The Sundance Kid - Wyoming

Driving West again I entered Wyoming and made a brief detour to visit the Devils Tower National Monument, famous for its appearance in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I didn't meet any benign aliens or experience anything even remotely creepy, but it was a pleasant visit.



The electrical storm stayed with me in spurts and I drove with the hiss of tyres on the wet road for company. Low clouds and mist gave the area a surreal appearance much in keeping with the UFO fixation of the movie featuring this mysterious geological formation. There are a number of competing theories about its origins that may perhaps never be resolved.



The site is definitely worth a visit, especially since it will give you an opportunity to pass by Sundance in Crook County, Wyoming. The town is named for the Sun Dance ceremony practiced by several North American Indian Nations, but is more famous for the jail that gave legendary gunslinger Harry Longabaugh his nickname: The Sundance Kid. I tried out a little swagger while I was walking around, but it just felt silly without a moustache and a gunbelt. If only I still had the props from my Wild (Mid)West photo shoot.

This drive back across Wyoming was also noteworthy for my first sighting of a real live prairie dog, and my first sighting of a real dead prairie dog. The prairie dog isn't actually anything like a dog, but a big burrowing rodent. They're pretty cute, but I still like squirrels better.

It was also in Wyoming that I perfected my Bambi avoidance technique for fast trips in deer crossing country at night, or at dawn or dusk. I call it the pilot fish method. As soon as the hour approaches I start scouting around for a suitable fish. This is the vehicle to which I will parasitically attach myself and use as a shield against deer. The best fish are large vehicles, like full-size trucks or SUVs that know the road well and drive as quickly, or almost as quickly, as I would want to without the threat of deer attack. With Puff Lite's superior handling, it's easy to follow them closely and feel much more relaxed than I do on Bambi high alert driving without a fish. I am so hypersensitised to the silhouette of a deer that I have been known to jump on the brakes because I glimpsed deer statues in people's front yards.

As a brief aside, I'd like to say to all the people who have those things in front of their houses: I hate you.