Mount Rushmore and The Badlands

Sad to say goodbye to Livingston!  We had a couple great days there, but we had to move on!  Rapid City here we come!!!!!  The drive was once again fabulous.  Weather was great for driving and the views were beautiful with changing scenery all the time!

When we got to Rapid City, we decided to go straight to Mount Rushmore.  It was an easy drive off the main highway.  It is a pretty impressive piece of artistry.  Perhaps I would have stayed longer to enjoy it if I was an American.  But, I'm not.  So we just took the mandatory touristy pics and headed out!

Part of the drive to Mount Rushmore took us through the sleepy cowboy town of Keystone.  It was very cute.  But also very deserted - being non-tourist season, I guess!

We stayed at a nice place with a pool, water slide and fitness room.  Casey went to the pool and I went to the treadmill.  I still can't believe what altitude does to me when I am running!  My legs said "go" but my dizzy head said "stop".  I can't wait to get back down to a normal altitude so I can do a nice run!!!!!!  After our respective relaxation choices we went to dinner.  The hotel guy mentioned a local brew pub downtown called the Firehouse Brewery.  It seemed like a good choice.  We have been having great luck at these local pubs the past few days so we went with his recommendation.  It was good.  I had another tuna salad.  Probably shouldn't have tuna again for a while!  Casey had a chicken pasta.  Both were really good, but we like the one in Livingston better!  Back to our room for a good night sleep before heading to The Badlands National Park in the morning.

We woke up today to much warmer temps!  Still not as warm as home though!  Hit the road to visit the town of Wall, South Dakota before heading to the Badlands.  Wall is famous for its pharmacy.  It still sells coffee for 5 cents!!!!  We were the only ones in the town!!!!  I bet it is much busier in the summer!!!!

And then on to The Badlands.  I apologize, once again, for the numerous pics I'm going to post.  But, you just can't imagine how beautiful it really is.  And the wildlife!  To be so close to these animals is amazing!

Casey wanted to get closer but I yelled at him to get back in the car!!!!

I didn't know what a Prairie Dog was, but I do now!  How cute are they?!?!
 

And here are some of the views.  I hope you can get a sense of the colours in the rocks.  It was way cool!

We left the Badlands and headed for Minnesota.  Crossed another time zone today.  We are now in St. James, Minnesota at a Super 8.  We have discovered that Super 8 Motels are actually pretty nice places to stay!  Tomorrow we will be in Minneapolis.  Should get there nice and early.  Casey is really excited about going to The Mall Of America!  When we leave Minneapolis, we will head through Wisconsin.  Probably stop at some cheese places (I hope) and definitely Lambeau Field in Green Bay.  Sunday we will be in Elliot Lake to visit my parents for a day or so before heading back to Belleville on Tuesday.  When we get home on Tuesday, we will have been gone for 2 months.  What a trip!!!!!!!

Not sure if we will update the blog again before we get home.  If not, I hope you have enjoyed traveling with us.  It has been fun sharing our adventures with you.

Enjoy!