Day 17 - Laurel, Montana to Pierre, South Dakota

I drove southwest into Wyoming, and past Devil's Tower. After that I was into South Dakota. Just like driving through Kansas, this is part of the Great Plains, and therefore flat as a pancake. Since I was quite a bit more north, things weren't even green yet, in fact there were still small patches of snow around, even though it was nice and warm out.

I ended up in Pierre, South Dakota for the night, the state capital. You only know the name because you had to memorize the state capitals in grade school, otherwise you would never know it was there. It's tiny, in fact it's the 2nd smallest state capital in the US. Only Montpelier, Vermont is smaller. And don't pronounce Pierre like it sounds, it's actually "peer" or "pier."

As was becoming routine, I went into a bar and was greeted by locals who were puzzled by my presence in their town that was very far from the nearest interstate, and was once asked again "So how the hell did you end up in Pierre, South Dakota?"


Mountains starting to disappear in Montana as I head east













They call Montana "Big Sky Country," it especially looks like it if you hold the camera like this













This is where the "Welcome to Wyoming" sign should be, but it looks like someone stole it













Wyoming, the least populous state













Devil's Tower



























Welcome to South Dakota













Good show













Middle of SD













Looks like where Twister was filmed...













Remember, it's pronounced "peer"













Capitol Building













Feel the need to gamble while you gas up? South Dakota has you covered!