Picking it up from where we left it last time! Kyria and I had just settled in Ten Sleep WY on our way to adventures unknown.
Day 10
Start: Ten Sleep WY
End: Horse Creek SD
States Traveled In: Wyoming, South Dakota (first time in SD for both of us)
Ohio License Plate Sightings: none
Things We Did: stopped in Buffalo WY for a walk, had dinner with Kyria's friend in nearby Hill City.
Eats: egg, sausage, and toast at the hotel breakfast (all home cooked, good stuff) and car cooler sandwich for lunch. After two straight days of hamburger dinners, my one nutritional goal for the day was to have anything that was not a hamburger for dinner. Achievement unlocked with a steak (we went to a restaurant with a two item menu: small steak dinner or large steak dinner. I got the small).
Media Consumed/Road Trip Activities: what are the odds that Elisabeth would be on not one but two podcasts during our trip! We listened to her episode of Best of Both Worlds and knocked back an episode of another podcast. We tried the audiobook for Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash but it didn't catch our attention so it was an easy DNF after the first chapter.
Best Thing: Meeting up with Kyria's friend
2nd Best Thing: our time in Buffalo WY! As a reminder, Kyria and I had our first IRL meeting in Buffalo NY so it was only fitting that another Buffalo would cross our path. We strolled around the cute downtown, walked on a hiking trail, went to the liquor store to buy beer as a present for Kyria's friend, and had lunch in the downtown park.
Worst Thing/2nd Worst Thing: Slim pickings today. Since I have to write something I'm going to say that it was the 10 minutes that we spent listening to Lost Lambs.
Day 11
Start: Horse Creek SD
End: Horse Creek SD (if you're keeping track, this is our one and only two night stay of the trip)
States Traveled In: South Dakota
Ohio License Plate Sightings: one in line in front of us at the entrance to Crazy Horse
Things We Did: Mount Rushmore, drove the Needles Highway (14 mile scenic drive), Crazy Horse.
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| Needles Highway |
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| Crazy Horse |
Here is a short video on Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse to give you some visuals and to explain the history better than I can.
Eats: yogurt, granola, and honey for breakfast. We ordered two pizzas and ate half of them for lunch and finished them off for dinner.
Media Consumed/Road Trip Activities: nothing in the car but we finally had time for a little TV. Kyria browsed on Roku and came up with some very old episodes of 8 Out of 10 Cats which led us to the UK version of Traitors.
Best Thing: it was a day of Best Things, but if you're going to force me to choose, I'm going with Mount Rushmore. Part of the reason of course is that I am an Alfred Hitchcock fan, and Mount Rushmore is featured in the movie North by Northwest. The other part is that I had heard that the monument was underwhelming, so I had very low expectations going in but found the reality to be much better than the word on the street. There is a walkway with all of the state and territory flags, the monument is impressive, and there is a nice but short hike.
2nd Best Thing: Needles Highway. Big Rocks.
Worst Thing/2nd Worst Thing: I didn't sleep well the night before and had a low grade headache all day. We had a low key afternoon hanging around the resort where we were staying, which helped to fix things.
Day 12
Start: Horse Creek SD
End: Pierre SD (fun fact: it is pronounced "Peer" not "Pee-air")
States Traveled In: South Dakota
Ohio License Plate Sightings: one in the parking lot of Badlands NP
Things We Did: Badlands NP
Eats: the usual yogurt bowls for breakfast, car cooler sandwich, and BBQ out on the town in Pierre. We split a two meat platter that came with two sides (so 2x mac and cheese which was the only side that we wanted) plus an a la carte order of ribs.
Media Consumed/Road Trip Activities: we listened to the soundtrack of the Sound of Music, watched another episode of Traitors at night.
Best Thing: Badlands NP!
2nd Best Thing: the walk back from dinner along the riverfront.
Worst Thing: driving is starting to get a little monotonous.
2nd Worst Thing: it was a very hot day, so we had to cut our hike at Badlands short.
That's a wrap on our latest adventures! See you soon for the next round!
I am delighted that you were able to break the burger monotony! No shade to burgers; I love them.
ReplyDeleteHooray for the badlands and Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse! Brings back memories from my road trip with the fam a few years ago.
I am sad that Lost Lambs didn't do it for you, but obviously there's no reason to force yourself to read a book that isn't clicking.
Inquiring minds want to know: What speed have you two settled on for listening to books and podcasts???
No shade to burgers unless they're every night! I love the landscape of SD.
DeleteThe background for the speed question is that I am a 1x listener and Kyria is a 2.1 to 2.25x listener, so I challenged myself to listen at a faster speed for the trip. The fastest that we've tried so far is 1.25x. Overall I think that faster listening is not for me, but results are still pending.
