City Girl in Another World
I’m on a vacation and it’s kind of a big deal- I come with a lot of accoutrements-scooters, walkers an extensive beauty plan JK
Boyfriend Greg and I flew into Denver to see friends Julie and Joe who also have MS -they all come here apparently Colorado weather + MS= better!!
-- Solid friendships come out of MS support groups --
Greg and I drove from Denver to Cheyenne, the halfway stop to Mount Rushmore.
In Wyoming we stayed at a Thelma and Louise hotel and I was Thelma, but fun-killer Greg refused to be Louise!
At night we went to real country music bars just like Gillies in Urban Cowboy! Everybody wore cowboy hats and boots, I wore a leg brace but I still danced to Keith Urban and at least I wore plaid!
-- Cheyenne loves their heritage and I love it too! --
From Cheyenne, we had planned to drive north to Mt Rushmore South Dakota- so we thought! MAYDAY! Major car troubles and we had to backtrack three hours ALLL the way down to Denver to the car rental because Budget either hates me or they suck!
I sent frustrated e-mails to three top executives who sent lovely replies saying they no longer work at Budget.
Finally! We were off to glamping in Mount Rushmore, which is where I learned that I could never go real camping because even glamping was a stretch.
-- Google image --
OK in my defense it was a lot tougher than this looks-hello?! The bathrooms? The little animals? No room service? OK OK I’m not that much of a little bitch but it was hard for me.
On the other hand, Mt Rushmore was larger than life! AMAZING! EPIC! SPECTACULAR!
And…I was happy to hear all the rhetoric about how everybody carved on Mt. Rushmore was celebrated for what they contributed to this country BUT, they were also understood as flawed individuals.
-- I love Abe forever! --
Oh, and little do people know…not far away in the Black Hills of South Dakota is an unfinished statue of Crazy Horse - even bigger than Mt Rushmore!
An answer to Mt Rushmore that the Black Hills belonged to Native American Indians first. -why it’s unfinished is totally worth reading about!
-- An underfunded unfinished Crazy Horse --
Before we left Mt Rushmore and the town of Keystone I made Greg stop at the Presidential Wax Museum and I also made him get out of the car and go in with me.
My favorite was the statues of Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill at Yalta because Roosevelt looks more like Alec Baldwin.
-- Churchill,Alec, Stalin and me! --
From Mt Rushmore, we drove through Needles Highway in the Badlands -through all these unimaginable rock formations!
I was on a natural high!
We went on lots of accessible trails and Greg went on the inaccessible trails while I stayed back to search for something edible. PS unless you like bison burgers, bison jerky or Bison meatballs, never go to the Midwest for the food.
After glamping we stayed in a little cabin in Custer National Forest, which was only a hair above glamping so it was still kind of roughing it, and now my life long goal is to just be a Hilton Honors member.
Ok in my defense there was hardly a bathroom and again with the bugs and critters!
We drove through the Wildlife Loop where we hit a traffic jam that lasted over an hour! Unlike NYC I found myself to be quite patient and forgiving because unlike some New York drivers Bison don’t know how rude they are.
-- Proud of myself for not honking --
We (Greg) drove and drove and drove and we stopped at lots of little towns with populations less than the building I live in in NYC.
We listened to country music the entire time, Kelly Willis, Merle Haggard, Toby Keith, everything we play at the store
-because it’s authentic, it’s all American and genuine
…like Fishs Eddy!
I know it’s a lot about Jesus, cowboys, how good girls look in jeans, and of course beer!
And sometimes it’s so silly, and so totally hokey, but it’s always heartfelt and real. And a string guitar goes right to my heart.
Something else happened.
We met so many wonderful people, locals. We clearly come from different worlds in every possible way…but these were literally the nicest people I have ever met! And that meant more than our differences ever could.
I ♥️ USA
