Hettinger, ND – Day 57: Cowboys & Dinosaurs

 
Yesterday I said the worst thing that had happened on the trip was being directed onto a dirt road and getting the car all dirty (it still is, by the way), but I totally forgot about what really should be considered the worst. Later in the day, as I was following a farm truck in the rain, another truck came past in the opposite direction, so I don’t know who to blame, but a rock was launched at the windshield and hit it with a crack. There is now a small star shape that is centered low on the windshield. More on the passenger side, so it is not really in my sightline, but I’ll see about getting it fixed upon my return.

Today’s route was scheduled to be a 325-mile day but ended up just shy of 500. Because I was going to arrive at my nighttime destination three hours early for check-in. I thought maybe I could add a couple of hours by going to the Crazy Horse Monument; I haven’t been there since 2009 and wonder what progress has been made. After about 30 minutes I looked again and realized this was a misguided detour. It would have put me in Hettinger, ND, at about six o’clock.

Then later, the Google lady said, “We found a shorter route,” and just put me on it, so I had to backtrack. About 30 miles later there was a sign saying that US-12 was undergoing major construction and travelers should consider an alternate route. They didn’t actually offer one up, so I conferred with Google Maps and decided to go north into North Dakota 30 miles and then drop back down into South Dakota. Finally, when I did get to Hettinger, I remembered I wanted to take a Roadside America photo back in Lemmon, SD, that was bypassed with the last detour. So back 25 miles to Lemmon and then finally another 25 miles to get to Carl’s Cabins for the night.

The top photo is the Miata parked outside of my room at Carl’s Cabins. The outside doesn’t do the inside justice. I’m in ‘The Station’ room, which is very nicely decked out in a very automotive theme. Go back up and click on the link for the place, and you’ll get the idea.

Anyway, the first roadside America photo of a Big Cowboy Statue was taken in Watertown, SD, way east in the state, and the second was the art statue of Cowboy Rides a Dinosaur in Lemmon, SD, way west in the same state. The next two photos are bonus ones. While taking the ‘Cowboy Riding A Dinosaur’ photo, I noticed it was in front of a museum, so I went inside. The place is a hidden gem; they have actual petrified bones, not molds, of several dinosaurs from nearby, including an almost intact triceratops skull. The lady running the show gave me a tip about a petrified wood park. Now I have been to the Petrified Forest National Park, but the amount of petrified wood in this one city block seemed to rival all of it in that national park. Bonus: it too is a Roadside America spot. Last, but not least, is this Jurassic World-themed installation on an abandoned lot I discover on my walk to dinner tonight in Hettinger. It too should be a Roadside America spot.