Blogs from South Dakota, United States, North America - page 9

DAY 14 - Sunday, July 10, 2016 Wayne, Nebraska to Oacoma, SD - Missouri River to Wall, SD to Keystone, SD - Mt. Rushmore National Monument to Willow Creek Black Hills National Forest Campground Who knew Wayne, Nebraska would be such a rockin’ town all night long? They are serious about their Chicken Show weekend! Geoff drove us back toward the east entrance of town and we slept away from all the celebration noise. In the morning we said goodbye to our Glass family relatives - Thanks again for the showers! :) It was a real treat to meet more relatives - thank you, Lord! We grocery shopped at the local Pac ’N Save and hit our first of several highways to weave our way northwest back to Interstate-90. Very pretty countrysides but it was a ... read more

Our last day here Susan and McKenna did some shopping, Me? I went through the Big Thunder Mine and did some gold panning. Found a few flakes and some garnets. Walk across town did the sled/slide down a hill. Would have been awesome if the girl in front had been going faster. Have a video.... read more

When I first set out to plan our road trip, I knew we needed to nail down our plans for Fourth of July weekend. Everything else could probably wait to be booked, but not our stays for the long weekend! And, so, it was early February when I booked a tent site for the Cedar Pass Campground at Badlands National Park. I was able to snag one of the only sites with a tree, which was important to me because I need shade! Unfortunately, that decision was actually a mistake, as I'll explain shortly. We pulled into the Badlands in the early evening, after a long day of visiting national monuments. We really just wanted to set up our tent, cook some dinner, and head to bed. Unfortunately, because of the burn restrictions, we weren't able ... read more

Here is the report from days two and three on the way west! We left Cedar Falls, Iowa on Tuesday and headed north towards Minnesota. First stop was “The Little Brown Church” that inspired the old hymn “Come to the Church in the Wildwood” (you will love this rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOm0bhnfmDw). Back on the road as we approached the town of Clear Lake, Iowa, George caught sight of a sign for a public garden, something we try not to pass up, so we added a new, unplanned stop—the beauty of somewhat unplanned travel. Should have known it was going to be a great detour when the first thing we spotted after getting on the exit ramp was a fox trotting along side the road. The garden was a real treat, one of those things that civic-minded communities ... read more

Day four got off to a great start in Hot (Warm) Springs with breakfast at a place called “Daily Bread.” It is the sort of café every town deserves—good coffee and food, plenty of donuts and cookies, and a wide assortment of breads. Behind Marcia at one table were about 10 of the town’s women discussing the affairs of the church, to my right was a table of gentlemen discussing whether or not someone was ‘born again’ and why another fellow’s wife left him. The seeming organizer of the guy table had driven up in a beautifully restored 1957 Chevy Bel Air which he saw me admiring as we left and I shot him a thumbs up to his smile. We made our way to Wind Cave National Park and decided to take a tour deep ... read more