Day 10 - Into the Sun

 Cody, WY to Custer National Park / Crazy Horse, SD

When planning an epic road trip across the country in a rented RV, one tends to want to over-think. Or at the very least, attempt to consider for all eventualities, even though that's a near impossibility because, if you've ever been on a road trip you already know that things can change as you make your way. Such is the case for where we are today.

Waking up in Custer, South Dakota the very first thing I feel is tired. Tired from the road, the long legs of driving, getting to the campground, parking, hooking up all the facilities, unloading the RV, expanding the RV, configuring camp, and then figuring out what we're going to do for dinner. It's a lot. 

Now, in no way is this a complaint. I signed up for it, I knew I'd be doing all the driving and the lion's share of the work, as well as considerations for where we stay and the all reasons why. Sites, attractions, opportunities to see wildlife and explore and hike, all of it. 

Well, it seems that when I was planning this trip back home in Beaufort I made the decision to resign myself to eight-plus hour drives as we hustle our way back across the country and away from the West and the Rocky Mountains, which was our target area for at least most of our interests. I booked KOA Campgrounds as they were easy and convenient via their phone app, though my greatest mistake was not recognizing that they have a seven day cancellation policy. SEVEN DAYS.

The good news is that we have an extra day baked in to the itinerary as a "just in case" eventuality for getting home, and so now I'm considering how we can break up some of those longer legs as we point Big Booty Judy East by Southeast. So despite having to eat roughly $120 in campground fees for parks we'll never darken, the Three Amigos are at least flexible enough to adjust on the fly and choose new way points with shorter legs, giving me a bit of time back and some much needed rest.

All that's to say, yesterday's drive was physically exhausting, if not absolutely spectacular. 

We took our time leaving Cody, stopping at the Buffalo Bill Center for the West, another must-see attraction of this town, and then grabbing some below average barbecue before shoving off down the road. Well, the road leaving Cody is immediately lonely and with nothing in between - the next town being fifty miles away, and with only a quarter tank of gas. Yep! You guessed it... We coasted into the next town on fumes...

None the less, crisis averted, we got fuel, got back on the road, and then made our way through Big Horn National Forest. If you're driving through this area of the country and you don't mind a twisty, high-back road way up top of a mountain range, it's one of the most breathtaking drives you can ever even imagine. Careening along the twisty switchbacks, and all alone mind you - nary a soul in site, you'll find yourself on top of the World. 

Driving a thirty-two foot RV at 13,000 feet with views and vistas so far away that you have absolutely no perception of distance or space actually requires you to stop and take it in. There are no pictures that could ever do this drive justice, it simply must be seen. And so as I white-knuckled the RV through the twists and turns of Big Horn, we stopped a half dozen times just to take in the splendor, and it was as though we had the whole mountain to ourselves.

Still, that kind of driving in the big old lunky RV does nothing for fuel economy, and by the time we hit the highway we needed fuel again, only we were in the middle of Wyoming and there wasn't another fuel stop for miles and miles and miles.

Anxiety was high, though we eventually did make the next fuel stop affording me the opportunity to breathe once more, but to say I was exhausted would be understating it. We finally pulled into Custer around 9pm, and all I could muster was a single beer and the back of my eyelids.

So while we have literally no idea where we're going to end up today, at least we're pointed home, and with an opportunity to do and see maybe just a bit more than planned.

The Road really does go on forever. 





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