Officially West
Well, we’ve officially made it out west! The sky feels endless, and the land stretches out in all the shades of brown (very much like our Buick, currently sitting, feeling lonely in Linda and Mike’s driveway).
Our drive through North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana vacillates between “ugh, this is so flat, and brown” to “wow, towering mountains, wild animals, meandering streams, rushing rivers, and bizarre rock formations!”. So far, we’ve explored Theodore Rosevelt National Park, Badlands National Park, the Black Hills, Custer State Park, and the Big Horn Mountains.
We all agree the best part of the past couple weeks was seeing Mina and Uncle John, with the Black Hills coming in as a close second.
You know what was NOT the best part? Sturgis. Oh, you’ve never heard of it? Neither had I, because no one cares about the biggest Harley Rally in the country, unless you own a Harley…or accidently end up there. Even John and Aaron, who both ride motorcycles, were over them by the end of the week! If I never hear the rumble of a Harley engine again, it’ll be too soon!
Pretty sure every single rider from Sturgis decided to cruise Needles Highway the exact same day we did. When we rolled up to the entrance gate, the ranger greeted us with, “Welcome to the chaos!” Honestly, though, as usual, it worked out just fine. By the time we were ready to wind through the narrow tunnels and squeeze past those towering rock walls, it was late enough that only a few other folks were still on the road.
We stopped at the most beautiful lake I have ever seen (and I’m not exaggerating). Massive, smooth boulders framed the shoreline, and the water was clear, perfectly cool, and mirroring the incredible scenery all around. We splashed, played, and soaked it all in.
Demory even impressed us with her first big cliff jump off a giant boulder, probably about a 15-foot drop. Watching her psych herself up and hearing Aaron cheer her on with, “You can do hard things!” and Uncle John use her as an example of “courage” when discussing the meaning with Mina, were the sweetest things.
We also had a blast exploring the wild terrain of Badlands National Park. Driving through it felt completely otherworldly. The hikes were hot and dusty, but surprisingly fascinating. I’ve got to say, the kids really impressed me with their bravery here too. One trail had a ladder scaling a rock face about 50 feet high, plus a few spots that were pretty exposed. Demory and Grier scrambled up (and back down) without hesitation, and even Sayer and sweet little Mina made the climb!
Brave babies. And, honestly, brave momma too because nothing makes my heart feel like it’s going to stop quite like watching my kids move any single part of their bodies anywhere near a giant drop. At one point, I’m pretty sure I told Demory to stop moving her arm because it was freaking me out.
Along that same hike, the kids spotted a fossil, snapped a picture, and reported it to a ranger. He identified it as some kind of large tooth, and the rangers made a huge deal about it, posing them for a photo and adding it to their Fossil Finder Wall of Fame.
It was so hot that we limited our hikes to the mornings (which were still too hot) and the afternoons were filled with lazing in the shade, eating popsicle, drinking gin and tonics and playing games.
One of our other favorite experiences has been seeing the wide variety of wildlife! In addition to the prairie dogs and bison BISON that Demory talked about in North Dakota, we also got to see Prong Horns in South Dakota and Moose in the Black Mountains. We even visited Bear Country USA, a very cool drive through wildlife park. All seven of us piled into the truck and as we drove through, we got to see a TON of bears, an arctic fox, and a variety of grazing animals.
They also had a small walkthrough area which included an enclosure with maybe 20 baby bears. Watching the cubs wrestle, munch on watermelon, and roll around was everyone’s favorite part. They were funny and so stinking cute! The entire park was beautiful, well kept, and WAY exceeded our expectations.
