Once Cyd, Dan, and I decided we would attend the All Classes From the 1960s Reunion of Douglas High School, our alma mater in western South Dakota, we decided to make a circle trip out of it.

Our circle began and ended in Denver. As always, the white peaked roof of the Denver airport, with the Rockies in the background, made quite an impression from the air. The 34 peaks that make up the roof were designed to resemble Colorado’s snow-capped mountains and the countless Native American teepees that were once located across the Great Plains. It is hard to believe the roof is made of white Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric “as thin as a credit card.”

Dan and I made our way to Avis Car Rental where we met up with Cyd and began our adventure.

First stop: Colorado Springs, population 500,000+/-, elevation 6,035.
Because of its climate, mountain setting, and great rail access the city was founded as a resort town in 1871. The city became home to mine owners, artists, and writers as well as folks in need of clean mountain air to get well. Dan and I have owned five acres east of town since 1978. The lot is undeveloped and sits at the top of a windy, treeless rise in a small community of five-acre plots. It did not take long to survey this vast (wink) acreage. Pleased that there were no squatters, unauthorized construction, rattlesnake dens, or pop up coffee shops on our property, we only stayed a few minutes.

Second stop: Salida, population 6,000+/-, elevation 7,094.
Even though the Arkansas River runs right through town, it was not the river that initially brought folks here. The town actually sprang up in 1880 as a rail hub that ran trains to and from mining communities. Precious metals had nothing to do with our visit however, we came to visit Kimberly, Brady, Kamryn, and Brennan. We spent two fun nights and a day strolling the downtown historic district, which is on the National Register of Historic Places; enjoying their ranch; sharing meals and funny stories; soaking up the spectacular scenery and tranquil beauty of the area; having one-on-one time with the kids; and just catching up in general.

Third stop: Meeker, population 2,500+/-, elevation 6,240 feet.
Meeker was founded in 1885 on the site of a former U.S. Army post. Nestled along the White River, it was the first permanent town in northwestern Colorado. Billy the Kid stayed the night in1889; President Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Meeker on a Concord stagecoach in January 1901 to hunt mountain lion. We arrived in way more comfort, I can assure you, to see Si, Susan, Chad, Heather, Tanner, and Emi. We made the best of our two nights and a day by sharing delicious meals, enjoying the kids, sharing fun stories, driving out to see a wild fire, catching up on everyone’s news, and spending a lovely day at Si and Susan’s cabin where we explored what’s left of ‘homes’ dug into the sides of dirt hills. On the way out of town Dan bought the last four cans of Green Chili Sauce With Pork at the local grocery. (It was the secret ingredient in a dish Susan made for us.)

Fourth stop: Fraser, population 1,500+/-, elevation 8,813.
Colorado Springs and Fraser got their start the same year with Fraser having a far more practical purpose. It was laid out as a railroad terminus for a large sawmill. It soon gained notoriety for its 45-50-degrees-below-zero winter temperatures. A fun fact is that German prisoners of war were here during WWII, and after the war President Eisenhower, world famous for his military success in Europe during the war, visited Fraser frequently to fly fish. You guessed it, fishing, cold weather, and prisoners had nothing to do with our being here. Last spring Cyd’s and my extended family gathered here to bury Mother’s remains in the Fraser Cemetery. At the time of our service her monument had not been installed, so we came to see it and prune a couple of pine trees that had branches obstructing the view of the back of the stone. On a whim we decided to outline her plot with river rock. Just like we pruned without permission, we gathered river rock from property nearby without anyone’s approval and outlined her grave. We left very satisfied with our work and with how beautiful the monument looks in the small country cemetery blanketed in native pine. We spent a restful night in town. On our way out the next morning Dan stopped for MORE cans of Green Chili Sauce With Pork and a spare bottle of Fraser Whiskey.

These first four stops had been thought through before we left home. The next part of the trip, not so much, actually not at all. We left home knowing at this point we’d just take it a day at a time. So, first things first: knowing our destination was Rapid City we needed to decide what route to take. We chose to stay off interstates as much as possible and headed north on Colorado 125 toward Wyoming. In many places we had the two-lane road to ourselves. Everything was to our liking: small herds of antelope, countless hawks, deer, a couple of wolves, and the stillness of the landscape.

While Dan drove and the car navigated Cyd and I looked up points of interest and decided, what the heck, a prison might be a worthy stop.

