Day 24 was a driving day. We, sadly, left Erik and Steamboat around noon and headed North. Driving out of Colorado was of course as beautiful as when we arrived. As we passed back through Wyoming we were surprised at the posted 80mph speed limit, but sadly we couldn't take advantage of it in packed down little Honu.
We finally arrived in South Dakota around 6:30, just in time to catch the beautiful sunset.
Day 25: Badlands, Wind Cave AND Mt. Rushmore!
Badlands is our third National Park! After listening to the song of the Coyote for most of the night, we woke up briefly around 7 and snapped a sunrise picture from the tent. It was still pretty cold out, probably in the high thirties, so we were not inclined to leave our sleeping bags quite yet.
Badlands is our third National Park! After listening to the song of the Coyote for most of the night, we woke up briefly around 7 and snapped a sunrise picture from the tent. It was still pretty cold out, probably in the high thirties, so we were not inclined to leave our sleeping bags quite yet.
About an hour later it had warmed up enough for us to start moving around. Evan snapped a pic of our camp before we packed up for the day.
After a quick breakfast we were packed up and off to see the sights! We saw tons of wildlife on our way to the park, but the most entertaining were the prairie dogs.
Snapped a flag picture at one of the first stops inside the park.
Our adventure for this park was Notch Trail. The hike only took about 45 minutes, but the terrain and views at the end were awesome!
We saw a ton of cool stuff in the Badlands, but our day was just beginning! We still had Wind Cave and Mt. Rushmore to visit before sunset so it was time to get moving.
This sign made us miss our little Penny Lane!
So Cute!
We arrived at Wind Cave National Park, our fourth national park, in the early afternoon and luckily there was one last tour of the cave available!
This is a unique park because, as evidenced by the name, it's all underground. Not too many scenic views to be had here, but the place was impressive anyway. Wind Cave got its name from the winds that blow out of and into the cave through its natural opening. The winds in the cave, just like those we experience outdoors, are driven by changes in pressure. As a low pressure system moves over Wind Cave the cave will "exhale", expelling the higher pressure air found in its depths, and the opposite is true for a high pressure system. At the natural entrance to the cave, which is just large enough for a man to fit through, winds have been clocked at 70+ mph. As of now over 100 miles of cave passages have been explored, the deepest being around 600 feet below the ground, but, based on the volume of air exchanged as the cave tries to equalize pressure, scientists estimate only 5% of the system has been explored! After hearing all this we were ready to check it out, but before going underground we had to snap a pic of Old Glory.
Our first (and probably only) underground flag picture!
After finishing up down below we made the short walk over to the caves natural entrance and saw a couple deer on the way.
Not sure how anyone fit through that!
We still had one more stop in South Dakota so we couldn't linger for long at Wind Cave! On our way to Mt. Rushmore we passed by the Crazy Horse monument. Neither of us had ever heard of it so we stopped by to take a look. There's a lot of history behind this unfinished monument and we both hope to see its eventual completion. Once finished it will dwarf Rushmore and pretty much everything else like it on the planet.
The Face is 80ft tall! That yellow spec is a dump truck.
We arrived at Rushmore around 5 and was instantly impressed!
Flags from all US States and Territories
Texas!
After Rushmore we drove toward Devils Tower in Wyoming and passed through the famous biker rally town Sturgis on the way. We spent the night at the Bear Lodge Motel in Sundance. This place was great! The town mascot was a Bulldog and we scored a free soda when we arrived late. Thanks Bear Lodge Motel!
Lesson of the Day: Janella learned that the rock snowman on the notch trail was actually a trail marker and not just a cute rock snowman.
Word of the Day: vexillology
Word of the Day: vexillology
Bonus video on flags that I enjoyed!