Day 52 - Hope at the Impasse
Trip Start
May 18, 2008
1
53
63
Trip End
Jul 17, 2008
Rapid City,
South Dakota,
United States
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
I got up this morning feeling the desire to spend more time in Salt Lake City and to get to know Chelsea a little more. I had plans to drive to Rapid City and she was meeting her parents in Park City. When we were both up we got a chance to briefly talk about track and field. I learned that she competed in the NCAA National Championships. She was also only 3 spots off from making the Olympic Trials. I met an amazing athlete! She had to leave so I left a note for her saying thank you and went on my way towards Mt. Rushmore.
The drive was a long through Wyoming. It was the first time that I took a small highway. There was a good part of the trip where I was on a two lane highway. It's kind of scary because driving 80mph right by other cars going that speed in the other direction can have you pay attention to the road more than usual
Where they had the Olympics
. Near the end of drive through Wyoming, I was driving up an incline and there he is, comes from the other side of the road and toward me. The officer in his SUV pulls me over. I couldn't have been going that fast. He said he clocked me at 88mph in a 75mph zone. There was another person in the SUV, maybe a trainee. He made me dig through all my stuff to find some kind of proof that I had insurance. The officer in California took my word for it after I told him I didn't know exactly where it was. After waiting a long time for him to come out of his car, the officer gave me my second speeding ticket of the trip. He asked me some questions about where I was headed, what I was doing and where I've been. Bored cops might be the most dangerous phenomena on this planet. The middle of nowhere, Wyoming...After some more driving, I make my way into South Dakota and first drive through the Black Hills National Forest. Almost instantly the flat lands turns into beautiful dark trees. I drove through 30 mintues of it to get to Mt. Rushmore. When I arrived, I got there just in time for the light show they show before they close. The area was pretty big and there is a walkway with all the 50 state flags raised. Right past the walkway, a huge amplitheater sits in front of the statues carved into the wall. When they say light show, they mean they play a movie in the theater and then they shine the lights on the statue and ask you to go home
Light show Mt. Rushmore
. I think the movie was decent, I couldn't really tell because the amplitheater was so big, the screen looked small and the place was absolutely packed.So I left and drove through the small town that surrounds Mt. Rushmore towards Rapid City which was around 30 minutes away. I arrived at a man named Arik's house. He already had couchsurfers at his place and he let me know that I could stay where ever I could find space. Apparently, this year the national unicycling competition was being held in Rapid City and six guys were looking to stay with a local. When I first met with Arik, he was very welcoming and he gave me a tour of his house. He introduced me to Ray (his girlfriend) and the guy who stayed behind for the night of the unicyclists. Arik, Ray and I decided to go get some late night food at Minerva's. Apparently, good pizzas.
I drove. When we got there, we got a few drinks and some tasty pizza from the bar and grill. We talked about South Dakota Native American history and he also gave me a brief profile of Rapid City from his perspective. Arik's also done a road trip around the country years back but since he's had his daughter, he hasn't had the freedom to do that kind of trip again. He works as a water environmentalist on the local water sources and he shared some struggles at work
Arik and Ray at Minerva's
. Hope is the most powerful weapon when subtle clouds of despair settle in your life. Sharing encouraging words go so far when we hit that impasse in life.After the food, we returned to his home where I got a chance to meet the other part of the unicyclists crew who'd returned from where ever they were. We sat down and they educated me on what the sport of unicycling had to offer. Many events were happening at this competition including high jump, long jump, mountain unicycling. I never knew. I found myself an empty room down stairs in the basement that no one was using and slept in my sleeping bag with an airpad that Arik provided. Not a bad night's rest either.
Miles driven today: 677.3mi
Daniel
