Day 2: On the road again… Adventures in South Dakota

(Note: We left our home at 8 A.M. yesterday and arrived Omaha just before midnight. But we made our trip director’s goal!! Here’s what has happened today, now 1,206 miles and nearly 20 hours of drive-time into our adventure.)

We hit the road again early this morning, saying goodbye to Omaha and spending nearly eight hours traversing the plains to Badlands National Park, South Dakota. I must say, the kiddos are showing all indications they have bladders of steel. They get it from me.

After passing the self-declared world’s largest bull head, a sign for the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder and 50 billboards for the very touristy Wall Drugs (Pic below. 5¢ coffee and over 2 million annual visitors) and the very gaudy and Moorish Corn Palace, we arrived Badlands National Park’s Cedar Pass Campground. BREATHTAKING channels, gorges, cliffs, spires and unique rock formations containing the fossilized remains of miniature camels, wooly mammoths and other extinct animals. We saw prairie dogs and warnings for rattlesnakes. Giddy up!

Now in the Mountain time zone (that adjustment is starting to bite us), our campsite is set up for a couple of days with fun adventures ahead. And I’m ready for some s’mores. But first we are headed to a night sky program. The trip director who owns a massive telescope is GEEKED about that! Will keep you posted! Pics and videos below!
Badlands Pinnacle – 10 second sweep –
Lessons learned to date:

Iowa smells. Truly. The whole state.

There are not a lot of gas stations “out West.” When you hit 1/2 tank, panic sets in. Where is the next exit??

Casinos are BIG around here. More casinos than gas stations in my estimation.

Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers on DVD for 5- and 7- year old boys is the equivalent of a two-month old’s pacifier. A fine discovery…

Fireworks are big in the Plains. Where do you think fireworks are most popular in the US? Derek and I spent about 40 minutes on the topic at 11 P.M. last night as the delirium set in. He contends Massachusetts, asserting Massachusettians feel the whole “revolutionary spirit” there. I disagree. I contend Iowa. I should have asked Siri.

Gas in Louisville is way too high. But we already knew that.

I only saw one Target between Louisville and South Dakota. I know. Sad.

Blogging on iPhone? Not the same as on a computer. At all.

Day 1: Are we there yet?

After taking one last and very long early morning hot shower, I loaded my allocation of luggage. “Two bags,” per the trip director. (Are you kidding me?) I downed two cups of coffee and bid farewell to my diffuser, curl lotion, anti-frizz spray, pomade and other necessities requisite for us curly-haired girls. Sigh.

Twenty miles out from St. Louis and a mere 4 hours into our trip, we stopped at a rest stop, devoured a picnic lunch and chased squirrels until Derek blew the whistle. We had 2pm St. Louis Gateway Arch tram tickets and a schedule to keep! A trip to the Arch has, for some reason, been on Drew’s to-do list for at least two years. Needless to say, he was over-the-moon at the chance to take the “tram” (more like a 4-seater space pod) up and through the Arch! It was a 10 from the outside, a 10 in concept and engineering and an 8 on the inside. (Crowded, slow to get through and matchbox-sized windows at the top of the 630′ arch all contribute to the slightly diminished ratings.)

After passing through the Gateway to the West, which took longer than expected, we are back on the road. Nebraska, here we come! Pics below!

States on today’s tour: Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska

The day before: Preparation, planning and procrastination…

“We are leaving June 23rd.” Baseball tournament. OK. “We’ll leave as soon as the Braves lose.” (They lose the first night.) “Whoa. That was fast. So we’ll leave after we take the dog to mom and get the car top carrier from Ted.” Final. “Wait. I am now scheduled for a pharmaceutical talk.” OK. “We’ll leave Friday. 3 p.m.” That’s not panning out. “We’ll leave at 7 am tomorrow.” Done and done.

It’s 11:15 p.m. on the eve of “the trip.” The last load of laundry is churning. The boys are nestled in their beds without a care in the world. After all, they just have to get up, throw on some clothes, choke down a donut, and watch movies in the car for 11 hours. No biggie.

But for Derek and me, this is an adventure of a lifetime. Six weeks of reading, planning, making lists, charting maps and piling the dining room to the ceiling with things such as a propane heater, propane stove, Luggable Loo (Google it if you dare), screened canopy, mega-tent, iron skillet and anything else we should pack according to the Camping for Dummies book.

So tomorrow the adventure out west begins. Many of you asked me to blog. I would reply, “No. I don’t have enough time.” Or “That seems too self-important. Who cares about our traveling circus?” But for those of you who insisted, here ya go. I am going to blog about our 6,000 mile tent-camping adventure starting now. Maybe someday the kiddos will appreciate a “journal” of our misadventures. Thanks for joining me on this ride. xoxoxo