I’m back! Did you miss me? I am continuing our road trip west.
Today would be our last day at Brush Creek Ranch. As usual I had breakfast by myself. Steve would be off fishing. I would do some riding. Buffets always yield unattractive plating!
Here is Steve’s guide checking out the water. You can tell that he is the guide as he has the net. Also if the guide were taking the picture he would either have the sport centered in the picture or on the left of the frame looking toward the river. I should stop complaining, and just be thankful that I have a picture of the beautiful stream!
While Steve fished I rode. I bought two shirts and one pair of jeans to wear while I rode. This shirt is a white buffalo plaid. Buffalo plaids are usually red and black. A new fun fact for you!
Below us you see the Artist Colony and some of the creek side cabins. We stayed in one of the Creekside cabins on one of our stays. Brush Creek invites artists (musicians, composers, photographers, painters) to stay for the season and create.
Now would be a great time to talk about the couple from last night, S and R. They live in the Denver area. She had an absolutely magic voice. Very cultured, with a very interesting accent. While we were waiting to start our ride I told her to keep her eyes out for one of the other guests as she had a three carat diamond. I was very impressed with the ring. I love diamonds. Even larger diamonds on someone else’s hand. There is a joke that a diamond can only be too big if it is on some else’s hand!
She smiled and told me that the ring was nice, but that the ring from her first husband was a 6 carat flawless stone. At that, I shut up but of course the wheels in my head started to spin. How would I be able so get the background story out of her? What was the backstory? Why would she dump him? Did he cheat on her? Did she find out he liked to play with the members of the other team? Was he dead?
I pondered this all afternoon on my next ride. I did lots of pondering as you can imagine!
Here is a beautiful fish from Steve’s fishing.
This is a rainbow trout. I think that it is a close up of the same fish, but who knows? Only Steve and his guide know! Steve caught 46 fish that day!
On my afternoon ride I found this beautiful deer shed. I am happy that we were going to drive back home as I don’t think that I would have been able to fit it in my suitcase!
Steve and I met back for dinner. This was my entree. It looks like it was polenta with elk tenderloin. It could be something else entirely also!
Dessert was a berry crumble.
So we met my new friends from my ride at the saloon before dinner. I asked them to join us for dinner. I have scrambled their faces to preserve their privacy. We met a new couple also. The couple at the far end of the table run a travel agency that specializes in hunting trips. Brush Creek has much to offer for those that like to shoot and hunt. The ranch used to have bison that were available to hunt , but the bison kept escaping and got in the neighbor’s fields. The neighbors were not very happy at that as the fences were ruined and the cattle were bothered. Bothered cattle do not bring happy cattle prices. So that very pricey hunting option had to be scrapped. The couple on the right, S are the couple that we met last night and I went on the ride with today. S is the owner of the six carat diamond.
Now for the tale of S and R. (Which I found out about during cocktail hour at the saloon, this was not something that was discussed at dinner. Who discusses their ex-husband during dinner?) R, the husband, was a senior Vice President for a very large mining, gas and oil development company. They live in the Denver area. He has traveled all around the world managing projects. S was studying to get her degree in social work. She was not in her twenties so this must have been a second career for her.
Now for the story. You will notice that I kind of jump right into my questions. That’s me! Some might think I am brusque, but I prefer to call it an efficient strategy.
“So how did you get a 6 carat flawless engagement ring? Was it a family heirloom?”
“My first husband was a Saudi Prince.”
“Oh.”
Yes, even I can be rendered speechless.
No, I did not ask if she was wife number 1, 2, or 3. Remember I do not ask every question I might want to know the answer to! Nor did I ask which Saudi Prince she had been married to. There happen to be 15,000!
Somehow the answers to some of my divorce questions came out (I did not ask what caused the divorce! It appears that not all of the Arab sheikh style of Harlequin romances have a happy ending in real life!) S lived in Switzerland for two years while the divorce was finalized. That is where her accent came from. It was a combination of upper crust English and a European component. I don’t know why it took two years, but the divorce did. As someone who has been happily married for over 40 years I don’t know nothing about divorces!
S kept all of the jewelry, and keeps it in the vault. She takes it out when she goes to black tie events. As the jewels are not from her current husband she is uncomfortable wearing them on her normal activities. I remarked that S might have been married to a prince, but now she is married to the Real Prince in her life! Isn’t that a romantic phrase? Perhaps I should write romance novels afterall!
