Final Thoughts On The Last Daycation...

• It was a perfect way in so many ways.  The weather cooperated with us.  We stayed in absolutely wonderful little motels for a very minimal cost.  There was no fussing or fighting or disagreements. 
• While traveling to Hot Springs, Joe made the comment that he "doubted that he would ever see his brother, Floyd, alive".  I took it to mean that Floyd would most likely pass away before him as he had been sick and hospitalized recently.
• We got to meet up with Roger and Connie.  Neither couple knew a few days before that the other would be in the same location at the same time.  And then, they who had no motel reservation in Rapid City, got the only remaining room left where we were staying and were put in the room right next to ours.
• Joe and I got to have our picture taken together and that never happens for us. 
• It was truly a miracle that Joe did not have his heart attack while we were in areas with no phone service and no access to medical attention.  I am truly grateful it didn't happen while he was with only me.
• It was so good, so wonderful, so perfect that I would not change a thing.

The most special part of the trip though for me was what Joe did on the trip home.  Since I drive, Joe used to take lots of naps in the car when we weren't having some type of stimulating conversation.  I remember that we were on the interstate shortly after leaving the Vore Buffalo Jump.  We were riding down the highway when Joe tapped my right knee with his left fingers.  He had a certain way of doing that and it was always a sign of endearment.  It was his way of gently getting my attention, usually meant as a prelude where he would tell me he loved me.

This day when he tapped my knee, I turned to him and said:

Me:  Yes?
Joe:  Do you know how much I love you?
Me:  Why, yes do.  Why do you love me?
Joe:  Because you take such good care of me and you love me.
Me:  Yes, I do.  And, I love you too.

That was the last time I remember an exchange of "I love you"between.  If only I could go back and redo that evening, I would make sure that I told him at least once again how much I loved him.

The Last Daycation - Day 4

This day began with Joe going to have breakfast with Roger and Connie while I showered and packed up our belongings.

We then kissed and hugged all goodbye and headed back to Casper where we passed this interesting car on the interstate.

One of the most important archaeological sites of the Late-Prehistoric Plains Indians.  Discovered during the construction of Highway I-90 in the early 1970's, the Vore site is a natural sinkhole that was used as a bison trap from about 1500 to 1800 A.D.

Buffalo were driven over the edge of the sink hole as a method for the Native American tribes to procure the large quantities of meat and hides needed to survive the harsh prairie winters.

After getting off the interstate near Gillette, we came across a large herd of buffalo.  The 65,000 acres which comprise Durham Ranch has sustained bison since the early 1960’s. The original bison at the Durham ranch came directly from Yellowstone National Park, making this herd very unique indeed.

Durham Ranch presently has about 2,500 purebred American Bison with 1,200 breeder cows. The cows average 1,050 pounds and show an annual calf crop of 90 to 95 percent. The bulls weigh around 1,800 to more than 2,000 pounds at 5 to 6 years of age. The calves are born in April and May, weighing about sixty pounds

We pulled over by the side of the road and leaned up against the car and watched the herd move for probably 20-25 minutes.  They were so fascinating to watch, especially the babies.

And, then we headed back to Casper where I checked Joe and B.J. back into the hotel since we were not going to be able to get back into our home until the next day. 

I went to the house, put furniture back into place, straightened up and vacuumed the carpet for a couple of hours.  Then I stopped by and picked up hamburgers and a Frostie for Joe.  We were both so tired that I don't even remember that we hugged or kissed each other, but rather just fell asleep in our individual beds until the nightmare began the next morning at 4:30 a.m.

The Last Daycation - Day 3

Day three started with Joe and me heading east to Wall, South Dakota home of the famous Wall Drug where we were going to meet up with Roger and Connie who had been driving from Indiana.  All along the way, you'd see all types of signs advertising the drug store.

Wall Drug Store, often referred to simply as "Wall Drug", is a  shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and various other stores. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity instead of being individually run stores.  The small town drugstore made its first step towards fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931. Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a Catholic church in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere", and strove to make a living. Business was very slow until his wife got the idea to advertise free ice water to parched travellers heading to the newly-opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles to the west. From that time on business was brisk. Wall Drug grew into a cowboy-themed shopping mall/department store. Wall Drug includes a western art museum, a chapel and an 80-foot Apatosaurus that can be seen right off Interstate 90.

When we met up with Roger and Connie, we loaded up and headed to spend the day in the Badlands National Park...

Our last picture ever...

 Roger and Joe...

 Joe and I almost stepped on a snake...

Roger's truck with Joe in it.  The guys rode together and Connie rode in my car.  We were on our way to a picnic area when we encountered these buffalo...

These are rare albino prairie dogs located outside Badlands National Park...

Our last adventure of the day was visiting a Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in the middle of nowhere South Dakota. 

In the late 1950s the Air Force chose South Dakota as one of the locations to base the nation's nuclear arsenal with the installation of Minuteman missiles. The Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) began surveying sites throughout western South Dakota by the fall of 1960, and subsequently began negotiating with landowners for rights-of-entry to construct Launch Facilities. The Minuteman I Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) construction program at Ellsworth Air Force Base progressed rapidly and construction began during the fall of 1961.

The Air Force's policy on site selection in South Dakota was multifaceted. Sites were primarily selected by balancing a variety of criteria, including maximizing Minuteman operations, minimizing each sites' vulnerability to sabotage, using the taxpayers' money wisely, and adapting individual sites to construction and operational needs, all with an eye to unique qualities of individual locations.  Other factors that contributed to the selection of sites were the physical features of the land, including the geology and terrain of the area, the types of soil, and the amount of available ground water.

For cost and efficiency, the Air Force located missile sites near the existing Ellsworth Air Force Base in order to provide logistical support to the facilities. The missiles were located within an area approximately one hundred miles east and north of the base, in an expanse covering approximately 13,500 square miles of western South Dakota. We truly were out in the middle of nowhere.

This is the absolutely the last picture ever taken of Joe some 36 hours before his death.

This is looking down into where the missle is located.

When we finished visiting this site, we all then headed to Rapid City for dinner and to go to bed since we were all pooped.