Cheyenne, Wyoming to Deadwood, South Dakota.
Marg phoned me this morning before my day really got going to let me know Cynthia is in the hospital. Something similar happened several months ago, also resulting in a hospitalization, and may be UTI related. It sounds like a milder version of what just happened to Harold. It sounds as though Cynthia’s awake and alert this morning, and will be in the hospital for, I guess, at least one more day, and they may have found a blood and/or kidney-related infection. I’ve since texted both James and Cynthia, and hope I’ll get updates as the day progresses.
Later that day… Cynthia remains in the hospital with an infection, with further testing to establish what it is. I guess she’s out of immediate danger, but they don’t know what it is. Sounds like Harold a few months back, and Jerry, right now, who’s still in the hospital awaiting further testing, diagnosis, and decisions.
The weather was again cooler, and in the 60’s most of the day, but still very nice out. Today was a long driving day though, and maybe a little too long as I was definitely ready to stop driving for about an hour before I arrived in Deadwood, around 7 pm. The trip today was about 370 miles, as I passed from Colorado into Wyoming, and then South Dakota near the end of the day.
The trip took a little over eight hours, as I made a few stops along the way. As I get further north, dusk starts to descend before 6, and by 6:30 it’s already dark. By the time I got to Deadwood, around 7, it was pitch black.
One of the stops I made along the way was to Cheyenne, Wyoming, which I mostly drove through, but also walked around a little. Cheyenne is a city of about 65,000, and a nicely laid out and nice looking town. It’s another old west town with a history, and many of the downtown buildings were built between 1872 and the early 1920’s, and the the Union Pacific railroad came to town in 1886, which established Cheyenne as an important center as the west was being built.
Not only that, but it’s clearly autumn here in Cheyenne, with yellow, brown, and gold leaves adorning the trees. Of course, the same is true across the state, and in South Dakota as well, but it’s so clear in this photo. It could be a New England Fall.
Downtown Cheyenne has a classic look, with those old west brick buildings, and has a number of nice stores and eateries, as well as themed street art and sculpture dotted around town.
I left Cheyenne, taking state highway 85 north, which about 250 miles later enters the Black Hills National Forest, with South Dakota about 55 miles further north. The scenery had changed considerably by now, and especially once entering the Black Hills, from miles and miles of flat and sometimes hilly prairie land with mountains in the distance, to roads lined with evergreens, and an increasingly green and more verdant landscape mixed among red rocks and grasslands.
By the time I reached Deadwood, around 7 pm, it was dark. I drove around the town, which looks nice, and definitely wishes to retain its Old West feel, and I’m looking forward to visiting in the morning when I can actually see the town. Unfortunately, tourist season is largely over so most or all of the daily events, like gunfights in the street, walking tours, and other tourist events, ended just a couple of weeks ago.
Darkness or not, I can see much of the downtown area is (not surprisingly) tourist driven, with many bars/saloons, and a large casino presence throughout the town, including in the Super 8 hotel where I’m staying.
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