One of our favorite stops along the way has been Dairy Queen, as there are DQ’s in most towns.
Two hours to go!
Author: tastewar
-
On to Centennial!
This morning, we leave behind Alliance, Nebraska and the Holiday Inn Express there
and the very bumpy land
and the big coal trains
and head to Colorado
-
An American Copy…
Who needs big stones…
When you have cars to stick in the ground.
-
Goodbye, Oreville
This morning, we had breakfast by a not so roaring campfire. Seeing as we were trying to get going, there seemed little point to getting a blazing fire going, when we would just have to put it out. I think everyone slept better either due to exhaustion from lack of sleep the night prior, or due to familiarity. In any case, we had breakfast, packed up our gear, and headed out. The oatmeal was warm today, as we broke out the propane stove for cooking (thanks, John!)
-
South Dakota Sights
After camp breakfast (cold oatmeal, made with lukewarm water heated over the remains of the campfire), we headed out to Mt. Rushmore.
In spite of the cold beginning, the weather was glorious today. We had a great visit with the presidents, including a brief tour with a guide who was clearly still honing her skills.
From there, we thought to stop by the Crazy Horse monument on our way to Jewel Cave. But when we drove in, we discovered it was nearly $30 just to get a closer glimpse than you do from the road. Oh, and also for the opportunity to buy souvenirs. So, we turned around after taking a picture.
We went onward to Jewel Cave, only to learn that we should have called ahead to make reservations for a tour. So, we made reservations for a late afternoon tour, and drove back to town for some lunch.
We had lunch at the Cowboy Cafe in Custer City, where I had a buffalo burger, just for some authentic something or other. It tasted unsurprisingly a lot like hamburger. It was drier, and I think that’s because it’s a leaner meat, rather than overcooking. But who knows.
After lunch, we went across the street to the mini-golf place that only took cash, and played a round of 18, which takes nearly forever with a family of five. Two of the children took turns being cranky.
From there, with a little time to kill, we stopped at the National Museum of Woodcarving, also about $30 to get in, but it seemed more worthwhile than Crazy Horse. After having paid, we learned that it is really a gallery of one person’s work. An amazing artist, to be sure, but I found the name to be rather deceptive.
Then finally, our appointment at Jewel Cave. And the cave did not disappoint. We had a tour of about an hour and a half, which started with a 27 second elevator ride down 230 feet. It’s an amazing cave, with many large caverns, and they’ve built in platforms and stairs and catwalks and sidewalks for a great walking tour (lots of steps, though!) The kids did not get bored, even though much of the crystal structure was the same throughout. This guide seemed much more at ease and practiced. Highly recommended.
-
None of the Comforts of Home
Thank God it didn’t rain. I think the last time I camped at all was with Susan and some grad school buddies at the Delaware Water Gap long before Emma was born. To label me out of practice would be generous. We packed gear for summer camping — our borrowed tent is a glorified screen house with a rain fly (no offense, Alexx — thanks for the tent!) so when we woke up this morning in 41 degree weather, we were all a little chilly. About 4:30 in the morning, Susan, Tyler and I were awake, with Tyler shivering, and me pretty cold as well. Tyler’s sleeping bag is essentially a folder over fleece blanket, and as we had lost his sweatshirt, all he was wearing under that was regular pajamas. So he climbed in with Susan. I think they went back to sleep, but I could not. At about 5:30, Clara awakened, so we went out and started a camp fire. Fire == Good.
I’m also a little put out as I am lacking DC adapters for some things, including my camera battery. And I can only charge one of the two laptops, so at the moment the “server” laptop is shutdown so that I have this one for actually doing stuff.
But we’ve survived, and even decided not to go to a hotel tonight. We are hopeful that the weather will be warmer for our next camping experience, in Utah.
-
A Day in the Life
This morning, we woke up in our hotel outside of De Smet
Had breakfast at a local restaurant
Drove across a good part of South Dakota, with a rest stop along the highway for a picnic lunch, then continued on through a small portion of the badlands, then hit the famed Wall Drug
Where we had an ice cream break,
then we headed to our camp site, at Oreville Campground in the Black Hills National Forest.
-
Badlands
The badlands of South Dakota are quite amazing. Pictures won’t do it justice, but here’s one anyway
The structures are amazing, and they come in many different colors and textures. The feel of the clay soil beneath youyr feet is very different from “regular” soil, especially when wet! And of course, we did have some rain today.
-
Little House
As Donna correctly answered, Mitchell is the town famous for the Corn Palace. Turns out we decided to go to De Smet instead. De Smet is the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little Town on the Prairie. They had lovely exhibits there, including a re-creation of the home that the Ingalls family built there. The kids got to make rope, and corn hust dolls, and a little button and string toy. They also got to go on a wagon ride and visit a one room schoolhouse, and ride a horse. And once again, the less than stellar weather kept the crowds down.
-
Across Minnesota
Today, we ventured across the entire state of Minnesota, with only a couple of stops. We stopped at a Dairy Queen in the late morning for a treat, then for gas later in the afternoon. We covered a lot of ground today, and the kids held up well. Tomorrow also promises to be a long driving day.