The home stretch

Day 13. Wyoming to South Dakota. Otherwise known as the day JM Oakes "let" Meredith drive.

The plan from the start had been that JM Oakes and Mere would share driving responsibility, but then the driving began and JM Oakes felt confident (or at least he was able to have more control over us not careening off the side of a mountain). Regardless, on day 13, M took the wheel. She expertly guided us through the twists and turns of the eastern half of Wyoming into South Dakota.

Lots of shoes to accommodate lots of different terrains

Around 5pm, we made it to Mount Rushmore. Spencer was beside himself with excitement. The twins were rather amazed as well, but only for a fleeting moment. The real draw for them were ants and stairs. Both worthy choices for entertainment. So while we ran stairs into the amphitheater, Mere and JM Oakes were able to take some lovely photos.  

Squeezing some rock hard skulls

And a little ninja action for the dead presidents

And then JM Oakes took the wheel again and we headed over to our campsite for the night outside of the Badlands. We arrived before 10, which apparently was late, and angered the owner of the lovely little campsite/hotel/lodge area. Luckily, Mere swatting wildly at mosquitos finally broke his icy exterior. We (meaning me and D Money) had specifically selected this site for the amazing sunrises over Badlands National Park. Unfortunately, the weather was not overly cooperative with that. We did get to enjoy some time around the fire sans kids before the rain commenced though. We had hoped that we would be able to see the Aurora Borealis from our locale, but it was not meant to be. Mere did seek out and catch a frog barehanded simply because it was croaking and making her twitch. After showing it to the kids, she set it free - far from our RV.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 14. Badlands, SD to Palisades State Park.  After some drenching rains (which in case you are wondering, sound a whole lot like golf balls being thrown on a tin roof), we headed off to Badlands National Park. Personally, I was looking forward to this park because of its diverse terrain and the gorgeous color patterns in the rock formations. It definitely exceeded our expectations. As we approached the first area where we wanted to take a short hike (a fossil trail), I noticed an ominous sign that was seemingly posted as an aside - like oh, no big deal:

If there is anything that will keep me directly on a path with my eyes stuck to the ground, that would be it. After stopping at a few scenic overlooks to take in the different and diverse views, it seemed like a non-issue. That was of course until we stopped at one overlook that did not have the signs posted. That of course happened to be where Mere, Spencer, and D Money crossed paths with a rattlesnake. I luckily was seated safely inside the RV and not privy to the slimy slithering reptile, but D Money made it back to the RV in record time. Mere took some pictures before it made its way back into the tall grass to frighten some other should be, but probably isn't, suspecting park visitors. Since I refuse to even look at the picture, it won't be posted. Sorry reptile fans - check with Mere if you want to see the rattlesnake. Instead, here are some lovely pictures of mountain goats and scenic vistas and kids in various forms of cute and crazy.

 

Following our time in the Badlands, we headed over to Wall Drug. Quite the experience. I am not even sure I have words for it... Giant jackalopes, animatronic T-rex, free iced water, lots of animals who had visited the local taxidermist, and other kitschy things to entertain and overwhelm. After grabbing some ice cream, we reembarked on our drive across South Dakota to get to our final campsite outside of Sioux Falls. And that is where I will pick up our final entry...