Western Roadtrip Part II

After leaving Chicago we set out on Interstate 90.  That is when I knew we were not close to "home" anymore!!  There is nothing on that interstate.  At home if you are low on gas you just wait for an exit to appear.  Want some McDonald's fries?  No problem, there's one at every exit.  Oh my word!  We literally had to plan our day around where we could find gas and food!!

We drove through Wisconsin and Minnesota and crossed into South Dakota.  We were instructed by some friends to visit the famous Corn Palace so we stayed the night in Mitchell, SD and when we woke up the next morning we went to check it out.  Hmmmm....very interesting.  

As we were driving through SD I realized that my single unfulfilled childhood dream was visiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder house in DeSmet, SD.  On a whim I looked it up and it was only 45 minutes off the interstate.  My dear husband got me there with 1 minute to spare and thankfully the people who work there are just as obsessed with Laura as I am.  We got a private tour and it really was neat!  Here I am in front of the home.

We pressed on through South Dakota looking forward to our visit to Wall Drug.  Clearly Stafford was impressed by the large jackalope.

We finally arrived in the Black Hills and stayed in a small town called Hill City.  It was a cute place and we were able to get out and walk to dinner.  I was really surprised at the beauty of this area.  Rapid City was a really nice town and at least during the summer it seemed like a very picturesque place to live.

Here is Stafford hanging out on the buffalo after dinner in Hill City.

The next morning we explored Mt. Rushmore.  Neither Peter or myself had ever visited before so it was neat to see.  It was amazing to see how big it was and how difficult it must have been to create.  I thought the park in general might be larger but you really get there, pay, look at it and that is pretty much it.  We took the walking path so we could see different views but it was a quick visit.  Stafford was clearly impressed.

Interesting tunnel on the highway.

Another view of Mt. Rushmore on our way to Custer State Park....possible my favorite part of the trip!  Stay tuned!!