Thus endeth our stay at Brush Creek Ranch. Remember how I mentioned previously that I stay in touch with some of the people we meet on our trips? On a trip years later, Steve and I did meet up with R and S!
Do you have any buffalo plaid shirts in your house?
Are you married to a Saudi Prince?
Instead of a third question I thought I would show you what a six carat diamond looks like! This was not her ring, I found it on the internet. You might be wondering what the price point for a 6 carat, D colored internally flawless diamond is…about $550,000. Now I don’t know if her diamond was internally flawless or not. That is still some hunk of change for a ring.
No breakfast pictures today. Instead it’s straight to archery. I think this is where I really realized how bad my shoulders are. I couldn’t draw the bow back at all to shoot. I had fun watching though!
Then it was back to the lodge for lunch. Salad, salmon and wagyu sliders.
Dessert was Apple Brown Betty and lemon bars.
Then it was off for a ride with a male wrangler. All comments are kept to myself! Although I might add that he had a nice seat. Ha Ha!
We forded some streams.
Then on the way back we saw the yurts where you can have a massage in the middle of the meadow.
Caesar salad for a starter.
Then chicken for our entree.
Breakfast. A little of this, and a little of that.
Breakfast is served on the patio outside. The heat lamps are nice in case it gets cold.
I went for fishing lessons with Trey. Steve had fished several times with Trey before and found him to be a great guide. Steve and I agreed that it would be good that instead of his trying to teach me someone else should try to help me with my casting. After I got the hang of it Trey went to another part of the pond to try and catch some fish himself. After noticing that he was getting no action whatsoever I told him that we should go back to the lodge. I figured that if he was not catching anything, then surely I would not also! Nil for the morning. I am hoping that shooting will be easier. Just aim at the target and fire!
Back at the lodge I had lunch by myself.
Meanwhile Steve was out with his guide. He caught one beautiful fish.
He had lunch here.
There are tee-pees for kids to play in when there are group dinners.
It is a pretty spot to visit.
Here is another large fish that he caught after lunch. Steve ended up catching 18 fish for the day. The two largest fish were 17 inches.
After lunch I went riding.
Later we had cocktails at Falcon Peak. This duo plays at many Brush Creek evenings. They are married and have great voices. Singing together a long time they harmonize well.
Don’t we make a cute couple? The answer is “Yes!”
There were lots of shrimp and crab legs to eat.
A sundown picture.
This one is a little better.
Back at the lodge we had a lovely dinner. Dinner included fried polenta and smoked prime rib. It was served buffet style.
The good-watermelon, the bad-fried bananas, with caramel sauce and whipped cream which looked a little bit ugly.
I scraped my plate clean.
Then it was to the campfire for some s’mores.
If I worked outside the house I could have this picture on my desk!
Perhaps Steve would want this picture on his desk.
This is one of the reasons we keep coming back. A 20 inch brown on the Encampment.
This is Cheyenne the horse that I rode today. There is so much to remember! Shoulders back, chest open, seat firm, hold reins like an ice cream cone, let the horse know who is boss, don’t let him eat grass, lean forward going up hills, lean back going down hills, when you post go up and down faster. If you are hitting the saddle hard it is because you are too slow for the beat, look ahead, not down, sit up like a girl, not slumping like a guy-they are protecting their equipment! Too much too remember but having fun anyway.
This was where I hung out before lunch. Can you believe I got a little sun burn? It’s the high elevation and poorly applied sunscreen!
Dessert from lunch today. I forgot to take pictures of the buffet. Oh well.
After getting my picture taken in front of the buffalo at the gas station it was time to look for breakfast.
Due to the Labor Day holiday, most places were closed. The famous Mint Bar was closed as it serves booze, not breakfast. Although I have heard that many people do enjoy booze at breakfast. In fact at a recent doctor visit I was asked if I recently had alcohol at breakfast. I told her no of course, but also asked how many people did admit to that!
Anyway we did find a place for breakfast across the street.
We even spotted a real cowboy who war wearing spurs on his boots! That would be the guy with grey hair, not his little wrangler!
Steve had the bison and elk sausage egg platter.
I had the strawberry and banana french toast with whipped cream. Where else can you get that?
