09/18/01: Tuesday 9/18/01
Slowly started the day in Spearfish. Karen and I were both out of sorts. We got on the road by 11:00. I-90, that is. We left the Interstate for Wyoming road 111 toward Aladdin. We stopped in Aladdin, WY (pop 15) to get something at the General Store. The store was still operating, and had the original 1890's shop paraphenalia. The dry goods bins were full of cigarette packs, but penciled on the sides were the type of grain or flour stored there, and the price. The latter was much scratched out and rewritten.
Devil's Tower Light
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Devil's Tower Detail
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A hawk between Dan's new hat and the top
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From there, we headed west on SR. 24, to the Devil's Tower. That certainly is a weird piece of erosion formation. We ate lunch in the picnic area a couple of miles from the base, and watched the climbers through binoculars. I rested in the shade, and Karen wrote a postcard. As I said, we were out of sorts. We briefly visited the Visitors Center, then drove on down 24 to 14 to I-90. We watched the hazy Bighorn Mountains grow in the distance. At 6:00 we stopped in the town of Buffalo.
First view of mountains, the Big Horns
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Buffalo, WY: The Mansion House Inn Lobby. See Karen in our room to the right.
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Buffalo, WY: Dan in the Mansion House Inn stairwell
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Buffalo, WY: The Mansion House Inn
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Buffalo, WY: The Mansion House Inn Breakfast room. Note the curved radiator and ceilings
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After driving through the parking lots of several motels, we decided to stay at the Mansion House Inn on Main street. It is now a hotel, with 4 rooms in the mansion, and a ranch motel across the parking lot. We stayed in the mansion. Antique furnishings, modern bath, and a phone booth just outside in the hall.
We walked to dinner about a mile away. Karen was cold, the waitress offended her with her impatient efficiency, so she just had a salad. I had a sausage sandwich. Back to the room, and I pretty much passed out on the comfy king-size bed. I woke enough to get undressed at some point.