awe. Some nice girl took our photo in front of the monument (or so we thought). Just as we all got settled into our spots back in the Durango, Kris says, “Guys, I don’t think she ever actually took the picture.” Sooo we walked ALL THE WAY BACK to get our picture taken…and this time we made sure it was there. Custer was beautiful…Lots of buffalo….An few elk…Some birds…a pronghorn deer…No grizzlies L There were some really cool roads that went between rocks that were just big enough for the Durango and obviously – BEAUTIFUL vistas.

After our day of spelunking and sightseeing, we hopped on the road hoping to find something to eat on our way to Gillette. There was NOTHING in the middle of Wyoming so we ended up starving for a solid 9 hours until we finally made it into Gillette around 9:30pm. We’ve been mostly eating at locally-owned restaurants in an attempt to get the hometown feel and interact more with locals, but that night, we just went for the first thing we saw – Applebees (Kris & T also had giftcards waiting in their wallets that would help on the cashflow). We went across the street to crash at the Days Inn and by the time we got settled in, I was not about to wait up for 3 hours to do laundry so I promised I’d wake up early the next day to get r dooone. Set my alarm for 8:45am knowing that we’d be leaving around 11, but apparently my phone had yet to recognize the time change, so I was unknowingly up at 7:45am while the rest of the Drifters snuggled till close to 10:20. The dryer was subpar & took a couple rounds to actually dry things so I guess my early morning was just the big guy looking out for me. It actually ended up being a splendid morning. I ate breakfast, kicked it solo and got a run in. It was the first time I really had time away from the Drifters and while I wasn’t exactly CRAVING it, I realized how nice it is to get away once I had it. But in all seriousness, I have yet to get the least bit annoyed/frustrated with anyone. That’s pretty good considering we’ve spent the past 8 and a half days together.

We just jumped back in the car. We try to stop at as many state signs as we can…Just entered Idaho! We’re planning on driving through to Wells, Nevada and staying there for the night.

Random Snippets:

-TODAY IS TRICIA’S BIRTHDAY!! Marg & PapaPoore sent along a cute card with Billy to give to her today. Kris remade the card she forgot at home on a brown paper bag, and I gave Tric her card this morning. She opened her present from me before we left so we didn’t have to waste space – a scrapbook that read “Durango Drifters 2010” on the front with tons of fun stuff to make it super cute! J I can’t wait to see the finished product.

-All of Yellowstone is spotted with huge piles of buffalo dung. And when I say huge…I mean HUGE. Like 10-12 inches in diameter. Big enough to trip over. & I say that from personal experience.

-Our route map fell off our back window when we went from hot to extreme cold L I’m especially bummin’ cause it was right next to me and I was ACTUALLY learning my states! Dang Nabiiiit.

-Just finished my first book! Onto book number #2…I’m going to have to hide to finished books once they start accumulating in my suitcase cause the Drifters are willing to burn anything to start a campfire…even old love notes found in their wallet.

-I heard a huge smacking/popping noise while I was blogging and freaked out a babybit just to find out that Tric hit a bird. BIRD KILLER!

-WE HAVEN’T SHOWERED IN 3 DAYS – NO SHOWERS AT YELLOWSTONE. OW OWWW!!! (no showers, electricity, or cell service actually….a little escape J)

-Nicknames are beginning to form naturally…I think I’m the lone ranger without one L We’ve got:

-Kyle “Cobra” Sheare…because he’s a sneaky mother Russian. No, it’s from basketball way back when.

-Kris “The Whispering Scavenger” Poore in reference to her secret-telling, frugal disposition

-Billy “The Geyser” Poore in reference to his raunchy and faithful flagellations

-Tric “The Bird Killer” Poore in reference to her most recent homicide

Much love,

a.hendricks