Day 4/5- Minnesota, Dakota, Wyoming
Monday was over 650 miles. We left at 7 central, and arrived at 8 mountain. Add in the side trips and it was an exhausting day.
First up- a rainy and cold Minnesota. Don't mistake dad's clothes for warmth. We wanted breakfast, so we stopped through Blue Earth Minnesota- In no small part because of a highway sign advertising the Jolly Green Giant. We also found the little green sprout!
Around that time we got this discouraging set of directions which has about described our last two days. 1-90. Forever. We listened to all of Harry Potter 3 (shout out to Carolyn for finding it right when we finished 2) on I90. We killed so many butterflies going 80 on I90 that we had to get a car wash.
As you can see, by now the weather had taken a turn for the better, just in time for us to pass Laura Ingalls Wilder's homestead. We did not stop at it, but we did stop at an authentic sod house right outside of the badlands, where we terrorized surprisingly pale prairie dogs (apparently they are rescues)
Next stop- the badlands. I took a lot of pictures, of those these are just a few of my favorites. I constantly asked "how", and I still have no answer. The photos don't do justice to the reds and other colors we have seen in South Dakota.
A stop in an almost closed Wall Drug (very disappointing, I wanted the whole experience), and 30 more minutes on I90 and we were in for the night. Finally
We thought Tuesday would be shorter, and it was but barely. We started at Rushmore. Since plenty of pros with tripods were there, we limited ourself to specialty photos like this.
The rest of South Dakota was a lot less flat, due to the black hills. We stopped through crazy horse, and once again I could not do it justice so I did not try. I loved the scenery throughout western South Dakota, so much red rock and exciting changes. The grey drizzle and cold took something away from it, but we pushed through for Devil's Tower. 50 and rainy is not fun, but the snow in the forecast for Yellowstone tomorrow makes it seem fun.
Here's an attempt to save my snap story from today, I have erratic save timing and snapchat deletes after 24 hours so I apologize for any inaccuracies.
First up- a rainy and cold Minnesota. Don't mistake dad's clothes for warmth. We wanted breakfast, so we stopped through Blue Earth Minnesota- In no small part because of a highway sign advertising the Jolly Green Giant. We also found the little green sprout!
Around that time we got this discouraging set of directions which has about described our last two days. 1-90. Forever. We listened to all of Harry Potter 3 (shout out to Carolyn for finding it right when we finished 2) on I90. We killed so many butterflies going 80 on I90 that we had to get a car wash.
Eventually we made it across South Dakota. Somewhere in the middle was the Mitchell Corn Palace- where we had popcorn for lunch. Fiberful and delicious!
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As you can see, by now the weather had taken a turn for the better, just in time for us to pass Laura Ingalls Wilder's homestead. We did not stop at it, but we did stop at an authentic sod house right outside of the badlands, where we terrorized surprisingly pale prairie dogs (apparently they are rescues)
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| Classic South Dakota |
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| We did 2 hikes, this one the "Door" trail |
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| View from a different trail (which claimed it would take 1.5-2 hours, and we did in 30 minutes) |
At the advice of a friendly ranger, we added on an extension past the pinnacles. During that we got these pictures of some of the wildlife. That bighorn sheep was grazing unconcerned next to our car... after I chased after a different one on foot for an unsuccessful picture earlier.
A stop in an almost closed Wall Drug (very disappointing, I wanted the whole experience), and 30 more minutes on I90 and we were in for the night. Finally
We thought Tuesday would be shorter, and it was but barely. We started at Rushmore. Since plenty of pros with tripods were there, we limited ourself to specialty photos like this.
The rest of South Dakota was a lot less flat, due to the black hills. We stopped through crazy horse, and once again I could not do it justice so I did not try. I loved the scenery throughout western South Dakota, so much red rock and exciting changes. The grey drizzle and cold took something away from it, but we pushed through for Devil's Tower. 50 and rainy is not fun, but the snow in the forecast for Yellowstone tomorrow makes it seem fun.
American Indian's have a myth about a bird and buffalo racing- so intensely they both bled and left tracks of red throughout this area of South Dakota... I can see where it came from.
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| erratic weather has its benefits |
Tomorrow is onto snowy yellowstone, and we are into Harry Potter 4. Thats all for now from Gilette, WY
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