Our Prehistoric Day

Today's events are quite opposite from Mount Rushmore. We are going to the Flintstones Bedrock Adventure and the Mammoth Site it Hot Springs, SD.

Possibly the most exciting thing for me today was the laundry drop-off. Before we left Michigan I found a laundromat, (thank you Google), where they will do your laundry and you can pick it up at the end of the day. This allowed me to pack much lighter than normal. And, with all the hot dirty days we have had, Maddie and I are out of clothes. So, for $16, the nice lady at the “The Lost Sock” laundromat in Custer, SD did what would have been 4 loads of laundry for me and had it ready by 3p.m. Even John saw this was a much better idea than the coin operated nonsense at the campground – no matter how close to the pool it was. Definitely a “highly recommend” in my book.

But I digress – laundry dropped off, and we were off to see “The Flintstones.” This little park was very well done for what it was. We took a train ride around the park and stopped in the “Old West” for photo ops and then toured downtow Bedrock. All the buildings were set up like a neighborhood. They were furnished, but you could only look in them. We did get to sit in Fred's car though – big fun. They had a theater with Fred, Wilma and Dino animatrons doing a sing-a-long and a movie theater playing a continuous loop of Flintstones cartoons. The big ending was a chauffeured ride around a track in Barney Rubble's car. It took a little under an hour for us to go through. It was cute, definitely not a must-see, but Maddie may beg to differ. For us though, it was between the hotel and the Mammoth Site which was next on the agenda.

It was about an hour drive down to Hot Springs, SD where the Mammoth Site is located. The Mammoth Site is a large museum type building that houses the remains of 59 Wooly Mammoths and Colombian Elephants that met their demise in a large sinkhole thousands of years ago. The site is “in-situ”, Latin for “in place.” This means instead of being excavated and sent to museums all the remains stay as is and are studied at the site. It was very interesting. They estimate there are many more to find. They had also found a “short-nosed bear” in the site. Apparently this was very rare prehistoric fossil find. Only 12 others exist in the world. This was a very scary bear too! It is way bigger than a grizzly and when standing on it's back feet it could peer into a second story window. One exhibit showed how big the claw marks would be compared to the grizzly. These babies are best left extinct!

The main exhibit is set up so you walk around the whole site with the guide pointing out bones and skulls and tusks. A couple paleontologists work in the site and it is easy to see them working on the tour. It was so well done that I kind of thought it looked fake. I'm so used to seeing the fancy Field Museum fossils that these looked like something they laid out. If you go earlier in the season and have kids, you can call ahead and sign up for a Jr. Paleontologist Program where the kids can go on a supervised dig. I think it's only for fake bones in a specially designed area, but it looked like it would be fun. If you have older kids (in college), they can apply for summer internships in the actual dig.

Once again we relied on gift shop personnel for meal recommendations. The lady recommended
“Wooly's” next door – I was a bit suspicious but there were few options in Hot Springs so we tried it. This place was interesting. It was clean and spacious, but it looked like they had just called everyone they knew and asked for tables and chairs. There was even some lawn furniture – no card tables but that was about it. However, the food was excellent. Complete junk food, but that's ok. Maddie discovered Mac n Cheese wedges – basically deep fried mac n cheese, John had the beef burrito which was way to big to finish and I had possibly the best nachos I've ever had, which is really saying something, They were way to big to finish too, but I sure tried. Wooly's is a keeper.

On the drive down we kept passing in and out of Wind Cave National Park. The park is mostly undisturbed prairie with the fourth largest cave system under it. Our plan is to go to Jewel Cave Friday, but we figured as long as we were there we should check it out. Poor Maddie did another Jr. Ranger workbook. I have to give her credit for doing all of these. They are not easy and the Rangers check all the work and if anything is wrong, you'll be going back looking for the right answers. It would be one thing if we were only going to one or two sites, but we had a lot of them in this trip.

We went through the exhibits. This cave is known for it's “boxwork” formations along the ceiling of the caves. Boxwork looks like giant brown tissue paper spiderwebs along the ceiling. Boxwork is very rare, and 90 percent of the boxwork in the world in in Wind Cave. You aren't allowed to touch anything during these cave tours because of it's fragility.

