Wild West :: Part Four

I could almost call today's blog entry "Living on the Edge." That might apply to living on the edge of living and breathing, on the edge of the law, on the edge of the state line....

Since we saw all the local major sites yesterday I wanted to see -- Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the Black Hills park -- today we decided to venture further west to Wyoming.

Before we even got out of Rapid City, we were nearly T-boned by a truck that blew a red light at a high rate of speed. We were in the right as we had a green light. Rayna thankfully has awesome new brakes on her vehicle so we could stop within inches of death. Not really an exaggeration. We didn't even need coffee to get our hearts going this morning!

Made it safely to Wyoming, though! Another state crossed off my list!

Sometime not long after, we made a quick stop (as we often did) to take a scenic photo.This time is was an old barn that looked like it was part of an abandoned farm.So we pull in, take some shots and were just about to leave when we spotted a herd of antelope. So we took a few more photos naturally.

As we were exiting the driveway, another car was signaling to turn in. We figured they were pulling off to turn around in the driveway. In reality, they were tailing us just long enough to get vehicle make and model and license plate number.

Since we made two legitimate scenic overlook stops after that, it didn't take long for the long arm of the law to catch up to us.

Not kidding.

To our credit, he said we didn't look like the type of people who would steal something from an old farm, even if we were trespassing. He still was obligated to run Rayna's license through the system just in case.

Oh life is never dull in the wild west!

Made no more illegal stops and made our way to the infamous Devil's Tower, the first national monument in the U.S. What an impressive sight.

My sister Rachel and I hiked around (not up) the entire tower, about 1 1/2 miles so I literally have photos from every angle to share at some point. It was another glorious summer day, close to 80 I think, and wonderfully summery!

On our way out of the park, we shot a bunch of prairie dogs -- shot with cameras, that is, not guns! Photos to come. Also stopped at a trading post, where I found a rustic cowgirl to teach me how to shoot straight!

From there, it was back to home base in Rapid City, stopping at Tim and Tawnie's house.

Had.to take a farewell photo with our sweet nephew Timmy, play with the boys, then go out to eat one more time with them before our departure in the morning. After a fun meal at Texas Roadhouse, we said goodbye to the T gang and raced out to our vehicles in the pouring rain (which held off all day for us).

Felt so lucky and privileged to receive hugs and kisses from Tyler and Tyson. We are gonna miss those charming characters! Really hope to get back out here some time.

I'll just watch for speed limit and trespassing signs, remember not to look down from high places, and drink plenty of caffeine to keep up with small, energetic boys!

So much to love about the Wild West... our version of it anyway!