Day 44 Casper to Rapid City

 After the Eucharist at Emmanuel Church, Rapid City

Day 44 Casper to Rapid City, South Dakota

     I consulted the Wyoming weather report and discovered that there would be violent thunder storms across the eastern part of the state.  I then studied the map considering possible routes to be taken between Casper and Spearfish, South Dakota.  I realized that there was still 130 miles across the Wyoming prairies where seldom is heard a discouraging word.  This is because there are no human beings to utter them.  Any discouraging  words would emanate from one’s own head.  I violated some of my own principles for the cause of self preservation and basic common sense, and rented a car and driving to northwestern Wyoming.  I then discovered that there are no places in northwestern Wyoming to drop off a car.  My only option was Rapid City, South Dakota. 

    This was disappointed because it would mean that I would miss some the sights along the way.  It did, however, put me back on schedule enabling me to meet up with family members in Chicago by the end of July.

      Rapid City is a rapidly growing city which services a very large region of the country.  During Covid, the governor decided to forgo most covid restrictions.  This became most evident in the gathering of thousands of motorcyclists in Sturgis, SD at the height of the pandemic.  It also created a significant real estate boom for folks from California and Texas who were seeking the freedom they felt they were denied in their home states.  The clerk at the front desk of the hotel said that they were going to tweak the motto of New Hampshire and proclaim “Live Free and Die”.   In any event, this provided another example on the high value placed on rugged individualism.

       It was a joy to join in worship with the good folks at Emmanuel Church, Rapid City on Sunday morning.  Among the congregants was a youth group from Birmingham, Michigan.  They also, were on a pilgrimage to see some parts of the country.  They were intrigued that someone as old as me would opt to ride a bike for such a distance and asked to have a picture taken with me.  Their leader asked if I could tell them one story about what I have learned along the way.  I thought “that is a very large lake from which I am asked to pull out a fish”.  I spoke of the hospitality extended to me by strangers in remote places.