Day 7: Rapid City, SD to Cody, WY

We had a more active morning than usual, in light of all the sitting and eating we had been doing, and spent 30 minutes at the fitness center in the hotel on the treadmill followed by 10 laps across the huge pool. We finished it off with a terrifying 165-foot waterslide, only the top and bottom of which are located inside the hotel. We hit the road for Wyoming (state #45 for Abe and #37 for Arielle), which quickly became our favorite state thus far in terms of beautiful driving.

We stopped after three hours in Buffalo, WY for an incredibly delicious vegetarian Chinese food lunch at China Garden, a tiny little place with one frantic server taking care of all 7 or so tables simultaneously. We enjoyed a big pot of vegetable soup, Arielle had the tofu with mixed vegetables, and Abe had the garlic tofu, toned down slightly in spiciness. Both tofu dishes were huge (and delicious), so we each ate half and took the rest with us.

During this drive, we got the dash cam that we had bought a few days earlier set up to take some hopefully amazing videos and photos. As we approached Cody, our GPS took us on an incredible winding route with breathtaking views. We weren’t as excited by a sign about 11 miles of road work with loose gravel which set us a bit behind, but we were rewarded with a stunning drive straight into an incredible horizon, with occasional rain that lasted for just a minute or two each time.

We arrived in Cody and turned just right off the main road to the complex that includes the Holiday Inn, the Comfort Inn (a USY on Wheels hotel), and the Buffalo Bill Village Resort, where we stayed in a cabin just behind the hotels. Our cabin was quite spacious and nice, with two queen beds, a sitting area, and a very big bathroom. It was rustic and beautiful, and exactly the type of camping Abe likes to do. Arielle was thrilled that we were greeted by bunnies hopping around outside.

We left our car parked in its designated spot and walked about five minutes to town, where we were explored a few restaurant options. We settled on a slightly more expensive choice, Wyoming’s Rib and Chop House, which we later found out is a chain with locations in Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. Our server Angie was great, and Arielle even wanted to take her home with us. Abe was thrilled with his Buffalo ribeye and Arielle enjoyed her Jamaican brown sugar cedar plank salmon. Our side dishes of garlic mushrooms, sweet potato fries, and carrot soufflé (which Angie warned us was not a soufflé), as well as Arielle’s ranch-covered garden salad complemented one of our best meals yet. We walked home and turned in for the night in our cabin, which was great aside from the wi-fi that didn’t work great, and we were entertained to be sent a hotel employee from maintenance who was happy to fix our sink but noted that he’s not great with technology.

Approximate number of miles covered: 387