Day 4: Badlands National Park and Wall Drug

It was cool sleeping last night but the day was very pleasant...low 70's and cloudless, blue sky.  I actually fixed bacon and eggs for breakfast so we would have the energy to hike today.  We left campground at 8 and stopped at the Saddle Pass Trail for our first hike.  According to the hiking brochure this trail was .25 miles round trip and strenuous.  It is a short trail which climbs up the Badlands Wall to a view over the White River Valley.  1/4 mile round trip seemed doable...wrong.  The entire trail was uphill and the trail path was slick dirt and small rocks that slipped under your feet as we were going up hill.  We made it about half way before turning around.  Going down was treacherous.  Even through we had walking sticks, it was very hard to take a step without slipping down the trail.  Together Carol and I made it with Keegan reminding us all the way down, "Don't fall memaw!" 

Keegan and his young legs had no trouble with the Saddle Pass Trail.  He zipped up and down taking time to climb on rocks along the trail.

This is our turnaround spot.  

After this trail we decided to take an easier trail so we stopped by the Fossil Exhibit Trail which was much easier.  Keegan had a ball running up and over the various mounds of the Castle Trail which Papaw and I watched.  We both envied his energy.  Below are pictures taken as we drove the Badlands Loop Road.

 

We were very happy to see these Big Horn Sheep on the loop road.

It looks like this guy is shedding his winter coat.

There were prairie dogs all along the road but this particular bunch live in Roberts Prairie Dog Town.

We saw our first buffalo herd of this trip,

After driving the Loop Road we finally made it to the famous Wall  Drug.  We ate lunch and then explored the stores.  Keegan and Papaw sat with Annie Oakley for a while.

We left Wall Drug and drove back into the park and stopped at the  Windows and Doors Trail.  Both were much shorter and senior adult approved.  Papaw and I stayed on the trail while Keegan climbed and explored the higher formations.

In the very center of this picture is a small cactus  and the shadow of the photographer (Carol).  We were surprised to find a cactus this far north.

We managed to capture Keegan for a photo.  For the most part He was pretending he was a mountain goat climbing over the formations.

Tomorrow we leave the Badlands.  I know Papaw and I enjoyed seeing it with Keegan and I know he enjoyed the park.  Tomorrow we head a little farther west to a better location for seeing Mount Rushmore, Devil's Tower, and Custer State Park.  The weather today was perfect.  We did have to turn the air conditioner on in the motorhome but will probably turn it off before we go to bed.  Keegan should sleep well.

Day 3: Scenes on I-90 West

 We only had 200 miles to drive today so we took our time packing up.  Showers were in order for all of us.  The shower/restrooms are gorgeous.  We camped here about five years ago and they did not look like this.  Evidently, new owners upgraded.  Even Keegan noticed that they were very nice....not your typical KOA restroom/showers.

This looks like a typical 60's hippy Volkswagen van.

This statue of Sacajawea was at a rest area on I-90 that we stopped at.  The Lewis and Clark Expedition  camped here in 1803 for several days. 

I-90 crosses the Missouri River.  This is a railroad bridge across the Missouri.

Papaw and Keegan hiked further along the trail to get the above picture of the bridge.  I didn't go all the way down the trail because of fear of falling.

Here is a picture of the photographers at work.

We made it to the KOA just outside of Badlands National Park.  After supper and our traditional ice  cream for dessert, we headed back into the park.  Keegan loved climbing on the sides of the formations.

Keegan took this picture.  With him on the trip, we don't have to ask strangers to take a picture of us.

Another picture of the happy climber.

The sunset was nice.

We drove back to the camp.  We are staying in Badlands/White River KOA which is about five miles south of the park.  We saw some deer but downloading pictures is very slow.  Maybe tomorrow I will post one.  Back at camp and Keegan's bed made, I worked on my blog.  By 9:30 Keegan was asleep.  I guess all that climbing wore him out.

