Summer Adventure 2013: Days 34 and 35

Day 34 July 10- We were really hoping that our repairs would be done sooner but that didn’t happen. We packed up our belongings at Scott and Auntie Pete's home, cleaned up their home from any messes we had made (well, as much as we could anyway), and said our good-byes by noon. We stopped at the RV shop to find that we still had a couple of hours to kill before it was ready. Irritating, since we were chomping at the bit to be on the road by now. We found a fun 50s diner to have lunch at downtown. We really liked the décor and the menu. Everything tasted good. We filled up since we didn’t know when we’d stop again for a meal. We still had a long trip ahead of us.

We finally were able to drive off the repair lot at 3:00 and saying good-bye to another big chunk of money. But, we were assured that we should no longer have any issues with raising/lowering the pop-up. Hurrah!

We had a long drive to South Dakota. I called to cancel our reservation at the Badlands KOA, since our arrival would have just been way too late. I had no internet connection to be able to find a closer campground, but luckily the AAA book had one listed in Custer City. I had a weak signal but after two tries was able to get a site booked at a Flintstones campground. We arrived in the dark around 9:00. At first, we weren’t able to get the electricity to work, but Ed and the boys had forgotten that the light switches and a/c were all turned off when it was left in the shop, so once they turned the switches on, voila, it was fine. We were happy to have no other issues setting up. We made mac and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and salads by the light of the lanterns and our camper lights. Ed was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He drove the entire day. The rest of us stayed up just a short while longer, but with very slow internet connection we got frustrated quickly and also went to bed.

Bernie's Diner in Billings, MT

Day 35 July 11 – South Dakota

Ed got up earlier than the rest of us as usual and was anxious to get started on our day’s adventures. We were ready before check-out time, with just a simple breakfast of cereal and English muffins. We didn’t get to see much of the Flintstones campground except for the decorated shower/bath building and office. There was a mini train, magic shows, and other special events that we noticed as we exited the grounds. The kids would have really loved it when they were younger. They didn't express much interest in checking any of it out as we passed by.

On our way to Mt. Rushmore (less than 20 miles away), we saw a large KOA with horses in a corral near the front. Here was the possibility of horseback riding for Ali. We pulled into the campground to inquire about it. The shortest ride available was 1hr.10 min. The next time to ride would be 1:00 and it was 11:00 now. Ed and I knew that it meant we would arrive at our next stop pretty late, but we knew it was something the kids really wanted to do and didn’t know if there would be any more convenient opportunity than this. We reserved the time for Ali and Ian. Cameron said that it was too smelly to be of interest to him! We stopped in the ice cream shop for some shakes and a float before heading to Mount Rushmore, just 10 minutes up the road.

We were directed to a convenient RV parking spot and headed into the memorial. The sculpted heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were impressive. I have only a vague memory of seeing it as a child. Hope my kids will have a better memory of it in the future than I had. We spent some time in the visitor center to learn more about how it came to fruition and more details of the carving. After a few photos and another viewing from the terrace, we made our way back to the campground that we had reservations at (it’s the 2^nd largest KOA!). I took some pictures of Ali on Junior and Ian on Horse before they set off on their ride. They came back a little sore, but very pleased with their outing, having come across a deer and her doe right beside the trail. Now Cameron wished that he had gone.

Cameron and Ed took advantage of the pool while the two were on their horseback trip (it was too chilly for me, but I at least hung my legs in the water to keep cool). After a quick clean-up for everyone, we were on our way through the rest of South Dakota. We had some cheese and crackers to tide us over before lunch.

Our next stop was Wall Drug Store in Wall, SD, the northern gateway to Badlands National Park. My friend, Emily, had told me of it before our trip and the fond memories she and her family had there when she was a kid. The block-long store first became famous in the 30s when they offered free ice water to thirsty travelers via roadside signs, which they still do, along with 5 cent coffee. We stopped and had lunch in their cafeteria, Ian and Ed trying out their signature buffalo burger, and Ed and I having their cheap coffee. We explored their departments getting some owl earrings for Ali, before heading out to their large “Backyard” which had a water playground and another building with a giant animatronic dinosaur. There was so much to see that we could have spent the entire day here. But, alas, we had many hours of driving left.

South Dakota proved to be 6 hours long with mostly small sloping hills of various shades of green covered with crops or hay bales (If I had to guess, I would say close to 100,000 of them!), occasional clusters of short sturdy trees, and groups of cattle (long horn and angus) huddled together looking like they were meeting to perhaps plan their escape. Reminded me of one of my favorite humorous children’s books with talking cows, Minnie and Moo. Hardly any water to view along the route, except for some small reservoirs.

The longer we drove, the grumpier Ed got, whether it was him in the driver’s seat or me. He was more than tired of the uninteresting landscape and just wanted to be at our campground in Sioux Falls. The more upset he became, the more irritated the rest of us became. It was not a pleasant finish to our day. We arrived at the KOA at 11:15pm with a lot of construction work on the local roadways. After we found our night registration paperwork waiting for us and drove into our site, we tried to get set up quickly. Of course, we discovered that the electrical outlet that we needed was being used by the large RV parked in the spot beside us (Ed calls them land yachts). They were not only using their own electrical box, but ours, too! But, what do we do? Ian suggested unplugging theirs, since everyone already seemed to be asleep and we couldn't just go knocking on their RV door. While Ed entertained the idea for a few seconds, we knew that we couldn’t do it. We were lucky that the site that backed up to us was also empty, so we took it upon ourselves to move our camper into that spot. It was another inconvenience, more so because of the late hour. But, at least, we got it taken care of fairly quickly and easily. We couldn’t imagine anyone else coming into the grounds wanting that site tonight. Thankfully, our big lunch from earlier and the snacks we had along the way, kept us full and not needing any dinner. We didn’t do anything else after setting up, except for getting our pjs on, brushing our teeth, and hitting our pillows. Hoping for an easier day tomorrow.