Day 18- Black Hills and Mount Rushmore

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What a difference a good bed and plumbing can make! Our camper bed is pretty comfortable, but it's not quite the same. This morning we got up, had breakfast, thanked the Casagrande's for their gracious hospitality and got back on the road, headed east! Our goal was to hit the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, and if we were lucky, the Badlands.

On our drive through Montana, we saw a sign for Little Bighorn Battlefield National Park and decided since we were passing by it, we might as well stop. It ended up being a good stop. It was a historically somber experience when you think about all that happened there. The overall message of the park was the power of peace through unity- a strong message that is just as relevant in the world today.

We then got back on the road, heading out of Montana and back through Wyoming to South Dakota. We stopped in a little town called Gillette, WY for lunch at Gillette Brewery. It was a nice little stop with Wifi! We then continued on to South Dakota.

The South Dakota border was just as we entered the Black Hills. Most of the drive had been wide open farmland with very few trees. The Black Hills were covered in trees. Unfortunately, like most of the parks we had been to, there were charred areas from forest fires. We kept our eyes peeled for some mountain goats but did not see anything. We continued through the Black Hills to Mount Rushmore! We passed by the Crazy Horse monument, but as it is not yet finished, we did not stop. We finally reached Mount Rushmore! Our national park pass did not work for this park, so we had to pay the $10 entrance fee. Mount Rushmore was neat, but kind of one dimensional. You stop and see it, take a few pictures, and then are out. Definitely something to see once in your life!

After getting our pictures, we continued on to the Badlands. We considered stopping at BearCountry USA, since we did not get to see any bears during our travels, but decided not to. Before getting to our campsite, we stopped at Wall General Store, a large tourist trap in the middle of the small town. It was interesting- lots of gimmicks and little shops.

Finally, we reached our campsite for the night. Tonight we stayed just outside the Badlands at some dispersion land right on the edge of the wall. It was one of our best sites and free! There were a few other tents camped in the area, but no one too close. Unfortunately, as we were getting ready for bed a HUGE fifth wheel pulled in and parked very close to us. Luckily, they were relatively quiet during the night, but still limited our privacy.

Now, resting up to see the Badlands tomorrow, then continue on the road east towards home!

Miles traveled: 459 miles

States visited: MT, WY, SD

XO, B&E

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