9:30am 90 degrees
Left Grapevine to spend first night in Dodge City, KS. Saw our first cotton field and lots and lots of wheat everywhere. Black Angus cows all over Oklahoma and Kansas. Saw a dead deer and tons of sagebrush (tumbleweed). 
Great view of wind turbines (about 30) in Woodward and a prison in Fort Supply. Billboard said, "Do not pick up hitchhikers, they might be escaped prisoners."
There were lots of casinos in Oklahoma City. Had lunch on famous Route 66 trail in El Reno, OK while searching for an elusive casino outside Oklahoma City.
5:15pm 95 degrees
Arrived in Dodge City and took pictures of huge cattle feeding yards and 2 processing plants. 
They actually process up to 4,000 cattle per day. Needless to say, we had a delicious steak at Casey's Steakhouse which the hotel manager recommended.
Visited Bookhill Casino (state owned) and enjoyed gambling all night long.
Donnie and I walked, in historical downtown Dodge City, before we left for South Dakota the next morning.
After we left Dodge City, we saw more corn and wheat. Donnie reference "Amber waves of grain" to a very beautiful song:
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness.
America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.
O beautiful for heroes prov'd
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine.
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears.
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
Katherine Lee Bates
11:50a.m. 79 degrees
Entered Nebraska. So far looks like Kansas. Had picnic lunch at Johnson Lake State Park. Drove by original Pony Express station near Cofax and Lexington.
Nebraska was a total surprise: Pine trees in the northeastern corner of the state. Rolling hills, sand hills, plains with corn and some wheat. Alfalfa and soy bean crops.
5:42p.m. (mountain time) 79 degrees
Arrived in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Beautiful pinewood mountains.
We ate dinner at Branding Iron Restaurant. Donnie did not like his steak. I ate a hamburger with not so great fries. I wasn’t happy with the service. Great view of the mountains though.
6:44a.m. 43 degrees
Woke up to a beautiful morning. Gorgeous mountains!. Saw a deer by the hotel, prairie dogs and buffaloes in Wind Cave National Park.
Went to Crazy Horse (a Native American on a horse). A monument on the mountain that will be larger then Mt. Rushmore.
This is what it looks like now and how it will look in 30 years. 
We had a beautiful scenic drive on our way to Mount Rushmore. We took tons of pictures of the monument. How different it looks up close.
My eyes teared a couple of times because it's a moving sight. Before we reached the monument we could see it through a tunnel we drove through.
We walked all over the place. The presidents are magnificent!!
Drove through several tunnels on our way to Deadwood. Saw National Guard maneuvers on Barns Canyon Rd. I saw an eagle. We ate lunch at Iron Mountain picnic area. We also liked Belle Fourche. Donnie kept pronouncing it Valley Forge.
5:30pm 57 degrees
Arrived in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Our hotel room was right next to a beautiful river. We slept with our windows open and heard the sound of rushing water. We used Deadwood as a staging area so we could visit the states around us. The hotel had wonderful people working for them. We were treated very, very well. They fed us pizza and tons of beer.
We gamble all night in the hotel casino. The odds were fantastic for hotel guests. Donnie and I won quite a bit of money. It was great not having to leave the hotel to gamble. We had so much fun, we did it again the following night. 
JoAnn would love this hotel!!
6:50am 55 degrees
Started a scenic drive from South Dakota (the Blackhills) to Wyoming to Montana.
Crossed the Wyoming State line. Saw our first antelopes and deer. Black Angus cows everywhere and some sheep. Some Herefords (very few). I saw a wolf (Donnie thought it might have been a dog).
Arrived in Montana. Stopped in Alzara and saw a Ford 1934 Roadster. We stopped to pick up a map and I bought a Montana key chain souvenir. I also saw cowboys. No mountains and lots of flat land. The Rockies are in the east side of Montana. Saw antelopes.
10:43am 73 degrees
Started a beautiful scenic drive to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. The tower is a massive volcano that never erupted, but pushed up through the ground. It had huge columns of rock. 
Walked around the volcano for 1.3 miles and saw a mountain rattler on our path. Native Americans consider the tower sacred and hang prayer beads and bits of cloth on trees. Saw some climbers way up high on top of the tower. You can barely see them in this picture. 
All climbers have to register to climb. Nick told me that Close Encounter's of the Third Kind was filmed there. I plan to watch the movie again soon!
All our kids called Donnie for father’s day to wish him a Happy Father’s Day. He was so pleased. I'm so proud of them!
Beautiful scenery. We also took pictures of Bridal Veils (waterfalls) outside Spearfish.
