Homeward Bound

We are counting down the days to get home! On our way through South Dakota, we stopped at the Corn Palace en route to Badlands National Park. Maddie built us a beautiful fire pit at our campsite- we were so proud! The forecast wasn’t good for our time there but we got lucky Sunday morning and had no rain. We went on “The Notch” trail and were rewarded with beautiful views. This hike had some steep parts and a section that you got to climb a ladder! The kids loved climbing the rocks and checking out caves- it was like a kid’s dream playground. Luckily we did not run into any rattlesnakes but did see some bison up close. On our way through South Dakota, we encountered what felt like hundreds of signs for Wall Drug. We had no idea what it was but figured we better see what the big deal was about. We stopped at Wall Drug and it was a fun attraction. It was a western themed “store” with everything you could possibly imagine. We got some pie, ice cream, donuts, and coffee. They had an arcade and lots of fun entertainment for the kids. We stayed the night in Rapid City in a hotel with a pool and waterslide. This was a major highlight for the kids and Maddie met a new friend with the same bathing suit. Our guy, Alex Palou, won the Indy 500 which got the Madings all excited! We visited Mount Rushmore on Memorial Day which was a big let down. Due to the weather, we couldn’t see the monument. It was rainy and foggy. Darn it. When we went through the intial check-in site the gentlemen told us to save our tickets and come back when we could see it… We kind of thought he was joking, but sure enough he wasn’t kidding. We ventured on to Sheridan, Wyoming. Our original plan was to go to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks but we decided to start heading home. We are enjoying being back in the mountains! I threw in a picture at the end to show how Rye is getting his work done in the car… LOL!