From Yellowstone to South Dakota

The next stop of the trip is Cody, famous for its daily rodeos during summer. Something I cannot miss !

After a walk "downtown", the city looks familiar, with its small wooden churches, and the shops and restaurants which all look like old saloons. Something different from the other cities is my bedroom for tonight : the bed linen is dedicated to rodeo and a buffalo is waiting for me on the pillow...








First surprise of the rodeo : they start it by a prayer. Here, it makes sense, I had just forgotten during a few seconds that I was in the US, and not about to attend the final of the French tennis open in Paris... Then the national anthem, a few banners with the ads, and the rodeo can start. Bronco and bull riding, roping, races, but it is a pity that tonight no junior sheep riding was planned, it is so funny to see the tiny kids getting angry because they fell down the sheep...

Leaving Cody, we have a very long road in front of us, first crossing the Bighorn mountains (which almost look like Switzerland...), and then the never ending prairie (it fact, it ends just before Chicago). Welcome in the lands of Laura Ingalls.

In Gillette, just after lunch, Pierre comes back from the post office with a surprise for me : in addition to the stamps, he has found an Indian smurfin ! My little cowgirl now has a friend.

The new mascot duet will be inaugurated at Devil's Tower (remember, Close encounters of the third kind...). A few minutes away from the tower, plenty of prairie dogs. Difficult to know who is watching who, between them and the tourists !