Mountains, beer, and mountains of beer

It was chilly and windy when we woke up yesterday. I ran inside the Walmart and played Wii for about a half hour while Nikki slept in.

At 9:15 I woke her up because we had important business to attend to. A 10 am tour of the Anheuser Busch factory in Fort Collins, CO.

It's kind of neat to see all the time and care that goes into getting you drunk.

We saw the old carts used to deliver the beer, and the Clydesdales used to pull those carts.

And here's a picture of some of AB's more premium brands.

After the tour we got to sample some of AB's beverages. I must say, there's not much better than a flight of beer at 11am.

Afterwards we drove through the Colorado State University campus. Nikki wasn't impressed, so we didn't stay long. Then we drove to Boulder.

By then the winds had picked up and driving was a little rough for the Dod on the expressway. Luckily it wasn't far.

In Boulder we located a Borders and were able to swap out our incomplete atlas for a new one. After copying our information over to our new atlas/scrapbook a couple sitting next to us asked us if we were traveling. We relayed our story to them and they told us that they were also travelers. In fact, they had been splitting their time between their RV and a sail boat for the last 12 years.

It was great chatting with them and trading information so we can keep in touch and possibly meet up in SoCal later on. They imparted some of their road wisdom to us and for that we are very grateful.

By now it was getting close to evening, so we decided to find a place to bed down for the night. Dark clouds were rolling in over the mountains, and the wind was not letting up. So we drove right into those darn mountains.

After a quick tour we located a quaint little lodge set next to a stream. It was perfect. The fresh mountain air was like heaven with a little bit of pine.

It was leftover fajitas and a much needed shower before settling in.

In the morning we ate a free continental breakfast and set out for the Colorado University Campus in Boulder.

The campus was beautiful and I found an excellent record store while Nikki found the Meow Meow, a boutique which had hand bags made out of Archie comics. If you didn't already know, Nikki is nuts for Archie comics. And the bags were half off, so of course she bought one.

After lunch in the Dod we hit the road again, setting our course for Denver.

After locating the cheapest all-day parking lot we could find, we set off on foot to explore the city.

Then we found this giant blue bear trying to break into a bulding.

We mostly toured the 16th street walking mall, which runs the length of the downtown commercial district.

Then we looked for the bar that had the cheapest happy hour specials. We found 1.50 drafts and half off appetizers at a mexican restaurant just off 16th street. We gorged ourselves on nachos and then stumbled back to the Dod.

After a little mix up leaving Denver, we finally made it to our home for the evening, yet another Walmart.

However, after tonight we'll be sleeping underneath a real roof as we shack up with our friends Laura and Wes in Colorado Springs. And according to Laura, we have a heck of a weekend ahead of us. But for now, good bye from Colorado.

p.s.

We were finally able to get our pictures developed from Devil's Lake. So, as promised here they are.

B-b-b-badlands! (inc. Wall Drug)

The Badlands are BAD ASS. For real. You need proof? Just check out these pictures...

The Dod resting in the sunset after a long haul.

The view from our window from the campsite.

As my best friend Amanda put it, “Walking through the Badlands is like walking on another planet”. So true...

Upon arriving in Badlands National Park, four big-eared deer greeted us on the road. We camped in an open-land campground for only $5 per night with our America the Beautiful pass. The treeless, burn-ban campground was non-traditional compared to most camping experiences. but we had fun nonetheless. Unlike the campfire ban, the stars burnt bright and unconstrained in the heavens. Never have I seen so many stars. The Milky Way was clearly visible and shooting stars were not uncommon. (photos unavailable)

Capturing the depth and magnificent beauty of the Badlands through photography is simply impossible. Every single step issues more photos. Gray and white stone build up to bashful purple and golden orange layers mimicking the sunset. The four-mile hike Chris and I took could have easily taken 3+ hours hadn’t Chris prompted me through the trails without shooting photos every other minute. Here's a few we did find time for...

We started waaay over there!

The beautiful grasslands...

This sign made me a nervous wreck for the whole first hour of the hike. Here, here, here little rattlesnake...

A couple of friendly co-hikers offered to take our photo.

What a fantastic sunset to end a pleasant day...

After the hike, we biked two miles back to the campsite and heated chicken soup and leftover kielbasa for dinner. [By the way Darin, that soup is fantastic! (that should mean a lot coming from the soup queen herself)].

Chris and I adopted a pet named Meow Meow. Meow Meow is a broke-ass bee from the Badlands. He landed on our picnic table and promptly dived into the whisky. We hung out with little Meow Meow for a while until he got bored and went to play with the bun-rabs. An hour later Meow Meow stumbled back for a second shot and promptly pencil-dived into Chris’ drink. Meow Meow flew around in circles until the birds woke us up the next morning. We looked high and low for his silly drunk ass all morning until we finally gave up and headed out toward Wall, SD.

Lo and behold, on Friday morning, there was Meow Meow chillin’ on the window and soakin’ up the rays trying to nurse his poor hangover! Just before we exited the Badlands, Meow Meow recovered and opted to join the Prairie Dogs instead of accompanying us to Wall Drug. (He's been there at least a billion times. Freeloader.)

We were lucky enough to happen upon a happy family of prairie dogs on our way out of the Badlands.

Just like Jason promised, Wall Drug is the absolute kichiest place in the wide USA. What a treat! T-Rex and five-cent coffee were the biggest perks. Chris and I spent an hour and a half roaming the aisles purchasing crap like flyswatters and postcards.

Currently, we are camped out at an RV camp called “Tee Pee Campground” just south of Rapid City listening to “Me First and the Gimme Gimmes” and snacking on pretzels and chips for dinner. Till next time, peace!