Wyoming - Equality State and South Dakota - The Mount Rushmore State (original!)
So, on our last day in Estes Park we got up early to go into the Rocky Mountains NP to find most of the roads closed due to snow - just our luck! We did, however, spot some Elk and Dear along the road, which was quite cool!
So it was 'on the road again' and we didn't pick a very good day for it! The winter was officially setting in, with snow and ice storms across Colorado and Wyoming - so poor, poor James had to drive so slowly the whole way up to South Dakota so we didn't go off the road (which many people did - we literally saw 10 cars/trucks that had flown off the road within the space of a few miles - scary). We drove up to a place called 'Rock Springs' and had a disgusting Chinese Takeaway - a cute little place though, with a geothermal river running right through the middle of it! Quite liking the thought of going into the hot spring waterfall at Cascade Falls whilst it was snowing, we drove 10 miles out of our way (recommendation of the Lonely Planet) to find a tepid stream, with no waterfall in sight...great!
The Mammoth Site was our next stop - where 27,000yrs ago a 'sink hole' was formed in the earth and as mammoths went to drink from it they fell in and drowned - created piles and piles of mammoth remains, which they found a few years ago! It was cool! We then hit the road again to go and see Mount Rushmore, via the Custer State Park (where we saw prarie dogs, bison, deer, burro etc etc. Mt Rushmore was quite boring, we didn't really stay too long as it was freeeeezing! Actually, we didn't even go into the park - $8 parking, you're having a joke!
We then had the absolutely massive drive to Chicago, via (apparently) the world's largest truck stop (i've definitely seen bigger, South Mimms for example!)...
