US-18

I figure that since I first got my learner's permit almost 14 years ago, I've driven just about 200,000 miles.

The 171 from Keystone, SD to Orin, WY that I covered on Friday afternoon and evening may have been the most enjoyable yet.

The trip represented the first half of the 330+ mile journey from Mount Rushmore to Fort Collins, CO, where I was spending the night. It took me down winding mountain switchbacks in the Black Hills of western South Dakota through wide open plains in eastern Wyoming. While there was ostensibly nothing to see, I couldn't stop staring and taking it all in.

The highlight was US-18, which covered more than two-thirds of the 171 mile leg. With little traffic, few curves, and no cops, the posted 75 MPH speed limit was really more of a suggestion.

It's amazing how one's sensation of speed can be altered when you're surrounded by nothing but open space on all sides. The plains were so expansive that I could literally see different weather systems depending on what direction I looked. Storm clouds and rain would be 40 miles off to my left while sunny skies were ahead and haze would fill the scene to my right. With virtually no man-made structures by the road side, I constantly found myself zooming past triple-digits while feeling as though I were going 65. I rarely dipped below 90 for most of the trip, and with straightaways lasting for miles and the sharpest curves unable to slice even warm butter, it was the easiest 90 you could ever imagine.

As I cruised through the middle of nowhere like a bat out of hell with little to keep me occupied besides jaw-dropping scenery and my own thoughts, I felt a level of freedom that I'm not sure I've ever experienced. Nowhere was somewhere, and it was far away from worried contemplation about an unfulfilled past and an undefined future.

I'm posting a few pictures below -- you can click on them for a larger view. At some point I'll get a more detailed album up on Flickr or something, but this will have to suffice for the time being.