Summer Road Trip part 2

I love the badlands! We spent a few days in SD two years ago and loved it.
This year we just stopped by on the way to Utah.

We forgot to take a photo of the sign that says "Prairie Dogs Have Plague!"

Look how sweet it is...plague? :-)

Baby bison are so cute!

Hello there big guy

We quickly realized Emma is part mountain goat!
She was always ahead of us effortlessly climbing up and down the slopes.

It seemed as if we were the only ones on an alien planet.

Summer RoadTrip part 1

Through the viewfinder shots of the Badlands!

Last Word on South Dakota*

Devil's Tower, WY

Wall Drug

NPS Minuteman Missile Historic Site

The badlands again!

South Dakota Part 3

Day three started with a hearty camp breakfast. The only time I cook bacon is when we camp. I hate the greasy mess at home, but outside is different. 

Our first adventure of the day was the drive to Hot Springs and the Mammoth Site.

On the way we passed through part of Wind Cave National Park and look what crossed the road! Our only upclose encounter with a bison. A few cars pulled over to check this guy out and he (she??) ignored everything. It just wandered anywhere it wanted. Who's going to argue! *grins*

The Mammoth site was fun and educational. I couldn't get very good photos, but if you visit the Black Hills it is worth the stop.
After spending money in the gift shop on important items such as goo with a plastic mammoth fossil inside, we had a picnic lunch. We really didn't eat out much on the whole trip. On to Jewel Cave.  We stopped first at the visitors center and the gift shop. The kids got the Junior Ranger info and booklet and I bought a really cute kids book. It is called "One Small Square; Cave" It has terrific illustrations and covers caves really well. I looked for it on Amazon and found a bunch in the series. I want them all! Backyard, Arctic Tundra, Swamp etc...

I highly recommend the Jewel Cave Lantern Tour. It was so much fun! No, this isn't your normal cave tour. No amazing formations that glitter in the glow of electric bulbs. This is the only way you can explore the first passages found and enter through the natural entrance. Each tour member over 10 yrs old hold their own oil lantern and no other light! We duck walked under low spots,climbed up and down very steep stairs, all carrying the lantern. The cave is cold and windy, so dress warm. Don't worry if your lantern goes out from a gust of wind, which happened to two of ours, the Ranger has a lighter   ;-)

 

South Dakota Part 2

Our second day in South Dakota started with some shopping. We spent a while in a local rock and gem shop. We all found something we wanted! Then on to Custer State Park. Man this place is huge! We drove up to the top of Mount Coolidge. A gravel road goes around and around, up and up! I admit to being nervous a few times! What a view! Totally worth it. Funny thing was that everyone else up there was from Wisconsin! 

On to the "Wild life loop" We really didn't see too much other than lots more prairie dogs and pronghorns. Then we ran into these two. Aren't they cute? Now I want a burro! 

We had a picnic lunch on a chunk of granite and then on to the Needles Highway. Just Beautiful!!! The kids loved climbing around on the rocks around Sylvan Lake. I was nervous the whole time, I really didn't want any broken bones!
We were in the park for hours and hours. Next on to the Forest Service cabin we rented for 2 nights. A brief storm came through, but nothing too bad.
Cute cabin huh! 

We were on the summit but the view was trees and more trees! Very nice, not much wind and no bugs. The area was covered with beautiful flowers. But more on those later :-)
And so ends day two!

South Dakota Part 1

We just got back from our family vacation to the Black Hills in South Dakota. What a blast! We had so many adventures. It was, in my opinion, our best vacation! Can you tell I had fun? *grins* 

We left Wisconsin in the midst of a series of storms and tornados, but once we got into Minnesota the weather was fine for us. Though more than once I worried about what was going on at home. We drove straight thru the night and got to the "World Famous" Wall Drug just in time to have breakfast.

Pretty good way to start the day...good coffee and 5 cents!

Wall Drug is huge and we didn't really look around much. I was anxious to get going to the Badlands. I've wanted to go for a long time. It was better than I thought. We first followed a gravel road instead of the main scenic route. We gawked at the cute prairie dogs and even saw burrowing owls! We decided to climb down a gentle slope and hike around. I never realized just how many cacti grow there. We saw "evidence" of bison, but none of the big guys.  

After hiking around for a while, we got back in the van and followed the Badlands loop to all the lookouts. Wow hours and hours of beautiful vistas. But is also seems a bit sad and desolate to me. I'm facinated by the geology of the area. I'm inspired to find out more.

We then continued on to Mount Rushmore. The kids have been wanting to go since they saw "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" last year. Very cool. We followed the trail around, but we didn't see any mountain goats. :-(

It was an exhausting day after getting very little sleep the night before. We drove on to Custer, ordered pizza from Pizza Hut, and stayed in the Super 8. It was reasonably priced, quiet, clean, and had a good breakfast. Now I'm a travel agent :-)

More later.....BTW no flooding problems byt my house Whew! but my poor home state has been beat up enough already!