Sunday, March 1, 2009

Traveler's Log: Day 3

Rawlins, WY

After a winding and scenic journey in South Dakota, Mt. Rushmore appeared before us, slowly being revealed as we crested a hill. We stopped on the side of one of the aforementioned winding roads, in awe of the man-made work before us. The way to Mt. Rushmore was empty, since it was the off season, and while we were on the side of the road, we were completely alone. The silence was eerie, yet peaceful at the same time. The actual Monument was all but deserted, which made for a very enjoyable visit.

Our journey led us to another winding and scenic road, up to Deadwood, SD. Apparently there was a lot of Wild West type activity there back in the day. They even had a hotel named after Wild Bill Hickcock. Very touristy with casinos as the main attractions.

We then crossed into Wyoming, a state to which neither of us has been. The mountains were pretty, but the state was similar to the Monument: all but deserted. Mile after mile after mile of nothing, then CITY, then nothing again for miles. Just like I expected it to be. Finally, we made it to our current destination of Rawlins. We checked into a hotel, then ordered a pizza from Dominos, but didn't want to pay for delivery, so we made the 1.5 mile jaunt, which happened to bring us to downtown Rawlins. This, too, was like the Monument. I'm sensing a pattern here.

Downtown was so deserted it was actually creepy. One or two cars on the road, a handful parked at a bar, no one walking around. No one. I half expected a tumbleweed to slowly meander down the road, or us to find out that no one had lived in Rawlins since 1932 and we were really in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Perhaps we really are, and the nice lady at the front desk of our hotel is actually a member of the ghost-town of Rawlins. Further developments to come...

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