South Dakota; Temp: H: 80-90s L: low 60s at night

We drive down I-90 and our view is of prairie land as far as anyone can see. No trees, just grasslands. Then rather suddenly, there are sandy looking mountains that appear. Small, then growing taller as if out of the ground. It looked as though God wanted to make sand castles all across this land! BEAUTIFUL.


Breathtaking when we first arrived just inside the Badlands National Park! We could see for miles and we're fairly sure we saw buffalo roaming the land.
We stayed at a nice campground in Cactus Flat. Yep, that's the name of the town. It was approximately 2 miles to the entrance of the Badlands. Great spot!

Then we stayed at a free camping area. Look at our view! Perfect! We stayed here two nights. We were right on the edge and could see for miles. The stars showed off their glory every night. We could see the Milky Way very clearly!! Awesome and peaceful! The photos below are our view. The photo with the camper in the distance is not us. They were our neighbors for one night and that really is how far away they were from us! When I (Julie) woke early one morning to see the sunrise the fellow next to us was drinking his coffee and watching the sunrise as well! We think we'll be back to this spot again!

GREAT photo Christian took! (above) Thanks Christian!
Below is the sunrise the morning we left for Wyoming.

Billboard beside interstate 90.
We went to Wall, SD twice. Since it was bike week it was quite busy. The town was very western looking and small.Going to Wall Drug store was fascinating.

South Dakota; Temp: H: upper 80s L: 60s with breeze

This was an awesome rest area as soon as you cross into S. Dakota. Behind the building of the rest area was a drop off and a magnificent view!!Our first destination in S. Dakota was Mitchell. We needed to stop anyway and this was a perfect location. We stayed in a Cabela's large parking lot. There is an area for campers to stay over a night and includes a water station. We were nearly the first to arrive, but by 6pm the parking lot was full of other campers. After eating supper and going to the corn palace we shopped in Cabela's. The children loved the stuffed wild animals and fish tanks.

We visited the Corn Palace, a building that was first built in 1936 and the front wall is made of all corn. The couple that owned the building wanted tourist to come to this area, so they decided that having an all corn wall in front and decorated with a special design would draw them here. They were right and it's still popular today.

There are a lot of bikers in the area this week. It is the yearly biker rally in Sturgis, S Dakota, so the bikers are all around. There over half a million bikers to attend annually. On our way to the Badlands we ran into traffic. It was the kind of traffic where everyone turns off the engine and gets out of their cars!! We all got out too and Hunter made us our lunch for later. The photo of the bread is how much we use when we all eat sandwiches!!
We prayed for the bikers in the wreck and hope they are okay. We actually were not stopped too long because we were near the beginning of the traffic.


Back on the road headed for the Badlands!!

Minnesota; Temp: low 80s and no humidity here! Nice breeze!

This is an awesome camping spot! We drove passed miles and miles, yes again, corn fields and then came to an area with large shade trees and this campground. There must have been only 10 sites and it is run on an honor system. Just mail in your payment that is less than $10.00! We only had electricity here with a water pump (that you really had to pump) up on the hill. We only stayed for one night, but it was perfect! The weather was finally perfect! We had a nice breeze all day and the temperature was in the low 60s at night with no humidity. It was the first night to open all the windows and enjoy the cool, crisp, clean air. We love to hear the crickets, the birds chirping and the wind blowing through the trees.

There is really black soil here!
Hunter found this dandelion flower and it was MUCH larger than the ones down south!
Below that is the water pump. The water tasted horrible though, but it worked for washing our hands and washing dishes!

Walnut Grove, MN Temperature: high 80's

We were headed to South Dakota, so we decided to stop at Walnut Grove, MN, home to Laura Ingalls Wilder. First we drove through Sleepy Eye. Yes, there really is a town named Sleepy Eye and it was a perfect time to stop for lunch and....... recess! :)

Look close at this photo! I have a Looonnnnggg son! ;)

We drove here when we left Maple Grove. It is in the Southwest portion of the state.