I Wish It Would Rain Down

Day 17:

Not a lot to report today. We basically drove all the way from our Horse Thief Campground to one in the tiny town of Dayton, WY in 100 degree heat. This time, however, we didn't have the prarie gale-force winds cooling us down. It was just brutual. One of the party had the fine suggestion of coming back into town to see the new Pixar movie, Ratatouile. It was a great idea in the heat, but it required us to get the tent set up really quickly and eat dinner really quickly. By the time we got ready to drive back to town, we were all drenched in sweat.

It was a nice older complex that had two huge theaters. I didn't recogize the sound system they advertised, it was so old. Since it was a Monday night the theater seemed pretty empty, though I'm sure there could have been a pretty decent sized crowd given the size of the place. For those who care, I enjoyed the movie.

Our one stop along the way was at Jewel Cave National Monument. Although I am always impressed by caves, I tend to forget about them when I think of the beauty of nature. This is a very extensive network of caves near (in?) the Black Hills area of South Dakota. They continue to explore and find more. It carried the added bonus of being 49 degrees during our cave tour which was very welcome given the heat we had been suffering.

Highlights:
1. Another good roadside diner: The Highway 16 Diner. Don't confuse this with the Route 16 Diner where we ate last night.


Quirks:
1. Every twenty miles or so you'll see gates and dire warnings about what will happen if you cross them when they are down. I can just imagine drifts of blowing snow ten feet deep during the winter.
2. Ashtrays on the table at the Highway 16 Diner! I can't remember the last time I saw smoking in an eating establishment.