We saw a MOOSE!!

We have been driving for 3 days now and today was by far the best. The first day we drove from Ohio to Iowa. And I would like to say that I do not understand why anyone would want to live in Iowa. It could possibly be the most boring state. Its flat but with nothing to look at. No trees even. On the second day we finally escaped Iowa and arrived in South Dakota. Now South Dakota is equally as flat and treeless as Iowa but at least they have a TON of billboards along the road to keep you entertained. My personal favorite was a car mechanic that offered a "Free Toe" to his shop. South Dakota did get better towards the end where we saw the Badlands. They were pretty cool, but we just drove by. This was also when Niki voiced the question, "Did the Black Foot Indians come from the Black Hills?"

Last night we were still in South Dakota, this was the first time the land was anything but flat. We found ourselves on top of a snowy mountain and the light was fading. We ended up driving around a bend and saw a hotel there and immediately pulled in. The people at the front desk told us the place just opened four days ago and we were one of the two guests staying there. The beds were soooo comfy! It was so much better than the skanky motel we stayed at in Iowa, where the sheets had stains and I wore my flip flops in the shower.. ewww. The only annoying part about the hotel in South Dakota was the part where a family came in and stayed in the room next to us. They had five kids, that is all that needs to be said. The hotel had a free breakfast so that made up for the loud children waking me up at 7.
Leaving the hotel this morning was a bit of a task. It snowed through the night and we got up to at least 10 inches of it. Niki and I had to dig the car out. Luckily the hotel had a broom and shovel. Unfortunately, neither one of us have the appropriate attire for snow. We were out there with jeans and sweatshirts on. It was actually quite fun and the mountains covered in snow was so beautiful. After we dug the car out we drove to Mt Rushmore. Mt Rushmore was also covered in snow. We were really only able to make out George Washington's nose. But hey, Niki has a parking pass for Mt Rushmore that is good for the whole year if you were thinking of going, it can be yours for $7, that will save you a few bucks.
After Rushmore we arrived in Wyoming. And the scenery finally really started to change. The sky is HUGE! I especially like how you can see the sun but yet its raining on you, I find this strange. South Dakota and Wyoming have magical roads that somehow don't let snow accumulate on them. Today feels like it could have been three or four because of the landscape changing so much and the weather going from raining, to sunny, to snowing. We also accidentally passed Devils Tower without seeing it. It was out of our way anyhow. Now it gets to the good part. I was driving through the Big Horn Mountains, which was okay until we were extremely high up and the snow was thick and it was hard to see parts of the road... I was going downhill and went around a little bend in the road and crossing the street was a MOOSE! Me and Niki started screaming in excitement. (Note that I didn't almost hit it, I was diving really slow). There was only the one moose and it was huge, it was also black, and I wasn't aware they were that color. We also saw a real cowboy herding some cows!

After we got out of the mountains we drove until we arrived in Cody, Wyoming, where I am sitting typing this for my dad cuz he keeps telling me to update the blog! I will say that both Niki and I took a ton of pictures today and video but not one of them does anything we see justice. The colors are not even close to how they really look. Its really lovely here, its so vast and serene. There is always something to stare at whether its the mountains or a canyon or the never ending sky.

I'm a little disappointed about Yellowstone. We are headed there tomorrow but I guess they got a lot of snow and they are only letting cars in with snow tires or something, so we may not go!! And to think we rerouted our trip stop and see the park when there may be nothing for us to see but snow! I would also like to say that it is almost May and Ohio has 85 or higher degree weather, Yellowstone and Wyoming need to get with the program.
-Aimee