I headed out from my home about 9am to pick up my sister in south Denver before heading north. We were hoping to hit the sweet spot in the traffic jam world of Denver these days. Unfortunately, this day was NOT the day. After picking her up, we headed along C470 at a crawl. What possibly could be the problem? All the work people should already be there, right? I suppose, it was a Friday, so maybe people had taken the day off? As we crawled along C470, we finally reached Quebec, and were diverted off the highway, onto the exit, and then back on to the highway. What was the problem? As we got to the top of the exit, we saw the bridge was closed, and while waiting for the light to change, we saw a person on the wrong side of the bridge wall. Was he going to jump? The police officials were all hanging out around their vehicles. It didn’t look like anyone was near the troubled individual. We wondered if someone was being called in to manage the situation or what was going on. Shouldn’t someone be trying to talk to the individual? Anyway, the light changed, and we were directed forward onto the entrance ramp back onto C470. Away we went until we exited onto I-25 north, the main road to Rapid City, SD.
As anyone who lives in Denver/along the front range knows, I-25 is the pits any time of the day. Again, we had hoped to be through town and most of the way to Wyoming well before lunch, but the traffic jam on C470 took 90minutes (about the equivalent of the time it should have taken to get to the state line). Since I moved to Colorado in 2001, I think I-25 has been in various forms of construction. In true Friday form, the construction was fully up and operational, leading to us slowing down once again.
Eventually, we made it to Cheyenne where our bladders and our stomachs were screaming at us to stop, not to mention our legs beginning to feel cramped. We looked at a couple different options for lunch, and finally decided on The Albany Bar/Restaurant. It was near the train station and a cute park where there was some event setting up for the weekend. The staff at The Albany were great. 
We got drink suggestions as well as food suggestions, and were not disappointed in the least. After a nice break and a walk around the park, we got back in the car and continued north.
We got drink suggestions as well as food suggestions, and were not disappointed in the least. After a nice break and a walk around the park, we got back in the car and continued north. Reservations had been made for a hotel in Rapid City where we had stayed the previous October while crossing off states with my mom. Another time in South Dakota, we had visited Sickies Garage and enjoyed our time and meals there. So, we had plans for when we got to Rapid City area. Now, we just needed to get there. At times, the route seemed to take forever, such that our motto finally became, “We are never going to get there.” This phrase would be repeated many times, even when we were within feet of the location.
As we entered into Rapid City area, we passed some fun roadsideamerica.com curiosities and oddities. One that we almost missed (luckily we only passed it a bunch more times) was the Madonna of the Prairies. A statue on the side of the highway that if you blink you will miss. The one that always helped me know how close I was to the hotel or highway interchanges was the big president heads. They were on the side of the highway as well; however, they were a lot more prominent and sat closer to the side of the road in front of either a campground or some company that sold campers, I think. Either way, they became a comforting sight for me.
We got into Rapid City around 4 or 5pm, checked into the hotel, and then headed to Sickies Garage for dinner. Both of us were exhausted from the trip, and sat at dinner like bumps on a log. We enjoyed the food and drinks, but were glad to head back to the hotel. A beautiful lightning show could be seen from our hotel window upon return, so we spent some time watching that.
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