Cody to Keystone

We're on our way home! Today, we traveled from Cody, Wyoming to Keystone, South Dakota, which is at the base of Mt. Rushmore. About half the time we were in "ugly" Wyoming, which is flat, parched and brown.  The other half we were in "pretty" Wyoming, particularly the scenic byway that runs through the Bighorn Mountains and Bighorn National Forest.  The road runs through deep canyons, high plateaus and dense forest.  It peaks at about 9000 feet.  We stopped at about 8000 feet and the air was crisp, clean and heavily scented of pine.  According to the road signs, some of the exposed rock is 2.5 billion years old. Not a lot of traffic, which made the road even more enjoyable.  There were several large pullover spaces, which are used for loading/unloading snowmobiles in the winter.  This area must be gorgeous covered in snow.

Keystone is very touristy, but fun.  We all went down the alpine slide three times.  You sit in a small, wheeled sled down a chute (much like a water slide). From the top of the slide, we could see (faintly) Mt. Rushmore.  Check out the movie below to "feel" the experience yourself!

Tomorrow we start the first of three long road days.  We're simply going to retrace our steps and stay in the same cities as two weeks ago.  So, there probably won't be a whole lot to post about (except maybe the Corn Palace, which Matthew wants to visit).  It's been a great trip.  And now we all just want to get home....