We didn't take a tour but hiked out to the original entrance the miners found into the cave. They were able to find this entrance, and the cave is called Wind Cave because the cave's entrance, (an approximately three foot hole in the ground), blows out cold air from the cave all the time. Today it was just about 100 degrees so finding it was a real treat. It blows your hair from 10 feet away and feels just great. The air temperature in the cave is steady at 49 degrees. John said it is fortunate for the world that these nice miner's found the cave because he would have just built his house over the hole and never told a soul. I believe him!

Maddie got her badge and we were off – national park number 5 this week, under our belts. We headed back to Custer to pick up our laundry, (did I mention how awesome this is). The lady asked us what we had done all day. I mentioned we went to the Flintstones park and she smiled and said, “I have a true story for you.”

She said, “I am the original Pebbles.” Apparently, her aunt was building the original Bedrock theme park and Hanna and Barberra, (sp), came out to approve the design. She was a little red-headed girl and the asked if they could sketch her and use her image for Fred and Wilma's new baby daughter. They did and it is her baby image that is Pebbles. She said as long as she wore a bone in her pigtail, she got free ice cream at the park until she was about 8 years old. Go figure!

For a late afternoon treat we stopped at the “Purple Pie House” - still hoping for the elusive huckleberry pie. Once again they had huckleberry ice cream, but no pie. That's probably ok though, I didn't need much more after the nachos, even though Maddie was “starving” again.

In the evening we packed up and got ready for Jewel Cave and Custer State Park on Friday.

Mount Rushmore!

The Lodge at Palmer Gulch was just 6 miles away from Mount Rushmore which was a great treat. It seems like we haven't been less than a half hour away from anything on this trip! It was a pretty drive up to the monument. Poor Maddie has had enough of the, “Ooh Maddie, look at that (fill in the lovely bit of scenery).” But I really wanted to make sure she saw Mount Rushmore as we approached it. So I bet her a dollar I would see it before her. Not surprisingly, my kid will scan scenery like Ansel Adams an a Yellowstone photo shoot for a buck. (I'm sure she gets it from her Dad!) Unfortunately for Maddie and being the bad Mom I am – I saw it first and blurted it out, because I was so surprised to see it full-sized. No dollar for Maddie, but oh the scenery she enjoyed – priceless!

Parking at the Monument was very easy. A $10 parking fee, is required but it is good for a calendar year. You'll want to come back for the night program so this fee makes a little sense Plus other options are limited unless you come by bus or shuttle. The shuttle from our Lodge was $6 per person and I have no idea what a bus tour would cost.

The park built around the monument is beautiful and very easy to get around. The National Parks office where Maddie picked up her Junior Ranger booklet was just inside the entrance. Across from this office/shop was a place to get an audio tour. We didn't choose this option but did the Ranger led tour instead.

The monument itself it just incredible. This was the first time any of us had seen it so that was neat. At first glance it doesn't look as big as it should, but then you realize how far away from it you are and that humans were actually up there creating it. And doing all this back in the 30's – unbelievable.

The Ranger and the exhibits focused a lot on the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who designed and created, (supervised the creating of), the faces. He had almost completed the Stone Mountain, Georgia sculpture of the Confederate Generals when he had a falling out with the Daughters of the Confederacy. They fired him, blew up the work he'd completed and started again. His work was ruined, but he had a lot of experience to bring to Mount Rushmore. Most of the “sculpting” was done with dynamite charges. They blew of big and little chunks until they got to granite they could carve. 400 men worked on the monument for 14 years.

The trail around the base of the monument leads to Borglum's sculpture studio which is worth the walk. The studio itself is beautiful and offers a unique view of the mountain.

We had lunch at the cafe, which was typical cafeteria food but convenient. Maddie finished her Jr. Ranger material and got her official badge. There is a huge gift shop in the park, but I would recommend buying anything you can through the National Parks office. Hopefully the park will get more of the proceeds.

In Washington DC, and now on this trip, we purchase a pin at each place we visit. Maddie puts them on a lanyard and later, does a nice job going through them and telling people the highlights. She then has a nice keepsake and we don't have to say, “no” to a favorite stuffed animal at every park we visit.

