Day 20, July 26th
Up early this morning to catch the continental breakfast that was quite the disappointment to Louie. We’ve been spoiled lately. I had to remind him this was a true continental breakfast (toast, juice, coffee, cereal, pastry).
After gathering our things, we headed east toward Wall and The Badlands. Wall’s claim to fame is the Wall Drug store, started in 1937 and has grown to 76,000 square feet since then. According to the official story, it all started by giving away free ice water to travelers. So we partook in our free ice water and also partook of their doughnuts. I think they were about as perfect as a doughnut gets. Yes, better than Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts, and even our local bakery. We did a little shopping, then worked our way to the “Backyard” of Wall Drug.
Louie and Lynnae panned for fossils and also posed for pictures on the six-foot tall rabbit. After looking around a bit more, we made our way back to the car and continued on to the Badlands.
On the way into the park, there is a genuine “Prairie House” built in 1907. We toured it and fed the prairie dogs that lived on the property. This is the only community of white prairie dogs known to man. We were also followed around by chickens and ducks.
On to The Badlands. After paying our park admission fee, we drove no less then 100 yards to the first lookout. By now it’s mid-afternoon and sweltering hot. Louie and I decided to take turns getting out of the car to take pictures. And if there was a hill for him to climb, he was on it.
We drove around the park for about two hours and I decided it was time to head to Wounded Knee Memorial. However, when we plugged in the destination to the GPS and consulted the map, we realized it was over 1 ½ hour drive, mostly on gravel roads. Being that it was 4:30PM, we decided to return to Rapid City instead.
Next to our hotel was the “Mongolian Grill” restaurant where we enjoyed a great dinner. Louie and Lynnae really liked it as they could out together whatever they wanted. I think Lynnae put all shrimp in her bowl with maybe a few noodles and some carrots. The girl loves her shrimp!
After dinner, back to the hotel and into the pool for the children. I worked on our laundry (located right outside the pool area) until it was time for them to get out and get to bed. I’m surprised they had the energy to play for over two hours. We were all drained from the heat. However, even as I compose this, they are both snoring. Guess they really were tired after all.
Looking forward to an easier day tomorrow at Mt. Rushmore.
Tags: Travel
Lisa
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