Badlands to Rapid City

Today marks the end of week one of the roadtrip. So far, no major injuries, lost items, lost children, RV issues or other calamities. I'm knocking wood right now just to be safe. We've come a long way in seven days, and to be honest it feels like we've been on the road twice that long, but not in a bad way. It just feels like we're a long way from home - which, in fact, we are.

We had a relaxing morning at the campround and then went back to Badlands National Park. It is one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. One minute you're looking at green grass and the next minute, you turn a corner and there are rocky spires and canyons as far as you can see. It was a very spiritual place to me - quiet and otherworldly. (Iposted new pictures in the first Badlands post - scroll down and check them out.)

You already heard that Henry and Ruth earned their Junior Ranger badges by participating in a Ranger program. The ranger was great and said he's participated in a few National Geographic productions. Jeff said he looked like Newman on Seinfeld, and I could see that.

We then went back through the park and out to the Sage Creek area where the prairie dogs and buffalo are. At the Junior Ranger program, the kids learned that the the prairie dogs and buffalo coexist by helping one another. The prairie dogs cut down the tall prairie grass to use in their underground houses, which clears the way for the buffalo to eat the short, tender grass underneath. In turn, by hanging around the areas where the prairie dogs live, the buffalo keep predators that hunt prairie dogs away. A good deal for all. See, you learned something by reading the blog!

As we approached Rapid City, which sits at the beginning of the Black Hills of South Dakota, we could see lightning and storm clouds over the area. Just as we stopped for lunch, it started to rain. It's so windy that the storm came and went a few times. It was awesome to watch the storm - there was a storm cloud that hung so low that Jeff told the kids he could reach up and touch it.

We then rode out to Bear Country, USA so Henry could see some animals up close. The bison in the Badlands were so far away that it was hard to comprehend the size of them. It poured for awhile as we drove through the animal park, but the bears didn't seem to mind. The mountain lions wanted no part of the rain and stayed in their little houses. My favorite part of the park was seeing the baby bears. So cute! We passed on Reptile Gardens, which was right next door.

One thing to note now that we've hit the Black Hills - the temperature has changed. Yesterday at Wall Drug it was 100 degrees, and today a bank clock said it was 72 - I'd say it was closer to 65. When we got to the campground, the kids wanted to swim, and we froze when we got out. The wind has been going strong all evening, and I'm quite proud that I got a fire started to cook on with all the blustering going on. This will likely be the first night we don't have to run the air conditioner, and both Jeff and I were happy to put on jeans and long sleeve shirts and get out of the heat.

I'm trying to pick up some local food and drink products to try. I bought Indian Fry Bread after one of my co-workers recommended we try it. I'll let you know how it goes after I make it. I think it's a flatbread - there's no yeast in it. I also found some meat spice blends made in Wyoming at the store today, and even though they say they're good on elk, buffalo and venison, I thought the garlic and pepper blend was just fine on chicken.

Well, we're still out of whack because of the second time change - we're in the Mountain time zone now - so I think I'm going to call it a night. The challenge hasbeen not being able to fall sleep and then waking up early - which leads to grouchy travelers. Tomorrow we head to Hill City, South Dakota, about 30 minutes from here, I think. That will be our base camp for a few days while we go to Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park (home of the Buffalo traffic jam), the Iron Mountain Road, a Mammoth fossil dig site, maybe a cave and God knows what else.

Thanks to everyone who is following us on our adventure!