Buffalo, WY

Wow, today has been a long driving day. We were on the road for about 11 hours. Everyone was right, going through Yellowstone definitely slowed us down, but it was well worth it. Although we didn't see much wildlife, which was a little disappointing, it was a beautiful drive. We did see a few beautiful elk lying in the tall grass. The one stop we made within the park was at Old Faithful. We walked around a bit with the dogs and then waited until it blew. It was a bit of a wait, but we needed to see it! And it was a good break for the dogs.

Then, we saw what I had remembered from my last time in Yellowstone - a traffic jam caused by a Buffalo on the road. He was SO cool, and just meandered along seeming to say, "I was here first, so YOU can wait."

We got out of the park about 2:30 and proceeded through the longest most desolate stretch of Wyoming imaginable! Not that it wasn't pretty... the rocks were marked and were between 35 million and 55 billion years old. And they were so colorful and beautiful. Plus, part of the way we saw about 15 oil rigs (or what we figured were oil rigs) drilling out in the middle of nowhere. I've never seen one in person and it made me think of the movie "There Will Be Blood". I DRINK your milkshake!!

We made it to Buffalo, Wyoming at about 8:00 p.m. We tried to stay at the Motel 6 but they were booked. They are having a fair here, but the main reason is that Sturgis Bike Week ended today and all the bikers are coming home. It's crazy, we've passed hundreds of bikes today. So, we got the very last pet friendly room at the Super 8 and it's costing us about $70 more. But, I guess that's what we get for not making planned stops beforehand. It's a nice room, though, so it works out. We only paid for one dog, though, so we have to keep Ava incognito. :-)

Tomorrow we will see Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills of South Dakota.