First a recap of the events you’ve missed.   Wyoming tried very hard, The Shining-style, to keep us locked in the hotel for all of Christmas break.  First, my keys fell down a storm grate and it took two visits from both the fire department and the public works department and a trip to a local mechanic before the magic combination of a mirror, a flashlight and a telescoping magnet materialized:

Next, Lacy had the dead battery from hell.  Then my little silver Honda had a flat tire the day we were supposed to load it onto the tow-dolly and pull it to Texas for Christmas.  Speaking of the tow-dolly, Lacy and I had to beg the rental place for hot water and a hammer to free it from the mud some idiot had left the tongue of it to freeze into.  The fun never stops in Wyoming. 

Christmas was a blast and everyone enjoyed seeing friends and family, but with the New Year, Wyoming beckoned and we heeded its siren call.

Travis and I drove up during the Rose Bowl (for which I don’t think he has yet forgiven me).  But we stopped at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs on the way up, which was pretty:

By the way, in case you were wondering, Maggie loves the snow.  She eats it, she lays in it, she goes out of her way to walk in it.  When it all melts and goes away, she’ll be heartbroken:

Everyone got to Wyoming safely.  The work is challenging, as are the working conditions:

But we have fun too. 

Last week there was Mexican and Margaritas: 

Last Friday we auditioned another bar for the new place to drink (still looking for the Conlons of the North).  We found a good candidate – the College Inn.  It’s right in downtown Douglas, an easy stumble back to the hotel.  There are rules there though, and woe betide the person who doesn’t follow them.  We were warned that it was a grave offense to use the “Play Mine First” option on the Internet Jukebox.  A few shots later, we forgot all about that rule.  It almost started a fistfight.  Drinks had to be bought for the offended party.  They chose Lemon Drops.  Not the tough guy shot I expected. 

Fistfight two was narrowly avoided with some sweet-talking by Winchester, who ended up with a new buddy and a job offer with the railroad.  The guys shot some pool:

The dancing was wonderful.  Winchester pulled out some good moves and whirled Lacy and Kelsey and I around the floor a few times.  There was a guy that was a big fan of Kelsey’s. He asked her to dance a lot and got mad when it was time for her to go home.  Fistfight three almost ensued.

At some point during the evening, we decided it would be a great idea to get up early and go see Mount Rushmore, a three and a half hour drive away.  We agreed to meet in the lobby at 10am. 

At 11:20, we rolled out of Douglas on our way to the Black Hills of South Dakota.  As a side note, the black hills of South Dakota aren’t as black as they used to be.  Apparently there’s a phenomenon called a mountain pine beetle that is devastating the forests in this part of the world.  There are so many trees down that it looked like Mount St. Helens erupted in places.  Over six million acres of forest have been lost in Colorado and Wyoming alone.  [end informative lecture]

Here’s Mount Rushmore:

The goats were friendly.  And stylish:

There was a baby goat:

There was crouching tiger, hidden goat:

A trail took us to some good spots to view the Prezes:

Travis, me, Kelsey and Dave:

Yesterday for most of the rest of the country was a federal holiday called Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Here, the Courthouse was closed for this holiday:

Tomorrow night is karaoke night at the bar in the Best Western.  We might check it out.  The fun never stops in Wyoming.