In our attempt to balance national park majesty with cheesy touristy family fun, next we proceeded to the Mt. Rushmore Tram and Alpine Slide. For $20 Maddie and I took a chair lift that promised views of Mt. Rushmore, (lie), up to the beginning of a slide cut into the hill that you went down in a little sled. It was a relaxing ride up but since neither of us knew what we were doing on the way down, it was fun, but a little boring. We would have been smarter and more daring the next trip, but that wasn't going to happen.

We went back to the lodge for a break before the night program. We swam and napped, but thought we'd get dinner after the program. Big mistake, the restaurants all closed at 9p.m. They may stay open longer during the high season but check that out before you go. We got back around 9:15.

The night program was awesome. We arrived around 7:15. The actual program starts at 8p.m. With the lighting of the monument at 8:30. Patriotic music is played as everyone takes their seats in an enormous outdoor amphitheater located at the base of the monument. The Ranger gives a short talk and presents a movie about the monument.

At the end of the movie all veterans in attendance are invited to come on the stage and be recognized. I estimate more than 100 veterans gathered on stage. It was very moving. They performed the flag lowering led andthe audience in “The Star Spangled Banner” as the monument was lit and the amphitheater went dark. It was awesome with not a dry eye in the house.

John took some beautiful photos, If you have the opportunity to ever see this, I highly recommend it.

Reptile Gardens and Moving Day

Following Bear Country USA we went just up the road to Reptile Gardens. This is another heavily advertised attraction in the Black Hills area. I was a little suspicious that it might be just a bunch of algae covered tanks with some snakes and frogs stashed in them, but was pleasantly surprised. It was a very nice place. The “Gardens” part of Reptile Garden was very appropriate. There were flower beds and hanging flowers everywhere and somehow they were all in bloom even in mid-August. The three popular shows are scheduled so you can easily do the park in 2-2 ½ hours. The shows are Birds of Prey, Snakes and Alligators and Crocodiles. They were cute shows and very informative. John liked the Birds of Prey, especially the vultures, best. Maddie, of course, loved the snakes because she's such an expert from all her time spent with Tom at Sarett and Curious Kids. I liked the gator show. I'm sure the presenter was just very good at what he did, but I was really nervous for him that one of those gators was going to get him. He was in there with more than 40 of them and several would walk around, looking very sneaky. The sea turtles were neat too. The one Maddie is petting is 129 years old and named Methusela. I bet he wasn't born with that name. This ended up being a very nice place and thus far, the highlight of Maddie's trip.

Next - Off to find our new hotel. We are planning on staying 3 nights at The Lodge at Palmer Gulch. The lodge is affiliated with a KOA campground and I booked it because it looked like it was centrally located to the places we are planning on visiting and the amenities looked very family friendly.

*Just a note on booking places to stay out here. It's really tough. Few places have great websites and even those that have them are really uninformative. I used tripadvisor.com a lot to try to get a feel of how good or bad they would be, but we never really knew until we walked in the door. Plus lodging is not cheap out here. Our average was about $150 a night. Camping is probably much cheaper, but that is not my specialty. Also they all had strict cancellation policies – many were 15 day cancellations or you were charged the full fee. Not good when you aren't really sure how long you would like to stay at each place. There were cheaper places to stay and I do like comfortable hotel rooms, but be very careful booking the cheap ones, because some were really cheap – like bring your own bedding cheap. Not this girl – but enough of that -

Palmer Gulch turned out to be great. The room was spartan but large with a king sized bed, roll-away bed and a balcony. The amenities were awesome, especially for Maddie. 2 pools, an enormous jumping pillow, water fountain splash pad, water slide, putt-putt golf, evening movies, (Madagscar and Ernest Goes to Camp while we were there), riding stables, giant chess and checkers, etc. For grown-ups there was an adult pool, indoor sauna and whirlpool, coffee shop with wine tastings at night a couple restaurants and camp stores. A very nice place to spend the national park heavy portion of our trip.

