Cuppa Tea

There is something about geological formations that is almost irresistible. Living near Badlands National Park is a reminder of the haunting nature of stunning and harsh landscapes. Wyoming is no slouch when it comes to formations either. Somewhere along a random highway through random ranch land territory in the middle of the Powder River Basin is a pop-up that cannot help but catch the eye. It is called Teapot Rock.

It is an eroded sandstone formation that has historical significance from the 1920's. In the back recesses of my mind I remembered something called the Teapot Dome Scandal. My husband gave me a blank look when I tried to mine his brain for additional support. He paid closer attention in his history classes so he is usually my go-to resource. I am sure my only memory was coming from a multiple choice question that had to be memorized and forgotten, almost.

Further research confirmed my suspicions and the interesting rock formation is related to Warren G. Harding’s nefarious activities. My husband did perk up with Harding’s name. (He loves to rant about crooked politicians.) The Teapot Dome Scandal involved oil and bribes and more stuff I am too lazy to follow up on.

We were not too lazy, however, to find a pull-off from the road for a better view. Unfortunately, the formation is on private property so we had to view it from afar. That is perhaps best as it is a fragile formation and one can only imagine what happens when folks are left to their own devices near an interesting rock.

Here are a few more pics from our travel day….

This time our hotel had a fridge and a microwave. Still no elevator, but my husband wisely talked the desk clerk into switching our room from the second floor to the first floor. They also had a dolly so moving our mountain of stuff into our room was a breeze.

A view from my morning walk. I had to remind myself to keep walking and stop staring.

Another view from my walk. Cows were bellowing in the distance so it is ranch country, for sure.

Sometimes the road miles can get a bit dull and you just have to say hello to a little critter friend. He was not in a talkative mood so I bit him farewell. Back in the car for me.