After packing most of my stuff up, breakfast was available and they had Waffles so all was good. After a couple waffles saturated in syrup, I was on the road.
It was still dark dark, so I was a bit worried about the 80MPH speed limit coupled with deer on the road, but the eastern part of South Dakota isn't nearly as bad as the western part. Once headed west on I-90, the GPS said go straight for around 340 miles. There aren't very many places with less turns than that.
About a million years ago, I worked at a bakery in high school. I was sort of related to the family that owned it, and their daughter who I worked with now lives in Rapid City with her husband and kids. Since I had the time, my plan was to meet them for lunch. This had all the potential to be awkward, but I hadn't seen her in well over 20 years and it would be fun to catch up.
I got gas in Wall, South Dakota but wisely decided to avoid the awful tourist trap of WallDrug. Since I was a bit earlier than I thought I would be, I arranged to meet my friend at Cabela's where her husband works. While perusing around, they had quiet camo hunting snow suits on clearance for half off. It was too good a deal at $60. I don't think I'll need it on this trip, but it sure will be nice while deer hunting in a treestand.
After meeting my friend, we talked for a bit before heading over to a nearby burger joint for lunch. It was great reminiscing about stuff from two decades ago and catching up on life since. There are many twists and turns in life along with goals and signposts that lead absolutely nowhere. As Alton Brown said in an article I read about him a while back, "Funny business, this living." The time flew by and all too soon it was time for me to leave to rendezvous with the hunting guide.
Leaving Rapid City, I left the interstate and got on 2-lane roads headed to Hulett, Wyoming. Temperatures hovered near freezing and a very cold rain started falling. The drive to Hulett took about 2 hours and it would have been a nice drive if it hadn't been for the weather.
I ended up getting to Hulett too early, so I stopped in a hotel parking lot and read the two magazines I had brought with me. I got gas at the only station in town; they are very proud of their fuel - charging about $0.50/gallon more than any other station I saw. This allowed time for the rain to stop, so I parked near where we were supposed to meet and walked the town. I was quite tired of sitting in the truck at this point.
Eventually Jim showed up and we all caravanned to the lodge. The lodge was about 10 miles down a very muddy dirt road. This is what a Ridgeline on a hunting trip is supposed to look like.
Even with the snotty conditions, the drive to the lodge was phenomenal. I saw more deer on the drive than I have in several years combined. There were so many deer, I initially (and very briefly) thought it was some kind of venison farm, but they were on both sides of the road and inside and outside the fence. The fences were enough to contain cattle, but not deer anyway. The pictures do not do this justice as I was trying to take it while driving down the dirt road.
Once at the lodge, there was some talking and lollygagging before dinner. Pork chops, beans, potatoes. I must be careful on this adventure.
There were a total of 6 hunters in camp along with three guides and the couple who own the lodge. It was two brothers form Connecticut, father and son from Tennessee and North Carolina (I think) and I would be hunting with Bill from Pennsylvania. Bill was a nerve condition which gives him very limited mobility. He had first option on whitetails, I did for any mulies.
I was still on home time, so I turned in early while most of the other guys watched the world series.
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