After breakfast our final stop was to wave good bye to the The DaVinci horse. As I told you yesterday our good friend GG was in charge of the project design. Kim L was the local businessman who spearheaded the project. There were many statutes all around town. Kim and a group of other civic leaders thought it would be a good way to bring tourists to the area and to also encourage city pride.
A drive through Starbucks! Ordering was via the drive through or walk up window! This would be the last sign of civilization for while!
Once over the crest the road narrowed to a dirt road that we drove on for 25 miles. This road looks pretty rough!
Is heading down a good sign? Let’s hope so!
Pavement! That means civilization is not far away!
I was so happy to see cars heading in the opposite direction again!
We headed back up to the room and I laid down with my feet up to rest. Elevation here is 7600 feet. Here we were hoping that by driving out west I would acclimate better to the higher elevations. Guess that didn’t work out so well, now did it!
Soup.
Caesar salad.
This was our entree.
We had a lovely wine with dinner.
Chocolate desserts always make me feel better, and this one did the job. For awhile at least!
Why do I have a picture of a Ford Mustang car as my first picture? Well, there was a car rally this weekend in Sturgis, South Dakota. This is from the parking lot of our hotel. The guy driving the red Mustang wasn’t really trying to make much noise. I wish I would have gotten his real vroom vroom sound. Steve wouldn’t have been. It was bad enough I was questioning theses strangers at 7:30 in the morning! Sturgis is famous for their annual motorcycle rally’s. Hundreds of thousands of people attend.
Due to the Labor Day holiday we have problems finding someplace to eat. After trying two recommended breakfast places from Trip Advisor that only served coffee and granola we settled on a Perkin’s. I warned Steve about his future heart attack with his breakfast. Mine was bad enough with the fried egg and sausage.
Steve had the scrambled eggs, sausage hash browns and gravy covered biscuit!
After advice from my cousin Larry who lives in the Denver area we decided that we might have time after all to explore Spearfish Canyon on our way to Devil’s Tower. We got Steve his fishing license in less than five minutes at the Minit Man gas station. We passed a pretty waterfall and then Steven picked a spot to try. 
Success! Steve got his first trout in South Dakota. No pictures though, you will just have to believe him!
Then it was on to Devil’s Tower Wyoming. Remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind? People actually climb Devil’s Tower. Over 100,000 people have climbed DT and there have been only five fatalities. I think that is because they only let people climb it who are well vetted.
Look how buff this couple is!
We didn’t climb DT of course, we just strolled around the base!
If you zoom in on this picture you can see some of the people climbing!
Then it was onto Sheridan Wyoming. We wanted to see the DaVinci horse sculpture that our friend G was involved with. 
Steve is going to get in trouble for touching the horse’s hoof.
But since M, G’s wife only reads my current blog post and totally skips the old posts G will never know!
Here is K , who was the impetus for the sculpture garden in Sheridan.
Steve and I found a cute cafe just across the street from the hotel. Unfortunately three young women from Texas parked their SUV just behind Steve. They had four dogs inside that yapped and barked every time that someone walked by! Not to mention the loud key fob of their’s that they used when they had to come out of the restaurant because they forgot something! 
Steve had a great omelette.
I had the whole wheat oatmeal waffle with fruit.
We stopped by at a grocery store in South Dakota. Remember my goal on every trip is to visit a grocery store if I haven’t been to one in that state or country!
Then it was off to the day’s first adventure. Mount Rushmore. Steve and I must have agreed that morning to wear white ankle socks!
Steve stands still in his pictures. Sometimes I get him to do an active pose. This is my active pose. I am pretending to hitch hike. Why anyone would pick me up with my shirt in my pants and those dorky sock and shoes?
Most people are heading in. Why am I facing the wrong direction? Looks like I still haven’t remembered to untuck my top! Wouldn’t you think that Steve would have mentioned something to me?
Here is the Avenue of Flags. There are 56 flags, one for every state, one district, three territories, and one commonwealth.
Steve and all the Presidents.
That broken rock below the monuments is called scree. If you remembered reading my blog about our trip to Colorado in September 2016 and our visit to Grand Mesa you would know that already!
Steve says “Look, there’s room for more Presidents!” Don’t tell Trump!
Crazy Horse, it was started in 1948. Will it ever be finished? It was started by Korczak Ziolkowski.
This is a replica of what they hope Crazy Horse Monument will look like when finished. I don’t expect to live that long.