They also offer all you can eat pancake breakfasts, (which we did a couple days – yum!), chuckwagon dinners and a trail ride to a chuckwagon breakfast too. The trail ride would have been fun if we had had a little more time. Fees were associated with each of these activities but were reasonable.

For dinner we went into Hill City to poke around and try a restaurant heartily recommended by the Clapp's. The Alpine Inn serves your choice of a 9oz. or 6oz. bacon-wrapped filet mignon. That is all. Each meal comes with a wedge of iceburg letuce with homemade ranch dressing and a baked potato. It was delicious and very reasonable, ($10.95 for the 9 oz.). This was John's happiest meal of the trip. The Inn also had a huge selection of homemade desserts that are worth trying too. John, Maddie and I split the crème brulee and apple and cream cheese strudel – we didn't send anything back.

So, to re-cap, we are in a nice hotel, we have swum and hot-tubbed and had a great meal. We are ready and looking forward to Mount Rushmore tomorrow.

Bears, Bears and Alligators!

Today, we left Deadwood and made our way through Rapid City and on to Hill City where we are staying at The Lodge at Palmer Gulch. But before we got there we went to Bear Country, USA and Reptile Gardens. These two attractions are very close to each other and both very well done. John and I both enjoyed them, but Maddie LOVED them.

We did Bear Country first. This is basically a drive-thru zoo, (my new favorite kind of zoo!). Each section was marked with it's featured animal and the path took us through it's habitat and the animals were free to roam wherever they liked. It was very cool because the animals were used to the cars and most were close to where the cars passed and more than a few were right in the road as we waited for them to pass. (See the arctic wolf on right - he was in no hurry to get off the road.)

They had elk, reindeer, wolves, deer, antelope, bears - lots of bears, and a tiny herd of bison. Once you drove through the park they had a walking area called "Babyland" where we saw some baby bear cubs and smaller animals it they're collection. The most interesting was the badger. He was very active when saw him.

My connection is slowing down because of the pictures. I'll post this one and talk about Reptile World a little later. Ciao for now!

Devil's Tower and Deadwood

We got a bit of a late start Monday - this Griswold method of vacationing is exhausting! We drove up to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower, a national monument just over the border. It was a beautiful drive out of the Black Hills and into Wyoming. The landscape just kept expanding. Apparently this is a big ranching area, not many houses but lots of rolling land.

This way into Wyoming - off I-90 has a great welcome center. I know it sounds odd, but this welcome center was state of the art. Flat screen video panels with special video presentations, interactive displays, photo ops, coffee, a very friendly and informative staff, a and I believe, every brochure ever produced in the great state of Wyoming.

We asked where to go to lunch and they sent us to "Cindy's" in the fine town of Aladdin, population 15. Apparently, their population is their claim to fame. The town consisted of Cindy's, a motel, (owned by Cindy), and the General Store and Post Office which are more than 120 years old. Maddie even got a pin for her lanyard with the town and its population proudly proclaimed.

Our lunches were delicious. BLT's, potato soup and peach pie were on our menus. I even had some huckleberry ice cream, (alas, no huckleberry pie). The lunch "crowd" was interesting. Half seemed local, and half must have gone to the same welcome center as we did. The best was when some German tourists asked the men in cowboy hats if they could take their pictures because they thought they were cowboys. The old guys didn't quite know what to do, but they finally said yes and smiled for their picture. We went through the General Store after lunch and it was just a hodge podge of stuff but a fun stop. Definitely a great lunch stop all the way around.

Devil's Tower was very cool. It is a huge rock formation that was formed by a volcano million's of years ago. It is a sacred site to many Native American tribes, (most people out here use the term Indian instead of Native American, I don't know if that's ok or not.) But it's now part of

the National Park system, so it was packed and Maddie got to do another Jr. Ranger program.

We heard a talk on "Climbing Devil's Tower." The fastest it had ever been climbed was 18 minutes. In contrast, we met some climbers just coming, "off the rock" during our hike at about 2 p.m. and they had started at 6 a.m. It was their first time climbing it and they had "summited." We saw several groups of climbers at different points of their climb as we walked around the base. It was a 1.3 mile loop, just around the base! We were very happy we added this to our trip.

