First Day in South Dakota

We just spent our first night in South Dakota. I’m not quite sure where, though I see a lot of trailers, propane tanks and tractors. We pulled off around midnight to park in the Ponderosa Motel and RV Park. It’s cold, rainy, and windy. Maybe this is why they call it the Badlands.

Yesterday, we spent the day and previous evening at Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, Minnesota (pronounced, Laverne like “Laverne and Shirley”). That park was about our speed. Not too crowded, and fun biking and hiking trails for the kids. There was a herd of fenced in buffalo for the kids to get excited about, even though they were too far away to really see.

We left around dinner time so that we could do most of our driving at night. We stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota for dinner. Places like the Corn Palace and Wall Drug are a testament to South Dakotan ingenuity. There is absolutely no reason to visit Mitchell or Wall except that the Corn Palace and Wall Drug have been so heavily marketed that they become a destination unto themselves – not unlike Paris Hilton.

Now, we’re off to the Badlands to find a campsite (hopefully). We’ll get a rental car tomorrow to tour Mt. Rushmore, Wind Caves National Park, Jewel Cave and others. Now, to find a place for laundry…

P.S. Bill Shank sent us a picture of us in front of the RV just before the trip. Also, here's a picture of a foxy, truck-driving Momma...