We have made it into Wyoming after a night camping just outside of Mt. Rushmore, and here is our blog post from yesterday's events.
Here are another couple of pictures from Omaha first...
This morning (Monday) we definitely slept in, but I am glad we did because we were so tired yesterday. We also got an hour change (yay!) in Nebraska. When we left it started raining, so he put the national weather station on. They announced that Nebraska was going to have showers, but the Omaha area would be getting severe thunderstorms with isolated tornados. He threw a tantrum if I’ve ever seen one. There was yelling, banging, bad words...the works.
So Iowa still stands are our favorite state, but we found a favorite highway in Nebraska. It was all farms along the way with an occasional dirt road off of it (which Dave decided to take a joy ride on one of them). There were trains just under a mile long that would ride beside us carrying coal. There are no billboards out there-the closest thing to one would be the signs along the road saying “A child is a life, not a choice,” “Have you made God smile today?” and “Jesus, I trust you.”
On the dirt road I saw my first antelope. Antelope is my new favorite word (it just sounds so cool). The roads gradually bring you higher in elevation, and the land is so hilly (or rolling). The towns are super small out on the stretch of road. There are more churches in the towns than houses, and there were on average 500 people per town. We saw a fitness center made from an old garage, grocery stores the size of gas stations, and restaurants in the basements of houses.
We drove a bunch more and finally came in to South Dakota and saw Mount Rushmore. It was pretty neat, and we went on a little trail that took us around the area so we could take better pictures. Along the way we saw a mountain goat (tagged, so I think it belonged to someone). Dave saw it and instantly said, “Look at the horse!” I think we need to review our animals sometime along the trip.
After Rushmore, we drove to a nearby campsite that we saw on a map, and Dave decided it would be a great place to stay for the night. He let me pick out the campsite (how thoughtful), but I think he only let me do this so it would make me feel better about my whole first camping experience (since circa 1990...you can do the math). He brought me to the bathroom where I was surprised with toilets! Except upon further investigation, these were false toilets. They don’t flush; they have a bottomless pit (okay maybe not bottomless, but I wasn’t about to look in there to see how deep it was). Upon noticing these super modern toilets I was attacked by a super huge bug that wouldn’t let go of my foot, so I shook my foot, my flip flop went flying, and the nearby campers probably then figured out that I hadn’t really done this before.
I helped set up the tent (or at least attempted to…I was probably more in the way). We had marinated chicken for dinner (how fancy), and we were supposed to have rice (we forgot to buy butter). We substituted the rice with yogurt (not so fancy). Now we are getting ready to go to town to get some ice cream (I am putting money on this being another idea up Dave’s sleeve to distract me).
We are having a great time, and I will hopefully be able to post more. I will keep you all updated!
Love, Alyson
PS- I’m not really liking this whole “no internet thing” and especially the “no cell service.” I think it’s a good thing though. By the end of this trip I will be a pro camper : D
PPS-Being so far away from lights, Dave told me the stars tonight, with a clear sky, will be really nice. I can’t wait!
PPPS-Being up so high makes your ears pop!
We slept in this morning (Monday), which I wasn’t planning for, but it all worked out and I wasn’t going to complain about the extra sleep. Leaving Diane’s house, the rain really started coming down. We took the country road instead of the interstate through the heart of Nebraska, finding ourselves passing through small towns with population of only a few hundred. We would slow down from 65 to 35, and 30 seconds later the speed limit would be back up again and we would be through. The Nebraska Sandhills were truly spectacular, just huge dunes covered with grasses. We passed through the time zone change, laid down in the middle of the highway for pictures (since there was NO traffic!). Hit up a dirt road that went for miles into the hills, and by mid-afternoon we were arriving in South Dakota. Without fail, we missed the welcome to S. Dakota sign, about faced, and snapped a photo again. It was another hour to Mount Rushmore, at which point we were into the ‘hills’ of South Dakota, which looked like mountains. Finally, back to seeing some rocky outcrops!
Rushmore was really great, we hiked around a slight bit, snapped some photos, and headed off to find a campground. It was getting late, so we weren’t about to try for our original plan of eastern Wyoming. Instead, we found a small national forest campground with all the luxuries: a hole in the ground, and a hand water pump. Alyson is not very fond of the campsite, she helped set up her first tent, and we cooked some chicken. Unfortunately, we forgot butter or olive oil for rice, so we went without. More for tomorrow night at Yellowstone. We’re going to hit up the town of Keystone for some ice cream and to attempt to send this blog out to the world. Then, its our first night camping, an early rise tomorrow and some more sightseeing as we head to Yellowstone!
-Dave
PS to Diane: Thanks for teaching us the wave, it came in handy today when a farmer waved to us. We knew exactly what to do!
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