We came back to Deadwood through Spearfish Canyon. Alpine Coffee in downtown Spearfish provided an afternoon treat for us and the frappes and scones were delicious, (beware the late day coffee though.) I was really looking forward to Spearfish Canyon. I had just read that Frank Lloyd Wright said it rivaled the Grand Canyon in it's majesty. Mr. Wright may have had a better tour guide than my guide book but it wasn't even close to the Grand Canyon. It was a very

scenic drive through the canyon, with lookout stops along the way. The one place I thought we would take a hike was closed to hikers and I wasn't up to figuring out a new place. So, we enjoyed the drive, John took some incredible pictures and we made it to Deadwood in time for a little dastardly deed and dinner.

The dastardly deed was, of course, the reenactment of Jack McCall shooting Wild Bill Hickok in the #10 Saloon. For a death scene it was very cute. "Wild Bill" was an actor from California who had been playing various western characters for years and knew all about the history of Bill Hickok, Deadwood and the other characters of the town. He explained it all before the play and then he, with a group of audience members acted out the last fatal moments of Wild Bill's life. He sat, for the first time, with his back to the door and in walked the drifter Jack McCall and shot him in the back. Wild Bill was holding 2 black aces and 2 black 8's when he died, thus known as The Dead Man's Hand. Maddie asked exactly what kind of pistols he liked to use. John was so proud. "Wild Bill" went through what kind they were, how they were loaded and how to shoot them. Maddie or John can tell you all about it, I don't have a clue, but I liked the show.

After we went upstairs to the #10 Social Club and had dinner. It was a little nicer place than most of Deadwood. I had a chicken and tortellini pasta and John had a pork dish that he really liked. We ate outside and it was a perfect night.

Wednesday we check out of The Lodge at Deadwood and head for The Lodge at Palmer Gulch in Hill City, SD close to Mount Rushmore.

A HOT! Time in the Badlands

Sunday was our big day in the Badlands. Saturday at the night program the Ranger shared that Saturday had been the warmest day of the year, but fear not, Sunday was going to be warmer. Oh, and it was. It was 92 by our 8:30 a.m. Geology Walk and over 100 for the 10:30 a.m. Jr. Ranger Program. By the time we left the park after the 1:30 p.m. Fossil Walk it was 106 and the word "hot" just didn't seem to capture the inferno that was the Badlands. This is a family blog, but I developed all kinds of colorful adjective combinations to describe the words "hot" and "degrees."

That bit of grousing out of the way - the Badlands really are an incredible place. Once in the large formations, every where you turn is a new and spectacular scene. These were all formed after the dinosaurs by erosion left over from the big inland ocean that covered the middle of the united states. There are many, many fossils here, but not dinosaur fossils, because the dinos didn't swim out that far. Much to Maddie's dismay, any fossils she may have found, (no she did not find any), had to be left behind and reported to a Ranger. They have paleontologists on call 24/7 just in case a fossil is found. This fact was mentioned a couple times and I couldn't help but laugh picturing random paleontologists just waiting to spring into action after getting "the call." But apparently it's a big deal in certain circles.

The Jr. Ranger program lasted 45 minutes in a dried out creek bed and focused on features of a prairie. Since I promised no more grousing let me just tell you about the Jr. Ranger programs in the National Parks. The national sites we have been to over the past two years have each had they're own Jr. Ranger programs. They have different formats at each one and different ways to earn badges or patches. Usually they are workbooks that a kid can fill out and complete by checking out the highlights of the park. The Rangers are usually excited to help, but they do correct the whole thing before you get your badge. The kids also are issued an oath by the Ranger to enjoy and protect the parks. It's a great way to keep them interested as we grown-ups enjoy the scenery and information.

In the Badlands, the kids completed a bingo card with things they saw or learned about in the prairie. The Ranger Allison did an excellent job keeping the kids interested by making prairies really interesting. We've yet to come across a Ranger that wasn't just top notch. Maddie earned a badge AND a patch during this program.

