Leslie Across the USA

Boulder and all the pretty people!

South Dakota was hard to leave. It was so hard to leave, in fact, that I took my own sweet time getting out of there. I was anxious to get to Boulder, but I was going to pass right by Wind Cave National Park, and you just can't drive by a park called Wind Cave without going in the cave! So, I did! It was really cool. This cave is the 5th largest natural cave in the world, and they have mapped out 117 miles of passages. However, they think that they have only discovered between three and five percent of the cave! So, who knows how big it really is. Some of it is under the water table, and so far, it has been too dangerous to explore. We had a great tour guide named Nick (ha - Ranger Nick!) and even though I had to take the shortest tour, it was still really cool. I'll attach a photo of the cave's "boxwork," which is the formation that is among the rarest in the world. This cave is home to most of it. Photos don't really capture the cave, so I recommend just going yourself! It's cold down there, and really dark. You can tour by candlelight, but I missed that one, so I had to go on the one with the lighting already installed. Still, Ranger Nick turned out the lights at one point and talked to us in the dark, and I thought I was going to go insane. I am used to my eyes adjusting to limited light and then being able to see a little bit, but this was complete darkness. I kept blinking my eyes to make sure they were really open. I know that some blind people can even see light and/or shadow, but some must live in this kind of darkness all the time. They are heroes, because after about five minutes, I felt like I was going insane. Finally, he turned them back on, and everyone looked relieved.
I left Wind Cave sooner than I would have liked to and headed for Boulder. Man, it was a flat drive. The roads were nearly deserted, and there was just nothing for miles and miles. I mean, there was grassland, so I'm sure that's full of some kind of life, but nothing I was too interested in. I was so starving and I had to go to the bathroom, so I was really grateful to pull in to the town of Lusk, Wyoming. I ate at an adorable little pizza parlor where I was helped by a cute middle schooler who was working there for the summer. I think his parents owned it. There were several people dining there, nearly all of them travelers on their way to or from Mt. Rushmore. The kid saw that I was reading Harry Potter, and we talked about books for a bit. He made me my own individual pizza and a big salad, and it was delicious! It's called The Pizza Place in Lusk, Wyoming. Trust me, you can't miss it. It was right next door to an antique shop, so after I told him I would NOT reveal the identity of the Half-Blood Prince to him (he hadn't started book 6 yet), I went over to browse for antiques. The owner was really nice, and he chatted away with me about how he just had to pay his taxes and how expensive they were. I asked him how much. "Six hundred something dollars!" he said. "How many acres?" I asked. "Oh just over 15." he replied. I told him that in New Hampshire, taxes are much, much higher. Like, how about $4000 a year for half an acre? He was shocked, and so I think the perspective helped him. Of course, he's stuck in Lusk, Wyoming, so the trade-off is important to note. I bought a planter from him for my collection (so far I've picked up three on this trip!) and hit the road again. I stopped for gas and then someone asked me for directions to Mt. Rushmore. I must look like I live in Wyoming or something, which kind of freaks me out, but anyway, I told her to stay on the very, very straight road and she would hit it in about two hours. She was not American, so I think she was a little flabbergasted that it might take so long. Well, welcome to Wyoming, honey!
I finally rolled in to Boulder at 6:30, and I took a quick dip in the pool at the Golden Buff Motel, my home for the next three days. I was so hot in the car, even with the air on full blast, because the sun was so strong up there in Boulder.
I was in town for the wedding of my friend Flavio and his fiance Jessica, so I met up with Flavio's sister Juliana and her family for dinner. There, I met her cousins Fernanda and Roberta, her uncle Arnaldo and her aunt Luciana, and Fernanda's boyfriend Ze. Gosh, I hope I spelled those names right (sorry if I did not!). Fernanda and Roberta are twins, but it was pretty easy to tell them apart. We also ate with Ethan, Juliana's husband, his brothers David and Sam and Sam's wife Kelly. We went to the Dushnabe Tea House, which is a real tea house from Dushnabe, Tajikistan, which is Boulder's sister city. They brought it to Boulder about 10 years ago in pieces and reconstructed it there. It was beautiful and very serene. I had cherry banana iced tea and some Bolivian chicken dish for dinner after appetizers of samosas and hummus. It was very good, and the menu was very eclectic and international. Juliana's parents, Ethan's parents, and Kelly's parents came in for dinner, too, so when we were finished, someone had the waitress send them our check, just to be funny. Of course, they didn't pay it, but we all had a good laugh anyway. The guys were all going out to do guy things with Flavio, so the girls went down to Pearl Street to watch street performers and seek out some ice cream for dessert. Juliana always eats dessert, and I started to eat dessert when I met her. I was totally full, but a few hours later, I managed to find room for some cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. My eating tour of the United States continued! I got to chat quite a bit with Kelly, and she told me that earlier in the day she had seen Jennifer Garner shopping on Pearl Street while they were filming a movie there with her. I was really excited that I might get to see a movie filming, so I decided to see what I could find the next day. I also wanted to tour around Boulder because I heard from my old roommate Kelly who used to live there that it was a really cool and beautiful place. I liked what I'd seen so far, so I went back to my hotel for a good night's sleep.
I got up kind of early the next day and went out in search of breakfast. I went to a really cute bookstore and cafe on Pearl Street called Bookends for breakfast and watched Boulder wake up. I finished reading Harry Potter (HOLY CRAP! _________ is the Half-Blood Prince!) and then I went in search of the library. I always like to check out a town's library; plus, it's a great place to read the headlines and use the bathroom! I walked across Boulder creek and then along a pretty path that ran along it. There was a little peace garden there and some tables and benches and even some people hanging out along the creek. I think they were homeless, but in Boulder, it's kind of hard to tell. You see lots of scruffy, hippy-type people there just sort of hanging around, so I wasn't sure what their deal was. Anyway, they were nice, just enjoying the early morning coolness before the sun came on full blast. When I got to the library, I discovered that the movie people were set up in the parking lot there using it as their base of operations! I saw a woman with long brown hair sitting on the curb using her cell phone, and I thought it might be Jennifer Garner, but I didn't want to bother her. So, I went to the library for a little while. It is a gorgeous library - I was impressed. When I came out, I saw that a few vans were loading up with make-up and wardrobe people. I decided to get my car and see where the vans were going to see if maybe I could watch some filming. I followed them for a few blocks when I suddenly saw all kinds of "ROAD CLOSED" signs. Hmmmmm, had I discovered the movie? Would I be allowed to hang out and watch?
Tune in to find out................
(Photos: Boulder Creek, Entering Colorado, Wind Cave boxwork)

posted by Leslie @ 12:49 PM