Day Six & Seven: Last Day & Heading Home

This was my last day in the park.  While many photo opportunities were certainly left, I always get to a point where I am simply exhausted and my creative juices are expended.  Not to mention the fact the weather forecast was for another cloudless day, and of course, my foot was still bothering me, meaning hikes were out of the question.

But, there was still one more opportunity for some early morning light shots.  I headed to what had become my favorite spot, the Fossil trailhead (technically in this case it was the Castle trailhead, which is immediately opposite).  I thought I was going to miss the right light since the sun was already above the horizon.  But when I got to the trailhead, the sun was still hidden by rocks to the east.  I was in luck!

I drove to the east end of the park and walked around the trailheads there.  There weren't many good shots because of the strong light, but I did take a few.  I decided it was time to leave, but drove westward on the loop to do one last "sweep" of the park.  

So that was it!  I exited the park and got back on I-90 to start my long drive home.  My first stop was in Wagner, South Dakota, which was only about 3.5 hrs away.  I wanted to get further, but the Harvest Host (HH) I had initially reserved was closed for the week.  So my 2nd choice was Choteau Creek Brewing.  As I got closer I began to wonder if this was such a good choice.  I was nowhere near any town, there were no visible buildings, and at the end I was driving on a dirt road.  Did I even have the right location in Google maps?  Then there it was: a small, unassuming building tucked in amongst some trees.  Well, this was indeed the right place, but I still had my reservations.

Well, this was a classic case of appearances can be deceiving.  It turns out this was probably my best HH experience ever!  I was immediately greeted by an employee who told me where I could park.  The taproom was small, but there were already quite a few people there.  I ordered a beer (which was very good) and soon began to chat with the staff.  Eventually the placed filled up with locals, most of whom knew each other.  What a fun time!

The brewery and taproom

My spot next to the barn (yes, there cows and chickens here)

View from the dirt road

The bar and one of the employees, all of whom were very friendly

The night sky was very clear, and the stars were very bright.  I wondered if I could find the Milky Way.  Turns out it was right over the rustic barn I was parked next to.  While the galactic center was not fully visible, I did manage to get some shots.  Not my best Milky Way images, but still pretty cool!

The next day I headed off for my next stop, the Millstream Brau Haus, a German style brewery in Amana. Iowa.  This was a long, boring drive with not much to look at but...need I say it?...cornfields.  Yep, more of these!  The highlight of this drive, though, was a much needed shower at a Love's Travel Stop.  This felt SOOO good!  I had never done a shower at a truck stop, but I have to say I was impressed, at least with Love's  They do a great job with this service, and at $15, it was well worth it.

After being on the road over 7 hours, I finally arrived in Amana.  The brewery was a bit of a disappointment.  It would be tough to beat the previous spot, of course, but there were simply a lot of things that left me unimpressed.  Oh well.

One more stop left, and one more blog post.