The Fossil Walk turned out to be a Fossil "Talk" under the shade of a gazebo next to a fossil trail. Maddie said the most interesting thing she learned was that some of the species found in the area are the ancestors of today's domestic cats. I opted out of that one and did a little "planning" for the next few days in the AC.

Probably the biggest downfall of the heat was that we weren't able to do any of the hikes or climb on the formations. The Badlands is what is called an "open park" so you can go and do whatever you would like. Maddie would have loved to practice her mountain goat techniques and I'm sure the hikes would have been well worth it. I guess someday we'll just have to get back and do it.

Next, we were off to Deadwood. An old western town developed during the gold rush and known now for low stakes gambling. The entire town is on the historic register and it is the final resting place for Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. It was about a 3 hour drive from the Badland's and we stayed at The Lodge at Deadwood.

The Lodge at Deadwood is a brand new hotel/casino/restaurant. They opened Dec. 2009. Our room was huge with 2 Queen beds and a roll-away couch. The pool was very nice for the 8 and under set. It was set up like the toddler area of a water park. Little slides, mushroom fountains and lily pads. The deepest spot was 3'6". Maddie had fun with the lily pads. The hot tub was huge but out of service. They seem to be working out some of the kinks in the hotel - including their alleged wi-fi. But for us, it was a good location and a wonderful treat after my version of roughing it in the Badlands.

We missed the gunfights on the streets downtown but had dinner at Diamond Lil's. It was kind of a shrine to Kevin Costner. They had many of his costumes from all his movies. Dances with Wolves was filmed in the area and he is still fond of the area. The food was very average, buffalo burgers and a regular burger. We probably wouldn't recommend it unless you are a huge Kevin Costner fan.

Monday we'll go a little farther west and travel to Wyoming - Yee Ha!

The Corn Palace and Beyond!

(Not surprisingly, internet service is a little sketchy out here, so my posts may be a little less than timely. My apologies. Anyway...)

We're off to the Corn Palace! Definitely stop-worthy. Not the Taj Majal, but they sure tried. We met Cornelius the mascot and saw the movie on why it is there – they were in a battle with the nearby town of Plankinton who were erecting a Grain Palace in the late 1800's and the Mitchell-ite's were not going to be outdone. And apparently they weren't - because 100 years later there's a big shiny Cabela's at the Mitchell exit and bupkis at the Plankinton exit. Take that Palace O'Grain!

We spent about an hour at the Palace and had a great lunch at Teresa's Cafe. Teresa's was quite a hip oasis in this cowboy/western town and the frozen lemonade and chicken salad was delicious. We highly recommend it and it's on Facebook.

We did stop by the Cabela's because the were hosting a Quick-Draw Pistol competition, (and also because it was Cabela's). It appeared to be a national competition and they were indeed quick. I honestly couldn't tell if the shooters were in costume or they just always dressed like old west gunslingers. The women were dressed a little less flamboyantly except for one who looked like Mae West with a gun – not a good look in 100 degree heat.

Next, about a 3 hour trip to the Badlands area. First, we made a trip to the Minuteman Missile Launch Site. It is one of the newest National Historic Sites and was semi-interesting. They had a good movie for kids which explained the Cold War and why we had these missiles placed all over the West and a Jr. Ranger Program. Maddie got her picture taken with both Rangers - apparently a first, very exciting. We then made the short drive over to the actual Missile Silo. There wasn't a lot there, but there was an actual missile in the ground - viewed through a lovely skylight. They were not able to do a tour that day or else we would have been able to take the elevator down. That would have been cool, but it was still neat to see.

We decided to stop at Wall Drug before going into the Badlands Park. That turned out to be a good idea, because Wall Drug was as kitschy and commercial as promised but it was a fun stop. However, it really would have looked silly in comparison the the Badlands, so we're happy we did it first. Maddie got a cowboy hat, (green of course), and we picked up some homemade doughnuts for Sunday's breakfast – they were quite good. Maddie is still searchin for a real-live Jack-a-Lope.

