South Dakota…the Good, the Bad & the Ugly!!!

Hi family & friends…it’s been a while! We’ve been busy here, making the most of every day…even when “the most” is relaxing all day in the mountain air. But don’t worry, we didn’t forget about our blog. Actually, the past several weeks have been combined with what I consider to be the all-encompassing task of teacher planning. Knowing me, you won’t be surprised that I work much better with weekly teacher plans…just knowing our entire year of ROADschool is mapped out gives me such a peace of mind. In the chaos of life after our move & before this trip, I was able to get all of our curricula together, but I like to have the schedule posted each week & I didn’t pull that one off. So over the past 2 weeks, I was able to sit back, overlooking the majestic snow-capped peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park & complete my teacher planning for 30 weeks of school….woohooooooo!!!!! We’re now in Utah & I’m finally getting to the blog while the kids are doing their school work. One big prop for my great husband, who should have been a teacher!! While I oversee the work as more of a principal, Ken is making school (especially science & memory work) SO FUN for the kids. I’m totally dull in comparison & I couldn’t do it without him! But I’ve jumped ahead…let’s go back to where we left off….its Dakota time!!

SOUTH DAKOTA…the Good, the Bad & the Ugly!

The GOOD…well, EVERYTHING!!!! Could this be our favorite state? How come we say that everywhere we go??!!

The BAD…tornados & storm shelters…& the mud that followed!!

The UGLY…we will let you judge for yourself when you see our Gruffalo!!

Truthfully, I don’t think I could have improved much about our time in South Dakota. It was breathtaking….can I say that again?…BREATHTAKING!!!!! The rolling green hills, which are the Black Hills, were phenomenal. But let me back up & fill you in on our journey into the Black Hills.

Waking up early in Mitchell, SD, we went for a quick stop at the world’s only Corn Palace. Way cool, other than the fact that it was completely under construction. What a bummer…but we did get to see plenty of pictures of it’s many corn mosaics over the years. Also, watching them tack up the ears of corn on the exterior was definitely fun. Overall, a short but sweet visit.

Heading west on I-90, we drove through the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Take a look & squint your eyes…grassland as far as you can see. Just an awe-inspiring & unforgettable sight to have taken in!!

Bound for the Badlands, with one stop at 1880 Town. Yes, it’s an entire town with historical buildings from 1880-1920 era. You actually feel like you’ve stepped back in time here. Do you remember the movie Dances with Wolves? Many of the movie props are housed here, along with the gravesite of the horse, Cisco/Buck, as this was his home. Great museum, but we enjoyed walking through the town the most!!

Enjoying a bottle of Sarsaparilla & some live Saloon music!!

Next stop…Interior, SD. Our campground was just on the edge of the Badlands which is like nothing we have ever experienced before. Talk about extreme landscape!! It’s amazing that anything can survive in this terrain…other than rattlesnakes! The Badlands area was once part of a giant salt water sea which spanned from the Gulf of Mexico all the way up past Canada into the Arctic. Changes over the past 25 million years have left these lands fertile with prehistoric animal fossils. This National Park is different from others in that, due to the high rate of erosion, you are allowed to explore every inch of the park. Nothing is off-limits & it’s probable you will find fossils if you are looking. We took in a lesson on fossils from the Park Ranger (that counts towards science/geology, right??!!…yeah!!!) & took off exploring the strange terrain on our own. No snake sightings & we saw plenty of prairie dogs…what a great day!!

Exhausted & sweaty, we headed to Wall Drug…”Where the Heck is Wall Drug?”

..it’s in Wall, SD, where else would it be?!

Eager to get there, we arrived & laughed at just how big it was! What started as a small struggling drug store in 1931, the sweet owners decided to post signs on the highway offering free ice water in order to bring people in. It worked!! To this day, they still offer free ice water & coffee for only a nickel…& they serve about 5,000 people each day of summer!! It was a fun outing, I mean, where else is coffee just 5 cents??

After such a beautiful, exhausting day without a cloud in the sky, almost 100 degrees, but no humidity (I’m cheering about the lack of humidity still!!), we were all wiped out. Once the kids were fast asleep, Ken & I were enjoying the heat lightning show over the Badland formations in the vast expanse of sky…only to hear our neighbors talking about a storm heading our way. Keep in mind, we are living in pioneer like conditions without internet or even TV in this small town. Further talk from the campground owner confirmed that we were in for possible tornadoes & grapefruit sized hail…say what???!!! I’m not sure, but my gut tells me that I’d rather not be in a camper or mobile home of any kind in this weather!! Not sure if it would pass us over & not wanting to wake the kids unless necessary, Ken kept up with the other campers…& me…well, I like to be prepared as you know…

…so I threw together 2 days worth of food, grabbed passports/ jewelry/ cash, any other emergency items, medicines, pillows, dog beds, etc. It was a little crazy, but WHAT IF our camper blew away. And wait a sec….if it blows away, where will we be???? We prayed in the quiet before the storm, asking for guidance on whether to leave in the truck or not. But drive where? The blackness of the night would make it impossible to know where to go & we were literally in the middle of nowhere!! As the winds started to pick up, we knew it was time to make a move. The campground owner said the campers could gather in the campstore & that was our best option. We woke the kids up & had them throw on boots & load their arms with as much of my “emergency supply bags” as they could carry, along with holding the dogs. With much effort, we opened the camper door & headed toward the office. God’s power reflected in sand storms is something I will never forget!!! We had to close our eyes & hold on to each other in order to stay together as the wind whipped us around & pelted sand into our backs & our hair. We made it safely inside & waited & prayed. My sweet boy happens to love reading all about weather. He loves to talk about Tornado Alley & thinks about it all the time. To have read all about tornado destruction in this case, really terrified him. He couldn’t stop shivering & his teeth were chattering loudly in the hot room. What a chance to talk about God & immediately feel HIS peace that transcends all understanding!!!

A couple hours later, thankfully our camper was in the same place without ANY harm!!! Thank you Lord!!! We did have hail, which would continue throughout our entire South Dakota visit in Custer & Hills City as well, but our camper & Ken’s truck were completely protected!! Our neighbor had a busted window in their camper, but that was the only real damage. One thing that struck us as completely different from Florida was that after a huge storm, when you wake up in the morning, since there are no trees around & you’re in the middle of desert grassland, there isn’t any debris on the ground. Other than a lot of mud, we woke up the following morning to a new day of sunny, cloudless skies & clear grounds…except for plenty of MUD!! On a funny note, it took me a little while to figure out why my bed was so sandy that morning…but then it hit me…all that sand matting into our hair as we made our way to safety had found a new home in & around our sheets! Even on the road, the laundry never ends!! 🙂

Leaving the Badlands, bound for Custer, we set off for our next adventure. IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!!! We LOVED Custer & dream of returning! Custer State Park pretty much blew our minds!! Driving through the park, we saw abundant wildlife…from pronghorn antelope, to prairie dogs, to burros, to mountain goats & BUFFALO!!!! Nearby Hills City offered us more of the beautiful Black Hills, including Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse Memorial. Best of all, we got to visit with Granddad!!! Ken’s dad, Lance, came in for 4 days & we had a ball together. It was great for all of our hearts to spend time with him!! We tried to pack it all in while we had him, including long, winding mountain drives & even a chuckwagon dinner show. Our visit was wonderful!!

Our campgrounds were beautiful…

Rock climbing wall for kids & Caden even swapped at book at the camp library & couldn’t even wait to get home to dive into his new Guinness Book of World Records!!