Tuesday 7.7. (Scotts Bluff, Agate Fossil Beds)

Today we had the first of the long driving days, we covered the distance of about 650 kilometers, so that there was place for short stops only but still sufficient (compared to the yesterday snow it was fairly hot and completely cludless throughout the whole journey, even if not that unbearably -- moreover, the air-conditioning in car functions well). After the departure from the national park, the mouintains disappeared from the horizon pretty quickly, and so we got to the endless prairies, where around the highways a man sees only the grass, cattle and the wind-powered water pumps. We stopped at Wal-Mart for some necessities, for which we did not find time at the weekend. Walking by ScottsBluff was nice -- high cliff towered above the prairies -- around it the old Oregon Trail heading from the times of the Wild West. The next stop we made by the Agate Fossil Beds (petrified tree trunks with the first warning about the rattlesnakes). We tanked full and stopped by the Wind Cave, where we first saw the bizon, crossing the street right in front of us. In the campground we joined the evening program with ranger, talking about the prairies. We tried to cook something from the semiproducts from Wal-Mart but it looks like we will keep with the fast-food menu. I am finishing this entry, listening to the bizons (we camp at the side of the campgound and it is normal for the deers, elks and bizons to pass by the camp so I hape it will turn out the same way as with the bears yesterday).