Fifth stop: Laramie, population, 32,000+/-, altitude 7,220.
Wyoming Territorial Prison opened in 1872 and for 30 years held 1,000+ prisoners, 13 of whom were women. Most were violent, desperate outlaws. We were welcome to sit in a paddy wagon before browsing the imposing stone-with-brick-trim prison building, the Industries Building (a broom factory then and now), and the Warden’s House. We walked through everything from in-processing to bathing, eating, sleeping, and laundering. We learned about the Outlaw Trail, a no man’s land for bad guys where no law was The Law. We read about the lives of a number of prisoners. One that stands out is a man who ‘learned his lesson’ while incarcerated and went on to be an upstanding citizen. His grandchildren sponsored a cell that tells his story. Another is Bunch Cassidy who was incarcerated here from 1894-1896 for stealing horses. You could say he epitomizes a guy who did not ‘learn his lesson’ because upon his release he established what would become the most successful band of bank and train robbers this country has ever seen. By the time the band dissolved in 1901 they had stolen over $233,905.00 ($12,000,000.00 in today’s money)! Butch and the Wild Bunch were the country’s last horseman outlaws.

After our very interesting prison tour we strolled into a western wear shop downtown and chatted up the saleslady about what was on down the road. With no hesitation she recommended a motel and a site an hour and a half north. Off we went.

Sixth stop: Guernsey, population 1,200+/-, elevation 4,354.
We headed out on a wing and a prayer since we had no reservations. Lucky us, the Bunkhouse Motel had two rooms. The motel was very clean, well appointed with the bare necessities, and aptly named if you get my drift. The staff was out-West friendly and answered all our questions starting with where we could get dinner. Next door at Crazy Tony’s was the obvious answer.

Homecooked breakfasts are a hallmark of the Bunkhouse Motel we were told. Sure enough, burritos, biscuits and gravy, and a few other choices were on offer the next morning. The owner was friendly and once we mentioned we’d never been to his home state of Montana he brought up beautiful pictures on his desktop computer to convince us it would be a worthy place to spend some time. As soon as we could gracefully pull ourselves away from the slideshow we headed down the road to see the main attraction in these parts: trail ruts.

Here’s the backstory. In the 1840s pioneers came to Guernsey to bathe, water their stock, and do their laundry. Most of these pioneers were part of wagon trains that over time took a half million people over one of three main trails headed west: the California Trail, the Mormon Pioneer Trail, and the Oregon Trail. By the time these rocky, rutted trails got to Wyoming the relatively easy going of the flat plains was over and navigating the rugged, arid landscapes of hills and mountains lay ahead. The site we visited, known as the Guernsey Ruts, is located where the Oregon Trail crossed a ridge of soft sandstone. The thousands of oxen, mule, and draft horse drawn wagons, carts, and Conestogas that traveled the trail carved ruts into the rock. The ruts, some as deep as five feet, are considered some of the most impressive remaining along the trail. We stopped out of curiosity and left with a deep respect for those who chose to or had no other option than to make this arduous journey 180 years ago.

Still flying by the seat of our pants, we asked the friendly inn keeper before checking out this morning if he had any suggestions. Sure enough.

Seventh stop: Hartville, population 65+/-, elevation 4,682.
Prospectors searching for gold, silver, copper, onyx, and iron first settled in the area in the 1870s. At the turn of the century it was a thriving city with Wyoming’s first jail, which we visited; an opera house; several stone buildings; and impressive wooden structures with false fronts, a few of which still stand today. Somehow this little dot on the map has managed to hang on and is now Wyoming’s oldest incorporated town still in existence. It also boasts having Wyoming’s oldest bar which sadly did not open until later in the day.

We did not run into a single soul in Hartville, or you know we would have picked their brain. We managed to find lunch and decide for ourselves what our next stop would be.

Eighth stop: Devils Tower National Monument, population 0, elevation 4,250 (at the base).
We had no clue what we were in for, so we headed straight to the visitors center to learn about this 1,347 acre park, the very first national monument in the country, with its imposing tower (technically a butte) that seems to have popped up out of the prairie and ponderosa pines. It rises 867 feet from its base to the summit. We learned about the volcanic process that formed the zillions of four- to seven-sided columns that form the tower. They are actually the longest and largest natural rock columns in the world. (Cleone and Hettie: the columns reminded me a bit of Giants Causeway) Once we three had mastered the basics we strolled the quiet path around the base of the monument and then headed into town to find dinner and a place to sleep.

