Last night while at a rest stop we decided to book at a campground in Chamberlain, SD, along the Missouri River. Turned out to be a great experience. Plus, being plugged into a 30 amp service meant we could sleep in the comfort of AC the night before and use the microwave to heat up our quiche for breakfast.
After packing up, we hit the road and traveled through the Badlands with the goal of a quick stop at Wall Drug. We weren’t sure what to expect – sure maybe a few Jackalopes and lots of cowboy boots…
And yeah sure… maybe a giant brontosaurus.
Yes, it’s touristy and crowded. But Jay and I took a particular liking of the old historic photos and people watching.
Like this guy.
We quickly got back on the road and high tailed up to Rapid City. We stopped at the Target and Scheels. Turns out Scheels like a better, more friendlier Dick’s Sporting Goods. We picked up a double hammock and I forced Jay to buy us normal camp chairs. Our current camp chairs are meant for backpacking and they are a pain to assemble and sit about 2 inches off the ground. It’s great for backpacking and for mosquitos biting you straight in the face.
We hit up Black Hills Bikes (name?) to inquire about the trails. And turned out the little park across the street had biking trails! So we rode a quick loop and called it a day considering it was nearing 100 degrees. Nothing a little dip in the river can’t cure.
Cooper sure did enjoy it.
We then left Rapid City and made our way to Mount Rushmore. It was certainly a sight to see, and worth the $10 entrance but there’s not much else to do aside from looking at the monument and reading placards. We walked the little Presidential trail that loops around and give you different views. We were warned many times to not climb on the surrounding rocks – which of course looked like a lot of fun to climb on. Had there not been cameras and tiny children, I’m sure we might have indulged at little.
After Rushmore, we drove through the Black Hills Forest and stopped in Deadwood for drinks at Saloon 10. Complete with taxidermy and saw dust all over the floors. Just how I prefer my saloons.
Exhausted from a big day of events we headed on over to Spearfish, SD. Janette, our good friend’s mom who lives in Spearfish, graciously offered for us to park in her nice, big, flat driveway that night.
Though the daytime had been in the upper 90s the temp dropped dramatically that evening, which we were grateful for considering our tin can had been roasting in the sun all day long.