Carol has driven the motorhome 900 miles and has not had any trouble with his new bionic shoulder.  Tomorrow we will go back into the park and visit Wall Drug.  Keegan has been looking forward to seeing the famous Wall Drug,

Day 2: Western Iowa and the Corn Palace

 We finally got to bed around  10:30 last night.  We received a text warning that the area was under a tornado watch.  About 11:30 a strong thunderstorm rolled through but no tornado.  We woke up to cooler temperatures which we all liked.  On the road by 8:00.  We will be staying here the last day of our trip in a couple of weeks.  It is a nice KOA and has lots to do for kids.

This is our camping spot at KOA Mitchell, South Dakota.  After leaving West Des Moines, we filled up twice. One time the cost was $4.29 and the second time it was $4.04...still lots cheaper than gas in Illinois.  This campground has a cattle farm next door so we will be going to sleep by the sounds of mooing cows!

One of the many signs Wall Drug uses to advertise for the store.  Of course, we will be visiting it.

The sky was partly cloudy in West Des Moines but it got steadily more cloud-filled as we drove north to South Dakota.  From 80W we took an interstate bypass called 880 (on map it labeled 680) and it was almost traffic-free which was a nice change.  Then we got on I-29N to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Again, we had never driven on this particular interstate.  We drove through a town called Sgt. Floyd.  I looked it up on the internet and found out that Sgt Charles  Floyd was with the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Here on the banks of a small river that is a tributary of the Missouri River, they buried him on a high bluff and when a town was settled it was called Sgt. Floyd after this man.

The farmers use contour farming on these rolling hills.  

Saw several wind mill farms along with the contour fields.

Our visit to the Corn  Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota.

Every year there is a new theme and this year's is "Under the  Big Top."

A close-up showing the cobs cut in half that make up the murals.

A display showing the 12 different colors of corn used in the murals.

Farmer Keegan.

It was a great day to travel.  The scenery was very pretty.  We got set up by 2:00 p.m. and were able to visit the Corn Palace.  After finishing this entry we will eat a late supper and play some games before hitting the sack.  Below is a picture of how we found Keegan this morning.  We had to wake him up at 7:30.  I think if we had let him sleep any longer, his feet would be hanging off the mattress!

Keegan's Windy Wild West

Here we are ready to begin our big adventure.  Everyone was up by 5 (even Keegan).  However, we did not want to leave until 7:30 so we took our time packing up what little bit was left.  Our neighbor, Donna, was good enough to come over and snap this picture of the happy trio before we pulled out of the driveway at 7:30.  First stop was Iowa 80 a world-famous truck stop at Walcott, Iowa.  We filled up with gas at $4.23 a gallon which seemed like a bargain because gas is selling for $4.69 a gallon in Illinois.  Across the street from this truck stop, gas was $4.19 a gallon.  It cost $148 to fill up.  Last year the same amount was $115.  We think we will have to pay about $30 more per fill-up.

We stopped at 11:15 and spent about two hours eating and exploring the truck stop.  Back on the road and we discovered a strong south wind blowing against the side of the motorhome.  Yikes!  Carol's left shoulder really got a workout trying to keep the motorhome on the road.  The wind caused the cover on the driver's side slide to bang against the camper.  At first we did not know what the banging was so we pulled into a rest area to see if something on the top of the camper was loose.  Seeing nothing, we pulled back on the road and the banging continued.  Again, we pulled off and then noticed that the awning on the slide was loose.  We remembered that we had this problem another time so we kept on driving finally making it to the KOA on the west side of Des Moines around 4:30.  It is a nice KOA with only a few other campers.  According to weather forecast, this wind will lessen later this evening.  We could get some strong thunderstorms later tonight.

 
Keegan is a good helper.  Here they are hooking up the water to the motorhome.

 Keegan enjoyed swimming, playing basketball, and jumping on the jumping pillow.  He had been shut up in the motorhome all day so it was good for him to stretch his muscles.  

It has taken a long time getting my pictures downloaded.  I always seem to forget the necessary steps to downloading pictures after a few months.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be easier.  Tomorrow we should be camped outside Mitchell, South Dakota.  I think it will also be cooler.