As we were driving across the very large Western states, Bryan and I got to thinking - how many of the states have we visited? I came up with 32 34 35, plus Washington DC. I had a little help from my parents, who drove cross-country a couple of times on different routes.

The asterisk (*) is for airports only - I’m not entirely sure they really count. I should certainly be able to make it to the other 15 states in the next 25 years or so.

What states have you visited?

We pushed hard and made it all the way back from South Dakota to the Seattle area in just two days. It was a little crazy, going from the great plains to the Rockies to the desert to the Cascades to rain forest in just hours of driving.

On the way back we detoured to alpha geek destination Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. It’s the starring location of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Why aliens would choose to come to earth at Devil’s tower (or Roswell, NM), I wouldn’t know. if I were an alien, I’d choose Beijing, Rome, or Mexico City - historically significant AND highly populated. I hope Zach and Ben don’t start sculpting their mashed potatoes into tower shapes now.

Devil’s Tower, Wyoming

We also stopped and spent a quiet hour at the site of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, in Montana. The battleground is peaceful now, the rolling hills are blanketed in waving grass, wildflowers, and sprinkled with gravestones. A Crow Indian ranger related the history of the events leading up to the battle and described the conflict itself - she was a very good storyteller and made the site come alive.

Cavalry soldier’s grave

Cheyenne warrior’s grave

It was a lot of driving and we are very glad to be back home. Our doggies missed us and were happy to see us.

Grave site photos by Zach - who is now going through his 10,000 (seriously) photos from the trip to post a gallery up on his deviant art site.
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Mileage total: 615 miles for a total of 2,945 miles
Road reading: The Dragon’s Nine Sons by Chris Roberson
Gas price: back in the land of $4.27 a gallon but we heard rumors of $3.69 a gallon in Cheyenne, WY

Why is it that when you check into a hotel - and your first question is “Do you have a room available” and your second is “Do you have wi-fi to your hotel rooms” - they put you in one of the three rooms in the hotel without any actual wireless coverage?

Did they think I was asking just to make conversation? Is it a polite conversation starter, along the lines of “Isn’t the weather great?” and “How about those Mariners?” (The answer to the latter is “Just about as wonderful as your wireless coverage!)

Three nights out of four on this trip our hotel wireless has utterly sucked. It’s been either nonexistent, one out of four bars, or so congested we can’t stay connected. As an IT geek who needs to manage work and personal email during a trip, this has been very annoying.

BlackBerry GPRS Internet access is just not sufficient. I’m not set up to moblog (blog from my handheld - I don’t think it’s secure) and browsing is annoyingly slow.

Must… have… Internet. Going… through… withdrawals. I guess that’s what a vacation is for! Fresh air, pine trees, hiking trails and all that Outward Bound type of stuff.

I heard on the radio this week that Chrysler is coming out with a 2009 car that provides mobile, in-vehicle wi-fi access. I like it.

Miles covered: 583
Road reading: In the Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

One of the really fascinating things about Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains (and South Dakota’s Badlands) is the geology. I mentioned in an earlier thread that I am a bit of a geology geek; I love structural and historical geology, it’s fascinating to see the bones of the earth showing beneath her skin.

In the Bighorn Mountains, some enterprising state geologist has carefully placed roadside signs labeling the various rock strata by type and origin. The most amazing was the exposed Precambrian granite bedrock, estimated at 2.5 billion years old. The huge outcroppings of granite were lovely, a subtle rose with large dark crystal inclusions and metamorphic streaks. Laying hands on the stone was almost a spiritual experience.

Geologic time encompasses such an incomprehensible breadth of years. Our time on the earth is such an insignificant flyspeck by comparison. It makes our stresses and conflicts seem pretty petty and minor.

I don’t like feeling insignificant, so I had a vision of polishing and cutting granite into a kitchen countertop. Take that, ancient geologic artifact! We humans have tools and in our brief time here on earth we’ve learned to use them!

Environmental types, really, I’m kidding. I wouldn’t chop up Precambrian granite for my home. I actually do view such things with a degree of reverence.

This stone has been here 2.5 billion years. And it’ll probably still be here another 2.5 billion years after we’re gone. It deserves a little awe.

We’re in South Dakota now and tired from too much driving. (Yes, Tanya, close to your neck of the woods - although the Dakotas are not small states.) The drive east from Yellowstone through Wyoming along Highway 14 is absolutely spectacular and I highly recommend it if you ever want a scenic, winding trip through geologic time.

Mileage count: 523 mi
Gas prices: $3.89 in Sheridan, WY and $3.97 in Rapid City, SD
Road Reading: Blood and Iron: A Novel of the Promethean Age by Elizabeth Bear (a WONDERFUL fantasy novel!!)
Quote(s) of the day - via text: (Jeri) We’re most of the way across Wyoming and have seen almost no cattle - so why are there so many cowboys here? (Michelle A) Watch out for Indians!