The Great Adventure 2011 Wyoming– 7/11/11

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Don had terrible leg cramps all night long and I was up at 5am so we didn’t get much sleep last night. When I got out of the tent, I was surprised to see so many photographers with tripods taking pictures of the Devils Tower. The clouds were heavy over us and it rained a little during the night but they moved on and the sky got clearer by the time Don woke up. We packed up the tent and headed toward Thermopolis. We stopped at Donna’s Diner in Gilette for breakfast and a couple in a van next to us asked us about our Prius. The server was so friendly and we enjoyed talking to her! Then local people came up to Don and asked him about our Prius! The drive over the mountains was beautiful and we saw mountains with snow on them again. We arrived at some road construction and had to sit there for about 15 minutes so we talked to the man holding the stop sign about things to do in Thermopolis and places to eat. When we arrived in Thermopolis we ate lunch at the A&W diner/bowling alley (the last one left in the whole USA) where you called in your order on a phone located at the table. When your food is ready, they bring it out to you and you pay just like the old car hops did.

Then we drove around and explored. We went to Hot Springs State Park where the hot mineral springs are. We also drove to the buffalo pasture and saw the buffalo. It was very scenic. After dinner at our hotel, we called it an early night since we didn’t get much sleep last night.

What I Learned Today:

· Road construction workers are like tourist info centers and usually enjoy giving advice about a local area.

· Mom and Pop hotels can be cheaper and have better service than some of the chain hotels (the water pressure is great here! We also have a microwave, refrigerator, HDTV, and free wifi, with our king size bed for only $60.

· We have some awesome scenery in the USA!

· The mineral springs in Thermopolis is supposed to have some healing powers. (We shall see…)

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).
Original Photo: Hot Springs State Park by Pat Hensley