The road through Custer State Park was very sinuous.
The Needles in Custer State Park. Yes, they look like needles!
OMG! A bison jam!
They have the right of way.
Behind us, all over the place!
Going in all directions!
Talk about a bad hair day!
After the buffalo we stopped by to see the famous begging burros. They are called this as they go up to cars and beg for food.
We didn’t give them anything, but we did take their picture!
Having dinner in a biker bar. Well, it’s a bicycle bar, not a motorcycle bar! Steve looks like he is dreaming about going fishing doesn’t he?
I am having spaghetti with bison sauce.
Steve had the burger and fries.
Before breakfast we tried to find the falls that Sioux Falls are named after. They are not what I expected at all. Back east waterfalls are big, these were just a cascading series of water. (This is not my picture, my picture would have been shaky, and uncentered! This picture is from the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce.)
Then it was time for breakfast at The Original Pancake House. Whenever we are on a trip I us the Yelp App on my phone to look for good local restaurants. We have rarely made a bad choice this way.
I had the Dutch Apple Pancake. Does this not look mouth watering? This is very easy to make and since we ate there I have made it at home for myself several times. You sauté some apples in sugar and cinnamon in a cast iron pan. Then you prepare the batter which you pour on top of the apple mixture and pop it in the oven to bake. It is so delicious! Unfortunately I had to throw out my cast iron pan since Steve has a condition that causes him to store iron in his blood, So no iron pans for us!
Steve had the Irish Omelette which is corned beef hash and cheese in an omelette!
After breakfast we stopped in Mitchell to see the Corn Palace.
I had always wanted to stop here, so this was another check off my places to visit list.
The murals on the sides of the Corn Palace are changed every fall. 
Thirteen types of corn are used along with other grains.
This picture shows the plywood backing that the corn will be attached to.
This picture shows how the pattern is done. Instead of paint by numbers this mural is paint by ears of corn!
Badlands National Park for those who can’t read signs. But if you are reading this blog, you must be able to read!
Obligatory selfie by spouse with long arms who can’t see themselves in the view finder.
You don’t want to get lost here!
The progression of prairie becoming The Badlands. Eons ago silty deposits of a shallow sea were laid down. When the sea receded volcanic ash was deposited. After years of compaction a prairie was created. Then the land was eroded over time. The Badlands are losing one inch a year. There were comments at the visitor center about air pollution obscuring view. The only air pollution here was from forest fires far away.
We saw our first prairie dogs!
Sunflowers as far as you can see in appropriately named Scenic South Dakota!
There were many road signs for Wall Drug Store, so we had to make a detour.
It was a generic tourist trip, but at least I got my picture taken here!
If you can make any of this out, this is a red wine decanter.
It is 95 degrees outside the restaurant and I can’t stand all these pillows behind me.
What I am looking forward to is my Pineapple Upside Down Martini!
This couple at the table next to us was celebrating their 50th Anniversary! they ordered champagne which came in generic wine glasses. They were so sweet!
Happy 50th Anniversary to our new friends Fred and Libby from Someplace in California! Don’t they look like the happiest couple? I should have exchanged phone numbers, I am sure that they have great stories to tell!
No pictures of our dinner, but here is the delicious dessert. It was called Heaven on a Plate. It was! Ice cream layers, and candy bars covered with chocolate!
Dinner was at Vesper Sky Bar at the top floor at the Hotel Alex Johnson. We spent the night here. There were rumors that the hotel was haunted, but no ghosts visited us during the night!
We left our good friends A and M and were off to further points west.
Hello Iowa grocery store.
Then it was time to check out a vista. As you may recall I hate heights and towers. I was very unhappy here. This is my resting “I’m scared, let me go to the ground!”
The view was supposed to be awesome, but I don’t care. This is the Missouri Valley, looking at the Missouri River and Nebraska. It is flat out there.
Steve was very relaxed. Heights don’t bother him.
Then we were in Sioux City, Nebraska and it was time for another grocery store visit. Steve’s brother and sister in law lived in Illinois for years. As such, we think I had visited a grocery store when we visited them, so no grocery store stop today in Illinois was required.
Mushroom flat bread and my blueberry Pomtini. Good thing I took a picture before it was all gone!
Grilled salmon and salad.
Steve had the pecan crusted wall-eye.