Then we were off to the Badlands where we were staying for the night. Right past both Main Entrances to the park are scenic overlooks and they are both just spectacular. Driving in you see some of the formations in the distance but it's a very boring drive overall, so to pull in and see this incredible panorama of shape and color as far as the eye can see is overwhelming. The first sight of it doesn't even look real. We stopped at some more outlooks on the way to Cedar Lodge. We saw the prairie dog town and a big horn sheep and her baby. Half of the Badlands are prairie so we were going through a lot of that too. It was a fun loop.

We got to our cabin which was tiny, but had a bathroom and as they say, location, location, location. There are not many lodging options in or around the Badlands. Cedar Pass has these cabins and a campground. It's worth it to stay, because anything else would be a really long drive and not much better unless you drove over from Rapid City, which is about a 2 hour drive. Book these cabins early. There are only about 30. As tiny and as old as these cabins are, (at least 50 years old by my guess), they were immaculately clean. There was not a speck of dust or grime. John thought he'd lost his wedding ring and we searched the room high and low. Even around the beds and chairs were spotless. (John found his ring in his wallet, so we're still married.)

The lodge has a restaurant which was fine. Nice servers and simple food and frankly, no other options. By our third meal we were ready for a change, but grateful it was available. After dinner we were off to the Ranger led Night Sky Program. Now, I was very excited for this and went on and on to Maddie about all the stars and galaxies she was going to get to see. She's a city girl who is out like a light by 9p.m. most nights – she's only rarely seen fireworks, so this was going to be awesome. Well....it was a beautiful night, with just a few clouds and a big, brilliantly white moon to light up the entire sky. I think the Ranger was more disappointed than I was. All we could see was the big dipper and Mercury – and a beautiful moon! Oh well, we were definitely ready for bed. Sunday – more Badlands!

We Made It!

We made it to lovely Sioux Falls, SD at 7:15 p.m. CST on Friday. We did pretty well - we were on the highway by 7:30 a.m. EST. We survived Chicago's rush hour, (bad planning on my part - we could have slept in another hour, or I suppose gotten up an hour earlier - nah!), and stopped in the Wisconsin Dells for lunch.

We saw a sign for "Buffalo Phil's" that advertised a train brought your food to your table and decided to try it. It was a huge place all buffalo-ed out and the train was cute. It was a little Lionel that made a loop through a kitchen area and did indeed stop at tables. We skipped the half hour wait for one of those tables and just watched. The food was pretty bland, but they did have a pizza and pasta buffet which we probably should have done instead.

The restaurant was right next to an outlet mall. In the hope of finding a Columbia outlet with a sunblocker shirt for Maddie we made a side trip. It was an excellent outlet that was designed to feel like you were outdoors but was covered with a vaulted ceiling and would have been very comfortable in the winter. No luck with a shirt but would be worth a trip if you were in the Dells for the weekend. Speaking of which - driving past the Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge waterparks may not have been the kindest thing to do to Maddie. She wasn't quite sure why we were about to drive 10 more hours when we were already in such an awesome place. Ahhh, wait until she gets to the Badlands in 100 degree weather and no pool - she will be so happy with her mother!

The drive from there was boring but smooth. There is nothing, but corn in Minnesota along I-90 the whole way to South Dakota. (Whoops, John just reminded me there was a Deke Slayton Bicycle Museum, silly me. We didn't stop.) The good news was it made reaching Sioux Falls really exciting. We went straight to Falls Park and it was just lovely, (Thank you Melissa H.!)

We could walk all over the rocks and the park had overlooks and paths all through it so there were excellent and unique views of the falls everywhere you went. The visitor's center had a huge viewing tower about 5 stories tall that was very well maintained. We spent just over an hour exploring. They were gearing up for a light and music show they do all summer, (compliments of Wells Fargo, thank you Kristin!), but we were to hungry and tired to stay.

There was a cool looking restaurant in an old building overlooking the falls that would have been perfect. Unfortunately they keep erratic hours, but are always closed by 8. We agreed Silver Beach Pizza needs to expand!

So we dined at Fuddrucker's and stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites. Very nice king suite with sofa bed, continental breakfast and a small but immaculate pool.

Saturday we are off to the Corn Palace and beyond arriving at the Badlands in the late afternoon. Hopefully by then I will figure out how to post pictures!