Keystone, SD (Home of Mount Rushmore)
Population: 339
Elevation: 4,331 feet above sea level
After much persuasion and deliberation, Deidre and I finally agreed to accompany Hugh to visit the National Monument, Mount Rushmore. I felt conflicted about visiting after spending time with students who were part of the First Nation community in Spearfish, SD. Mount Rushmore is carved into the face of the Black Hills, an incredibly sacred part of the earth for the First Nations. It was odd to finally see the monument in person, after seeing its photo on postcards and in textbooks for so many years. We looked at it, said, “Wow, they really went up there and did that,” and then loaded back into the van for the day’s second adventure.
repping the end of Women’s History Month
Devil’s Tower, WY
Population: 152
Elevation: 5,112 feet above sea level
After visiting Mount Rushmore, we headed to Wyoming to admire Devil’s Tower at sunset. This was absolutely breathtaking. My dad suggested we visit, partly because he loves Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features the landmark. Devil’s Tower was astonishing. Visiting the site felt spiritual, because of how sacred the site is to so many people. It felt as if we were paying tribute to the natural land, partially in recompense for admiring the carvings of Mount Rushmore earlier in the day. On the way back to South Dakota, we pulled the van over to the side of the road and stood in awe of all the stars. Some of us made wishes on some shooting stars on the side of that highway.
Devil’s Tower 
Steamboat Springs, CO
Population: 12,965
Elevation: 6,900-10,000 feet above sea level
Our first stop in Colorado was Steamboat Springs, nestled in the Rocky Mountains. This was my first time seeing the Rockies, and I felt like we were driving through a movie set on the way to town. I definitely experienced some altitude sickness upon arriving in Steamboat Springs. I basically felt like I had a hangover, without the fun night of drinking beforehand. Steamboat Springs is a small, wealthy ski resort town. The downtown is incredibly cute, and you get amazing views of the mountains from anywhere in town. Even their chain stores (like the Walgreens and McDonald’s) were designed to look like log cabins on the outside. Steamboat is what I imagine the towns in those miniature Christmas decorations (the ones in Hallmark stores, sometimes with a quiet little train chugging through) must be like. Everyone smiled all the time, and no one seemed to have any worries at all. It makes sense how they are able to live like this when you visit the nearby coal-mining town, whose students we were working with. The nearby town is populated with trailers. The coal-mining factories declared bankruptcy, so the families in this town are struggling. School has been reduced to 4-day weeks to allow children to help out at home. These students came to see us perform The Crucible at the Strings Pavilion in Steamboat.
On our last morning in Steamboat, Deidre and I dropped in on a fancy yoga class. I stood in mountain pose with an incredible view of the snow-kissed mountains, and I have never been more relaxed.
Adanna driving through the Rockies 
Downtown Steamboat 
View from our hotel parking lot 
String Pavillion
Denver, CO
Population: 704,621
Elevation: 1 mile above sea level
I could definitely see myself living in Denver. The city has a very cool energy, and the people were energized due to Opening Day for the Rockies MLB team when we were in town. We ate great food and explored, all with the gorgeous mountains in the distance. The town reminded me of a cross between Austin, TX, and Asheville, NC. Take me back!
Brunch in Downtown Denver 
CO has so many sock stores 
View from Denver hotel
Boulder, CO
Population: 107,125
Elevation: 5,430 feet above sea level
Hugh and I took a day trip to Boulder to visit a friend of his from elementary school. His friend took us around the town and also took us on a mini-hike through the canyon. We ate a home-cooked meal with his friend and his mother. Boulder seems like a great (granted expensive) college town with lots of fun shops and bars. I wish I could have spent more time exploring here!
Pueblo, CO
Population: 111, 127
Elevation: 4,692 feet above sea level
Pueblo was our next stop on the National Players’ tour of Colorado. The town has a cute downtown area with a pretty river walk around the Arkansas River. (Someone please tell me how I got so close to Arkansas again while I was in Colorado. Help.) We performed The Crucible for students at the Sangre de Cristo Performing Arts Center.
Amaretto cocktail and IPA by the Arkansas River 
LX focus from atop a cherry picker 
Colorado Springs, CO
Population: 464,474
Elevation: 6,035 feet above sea level
On the way out of Colorado, we stopped in Colorado Springs to explore the Garden of the Gods. This place was GORGEOUS. I am completely in awe of Colorado and all of its natural beauty. The views of Pike’s Peak were amazing. I swear if I lived near a place like this I would be there every weekend, basking in the beauty. This adventure was well worth the detour.
Needless to say, I was quite depressed to leave Colorado and am already thinking about my next adventure there.
Pike’s Peak 
The Kissing Camels! 
Emily & Pike’s Peak 
Post-climb 
The Balancing Rock 
North Platte, NE
Population: 23,888
Elevation: 2,802 feet above sea level
We made it to North Platte, Nebraska, where we spent the night in a brand-new modern hotel, complete with a pool table in the lobby’s lounge. Upon arriving, a bunch of guys staying at the hotel offered us some of their leftover pizza and wings! This was the warmest welcome to Nebraska I could have imagined. However, like the rest of the Midwest so far, everything still smelled like manure.
Next up: back to South Dakota!
Your Dear Lady Disdain,
Jamie
pit stops/ /parking lots 