I loved Mount Rushmore when I visited. All the tourists were very hushed and respectful (but that was in the days before cell phones and influencers, so I'm sure it's changed). Oddly, I don't recall much about the Badlands, but I know my mother insisted on us visiting. That and Crazy Horse, which also impressed me.
ReplyDeleteDid you see any cowboy boot specialty stores? I remember seeing a great deal of them in WY, MT, and SD. It didn't make me want a pair, but I appreciated the craftsmanship.
How far are you going West, and are you taking a different route home so that you can see more cool stuff?
We were at Rushmore fairly early, but everyone was well behaved! I haven't noticed any cowboy boot stores, but that's probably because we were distracted by the gorgeous landscape.
DeleteThank you for the update! I enjoy reading about your trip, traveling with you from the comfort of my chair! It's great that Mount Rushmore was better than you expected! Did you see the capitol buildings in Wyoming and South Dakota? I had to chuckle that you broke your hamburger monotony with a steak. I'm looking forward to reading about your next stops!
ReplyDeleteWe saw the SD capitol (yesterday morning, after the cutoff for this post) but WY was not in the cards for this trip. As you can imagine, it's not going to be a hard sell to come back and see it later.
DeleteWhen you're in Beef Country you eat beef! That has also not been a hard sell.
Wow, you are really putting on the miles and seeing things! This is truly an epic road trip! The Needles Highway is so cool, and I love the badlands as well. Looking forward to the next chapter (I LOVE this format you're using, Birchie!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for saying that! I finally figured out how to KwikBlog! If I had tried to do this in my normal style it would have taken forever.
DeleteI am glad you enjoyed Mount Rushmore. I haven’t been there for over 20 years but have good memories of it. The crazy horse monument seems like it will never be finished. I feel like little has been accomplished since I saw it 20 years ago!
ReplyDeleteLost Lambs was a DNS for me. I heard great things not it seemed like it would not be the right book for me. It’s good you figured out you could DNF early on.
You are definitely in the land of meat eaters… It would be a tough area to visit for a vegetarian!!
Crazy Horse definitely seems like it's going to be at least 100 years in the making. It's an interesting thing to reflect on.
DeleteI’ve never been to SD, but if I went, I would want to see the things you saw. That’s a lot of driving, I’m sure it’s getting a little monotonous. Too bad you didn’t like Lost Lambs, I loved it. Very strange.
ReplyDeleteSpoiler for next time: the monotonous mood is over and driving is fun again. Mostly because it's almost over;-)
DeleteThis is such a good road trip report format!
ReplyDeleteOf course, I've never been to any of those places, but I really feel like I should hike over those Needles or through Badlands.
In what kind of tool did you plan this trip? I have the feeling you used Excel, with fields for dates, route and miles, accommodation, sights to see, people to visit, special notes, etc.
I wish we had had more time to hike in Needles. Next time!
DeleteAll will be revealed about the trip planning process soon!
Lots of driving, but I would say 2nd place for worst thing were the Crazy Horse experience and the BBQ. They were not horrible, but if you have to pick a worst, they would be lower down on the list for me. I feel like Crazy Horse may need a second chance, so maybe next time, I will go back in the morning when I am more fresh!
ReplyDeleteAgree, we were pretty spent by the time we got to CH. At least it was fun to walk to and from the BBQ place and anticipate the meal even if the reality didn't live up.
DeleteLOL re: Lost Lambs? I also did not get very far in it 😂😂😂 I wonder if it's a better read with your eyes.
ReplyDeleteoops, accidental question mark. That should be an exclamation point!
DeleteI think it would have been a DNF either way. The first chapter was just weird and the start of the second chapter was a deal breaker. I know that a few people that I trust for reading have liked it, so maybe I should have pushed through but also...there are just too many books out there that don't give me the ick so I'm glad that I moved on.
DeleteOoh, somehow I feel behind in these trip reports! This is so, so cool. I've never been to SD and it looks awesome. I also love how you listened to the soundtrack from Sound of Music... great way to pass the driving time! Okay, I'm scooting over to the next day now...
ReplyDeleteBig ups to both ND and SD! My advice is to go to both.
Delete
ReplyDeletewhat an epic trip! I’d really love to see Mount Rushmore in person some day. Is it really wild to see it in person? I also love that you had another “Buffalo” meet up :)
I've heard a lot of people say that Rushmore is underwhelming and that the statues are tiny IRL. Well, everyone has their opinion, and mine is that it was a worthwhile stop.
DeleteI'm behind and I hate being behind, but here I am reading and enjoying your experience from over here (after the fact). I'm glad you enjoyed Mount Rushmore. I think we'll probably stop there when we go to Yellowstone next summer. I've got to get on that website and check the cancellations. That pizza looks tasty. I do relate to how driving can get pretty dang old.
ReplyDeleteThere's no such thing as being behind in blogging! We all do the best we can when we can.
DeleteNow I'm looking forward to next summer so that I can read about your trip!