Day 15: From Rapid City, SD to Cody, WY (part 2)

Good morning!

I'm still pretty exhausted after a restless night's sleep. While Buffalo Bill's Antlers Inn is exceptionally clean and does not allow smoking, the stale stench of cigarette smoke that is permanently infused into the decades-old carpet and drapes indicates that the no smoking policy was not always in place. I barely noticed it when I arrived last night, but now it's impossible to ignore. Gross! At least the people who work here are very friendly, although I'm not entirely sure that makes up for the horrendous odor. This hotel does not have an attached indoor waterpark like the last two. But that's okay, because the smell of chlorine in my last hotel was unbearable. Although I passed at least fifteen hotels with waterparks on my way here, I was not the slightest but tempted to stay at any of them.

I forgot how sensitive I am to bad smells. My freshman year of college, I had French class in Monty (formally known as Montgomery Hall), and I had to step outside for at least a few minutes in the middle of every class because I couldn't stand the foul smell in the room. I don't think anyone else in the class was particularly bothered by the smell, but it drove me crazy.

I remember learning in grad school that people's memory of smells is more powerful than any of the other senses, and I believe it. I'm sure it varies among individual people, but at least for me it's certainly true. In the future, I should probably keep that in mind when selecting hotels.

In The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet (yes, I finally finished it), T.S. frequently refers to the "room feeling" - simply defined as the general feeling one gets upon entering a room. The room feeling in Room 104 of Buffalo Bill's Antlers Inn is not good. I look forward to the fresh air of Yellowstone.

I have about 7 hours of driving ahead of me today, and I plan to break it up with meals and a couple hikes.

Here are my photos and video from yesterday:

Devil's Tower

Near Devil's Tower

My new friends

Lunch

This friend must have modeling experience. And it looks like he was probably paid with food.

Here's a video of my adorable new friends. Sorry about the shakiness. The wind was out of control. You can actually hear it in the video. Whatever, you get the idea.