8:00a.m. 72 degrees
Went to downtown Deadwood to buy souvenirs and saw a gunfight on main street. Right on the street Wild Bill Hitchcock was killed. Calamity Jane loved him so much she asked that she be buried next to him and she was. This town has so much history. I never dreamed I’d go to Deadwood. I do know that I love HBO’s Deadwood series. It was filmed there. I plan to buy the DVDs ASAP!!! Deadwood is a beautiful town nestled in the Black Hill mountains. This was the last place gold was discovered in the lower 48 states. We saw mining equipment in some places. You wouldn’t believe the motorcycle bikers we saw in Deadwood. They were everywhere!!
9:40a.m. 71 degrees
Left Deadwood to go to Laramie, Wyoming Lots of rolling hills and cattle on our drive. Donnie and I counted 181 antelopes! They were everywhere.
12:32p.m. 73 degrees
When we first started out, I stopped counting antelopes after I reach 60 in one hour! They are everywhere.
Stopped to buy lunch items and had a picnic in Lusk, Wyoming. Wyoming’s first beatification rest area. It was beautiful. We could also see antelopes down the street. I kept watching out for rattlesnakes.
3:17p.m. 78 degrees
Arrived in Laramie, Wyoming. A picturesque town. Saw real cowboys.
We ate dinner at the Cavalryman Restaurant (historical building). We had steaks (of course), Portobello mushrooms (incredible, I wished I had asked for the recipe). We both loved our steaks. We ended up having free appetizers and dessert thanks to our hotel.
We saw 2 red tail hawks outside our restaurant window. They were amazing.
7:55a.m. 59 degrees
Left Laramie, Wyoming to Colorado.
We counted 90 antelopes in just one hour out of town. I stopped counting so I could see the views of mountains everywhere. The Medicine Bow mountains had snow on them. Breathtaking! The mountain elevation is 12,013.
9:52a.m. 66 degrees
Crossed the Colorado State line and saw a coyote crossing the street. We drove through Estes Park. One of our favorite cities in Rocky Mountain National Park. The mountains were magnificent.
3:45p.m. 79 degrees
Arrived in Black Hawk, Colorado and stayed at the Isle of Capri Hotel.
The hotel was exquisite and the cost was better than any other place we stayed in. We had a suite, the beds and pillows were extremely comfortable!
The staff was great. We mentioned we had been married for 30 years and they gave us a complimentary dinner. We gambled right in the hotel that night. My honey went to our room to watch TCU play baseball (they lost) and I stayed to gamble and lost (but had tons of fun).
8:10a.m. 53 degrees
Had a complimentary breakfast at the Isle of Capri before heading out. Beautiful views
. We wanted to stay longer but we had a job on Friday and no way to contact the customer.
I drove for about 5 miles outside of Pueblo, Co and had a conniption fit. The speed limit was 75, there was a curve with a mountain drop. I slammed on my brakes to 45 mph with an eighteen wheeler right at my back door. Donnie kept yelling, “Go FASTER” and all I wanted to do was pull over. So, I FINALLY made it down to a place I could stop and Donnie took over and drove the rest of the trip. Actually, except for those 5 miles and he drove all the time. I think it'll take a long time before I can drive in the mountains!!
12:00p.m. 79 degrees
Arrived in Raton, New Mexico (one of my most favorite cities to visit). We ate lunch in Clayton, New Mexico and continued our trip to Texas.
5:15p.m. 88 degrees
Arrived in Amarillo, Texas. Stayed at a Best Western (very disappointing). Bed was hard as a rock.
Ate dinner at the Big Texas Restaurant and ate wonderful steaks. We were there in time to see a man eat a 72 oz steak within an hour. In addition to the steak, he had to eat appetizers and side dishes too. He didn’t break the time record, but he didn’t have to pay for dinner. They sat him on a table on top of a stage. People were all around him, asking him questions and taking his picture. I don't think I could ever have that much attention. It was a lot of fun!! That was the only time I didn't have my camera! I did take a picture of him with my phone though, I just don't know how to download it.
We went back to our room and Donnie watched baseball and I watched a movie on my portable DVD player (very convenient to have).
7:55a.m. 66 degrees
Had breakfast and left for Grapevine. We saw corn, wheat, cattle and some camels. Donnie and I had a picnic lunch outside of Alvord, Texas.
1:25p.m. 99 degrees
Arrived home and JoAnn was waiting for us with our dogs. All were excited to see us. Thank you JoAnn for staying at our house!! The "girls" were spoiled by their Aunt JoAnn. They LOVE her!!
You are too funny! Glad you had a wonderful time!
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