We laid out an aggressive plan for tomorrow before going to bed, so we woke up knowing we had a big day ahead. We grabbed breakfast and got right to it.

Ninth stop: Petrified Forest, population one family, elevation 3,583.
Knowing nothing about how wood becomes rock and why this particular spot was ideal for just that, we watched the video at the visitors center and then enjoyed a self-guided nature walk through the vibrant forest with its fossilized trees. There were a few trees petrified in their entirety and others in pieces. Big ones, little ones, heavy ones, and relatively light ones. A few actually petrified standing straight up!

On our way to our next stop we swung by the Rapid City Airport to pick up our classmate and friend Rick who had just flown in Iowa. He was a good sport and with no say in the matter cheerfully tagged along.

Tenth stop: Badlands National Park, population 0, elevation 2,460 – 3,340.
This 244,000 acre park is home to bald, colorful eroding buttes and pinnacles as well as the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. After a stop at the visitor center we drove slowly through the dramatic rock formations, deep canyons, and maze-like landscape. It’s a land with rugged terrain, extreme temperatures, and an obvious lack of water. Raw beauty is the best description I’ve come across. Of the numerous animals that call the park home, we got a up close view of antelope, prairie dogs, and big horn sheep.

Eleventh stop: Wall, population 800 +/-, elevation 2,815.
A collection of gift shops, restaurants, and photo op statues that encompass an entire city block = Wall Drug Store. A struggling drug store from its inception in 1931, it now draws two million visitors a year in spite of the fact that it freely admits it is “the geographical center of nowhere.” We all remembered the considerably less slick Wall Drug of our high school days and were surprised to see how they have really upped their game. Free ice water and $0.05 coffee are still on offer.

Twelfth stop: Rapid City, population 75,000 +/-, elevation 3,200.
We all looked forward to what we assume could easily be the last high school reunion. There were just under 40 in attendance, but the small number made it easy to talk to old friends and get better acquainted with what were once intimidating upper-classmates and unworthy-of-our-attention lower-classmates. Anna Marie did an amazing job of planning the mixer Friday night, the dinner Saturday night, and breakfast and a tour of our high school Sunday morning. Between events Cyd, Rick, Dan, and I explored downtown Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base where we all lived back then.

There were two fun surprises. It was homecoming weekend for the School of Mines. Cyd studied there two years and Ricky graduated from there. We enjoyed the homecoming parade (candy is thrown from the floats!) and walking around the small campus.

The other surprise deals with law enforcement. Within 30 minutes Dan was pulled over twice. Seriously. He got a verbal warning for speeding from a civilian policeman just before we went on base and then military police pulled him over minutes later for getting too close to a restricted area. Dan’s offer of a can of Green Chili Sauce With Pork seemed to do the trick. I jest, but only about the sauce.

Thirteenth stop: Crazy Horse Memorial, population 0, elevation 6,532.
Begun in 1948, this privately funded memorial is a (very) slowly evolving sculpture of Lakota leader Crazy Horse. At completion it is projected to be 641 feet long and 563 feet high, the world’s largest sculptural undertaking. This granite sculpture works in conjunction with the Education and Cultural Center, Visitor Center, and Indian Museum to honor all indigenous people by protecting and preserving the culture, tradition, and living heritage of the North American Indians. 

Fourteenth stop: Greeley, population 110,000+/-, elevation 4,675.
Jim is buried in a family plot in Linn Grove Cemetery. Our purpose in stopping was to visit his grave. We rolled into town just after dark and with much confidence we thought we could find the plot in the dark. What a ridiculous notion that was! We stayed the night in town, per plan, and visited the cemetery on our way out of town the following morning.

Fifteenth stop: Broomfield, population 76,000+/-, elevation 5,348.
Cyd’s and my Cousin Kay lives here, so our final stop was a fun visit with her. It was nice to see her new place and know that she is comfortably settled in.

What a perfect trip…from start to finish! Sunny days, great visits with family and friends, beautiful sights, on time departures and arrivals, delicious food, fun strangers, interesting sites, good travel companions, a comfortable ride, no car trouble, loads of trips down Memory Lane…………. 🙂 It doesn’t get any better than that.

Sixteenth stop: home, population 160,000, elevation 30.