Summer 2023, Day 21: Castle Gardens

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Ben

From my dispersed camping location in Central Wyoming, I mountain biked a bit north to a badlands formation, then south to the Castle Gardens, a 15th century Native American rock art site:

Summer 2023, Day 20: NHT Interpretive Center, Hell’s Half Acre

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Ben

I headed southwest to Casper, Wyoming, where I visited the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center:

I then continued west to visit Hell’s Half Acre:

Right before the rain started:

I then continued west, then headed off-road to what looks to be a great dispersed camping location:

Alone, so alone:

I flew my drone to badlands nearby:

See the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2023, Day 19: Dignity, Minuteman Missile NHS

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Ben

After a restful Shabbos in Oacoma, SD, I headed to a local hardware store for parts to reinforce this summer’s new solar installation.

Nearby, “Dignity” stands over the Missouri River:

South Dakota is under heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires, so I decided to continue west to get back to blue skies. Along the way, I visited Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. The new visitor center (since our 2010 visit) preserves the history of Cold War nuclear proliferation:

The elusive dump station photo:

After buying propane and groceries, I continued West through the Black Hills of South Dakota to overnight in Thunder Basin National Grassland near Newcastle, Wyoming.

See the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2023, Day 17: West to SD

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Ben

For the last few days, I’ve been visiting my brother and his family in Minneapolis. One highlight was trying out stand-up paddleboarding (SUPing) for the first time by renting boards at Lake Nokomis:

I enjoy this much more than kayaking, because of the better view standing up, a more breezy experience versus being in the cockpit of a kayak, and the ability to change from sitting to kneeling to standing. Using a single paddle versus a kayak paddle is slower.

Today, I said goodbye and drove west, crossing the Missouri River into South Dakota this afternoon. I’ll be spending Shabbos on the bank of the Missouri River in Oacoma, South Dakota. Visibility is poor due to Canadian wildfires: