Day #5250 – (Tue., May 21, 2024) – South Dakota –> Montana
Laura had a hard time making coffee this morning, so I decided to wait till we were on the road to get my first cup of the day. This was to be a while, as we toured around the area quite a bit before we hit the open road.
First up this morning was Mount Rushmore (see photo to the right). We kept Batman in the crate for safe keeping in case he got out. I told Katie that it would be an interesting idea to create a social media account of taking a photo outside all of the bathrooms at famous tourist sites…
My wife put litter into Batman’s crate today for him to use and he ended up sleeping on it… What’s up with that?
After Mount Rushmore we had a hard time getting to see the Crazy Horse monument as the original road we took was closed and we had to double back and go past the Mount Rushmore again.
The Crazy Horse monument was a bit anti-climactic as it’s not near completion and you had to look at it form quite a distance (see photo to the left), but they did have a great museum. Katie and Bobby got hoodies. Cold wind!
Next up was the drive through Sturgis, where they have the motorcycle festival in August, and then through Deadwood. As we drove along the “main drag” I told the kids the story of Deadwood. We drove past the “The Gem” restaurant and even saw a covered wagon.
After all this “touristy stuff”, we hit the road. Next up was a truck stop outside Rapid City called “Sinclair’s” denoted by a “Dinosaur Logo”. We bought their “Family Chicken Dinner” with some HUGE soft drinks. Fruit punch for the kids of course, but two “Monster Quests” for daddy! It was here that I tried my first “5 Hour Energy Shot”! We also picked up a package of Twizzlers for the road!
As we were driving Katie has to go to the bathroom due to all the fruit punch she drank. She waited, but Bobby, who had to go badly, had to pee in the open field! Such is the case of bathroom stops when you are in the prairies!
Next up was a stop in Wyoming to get lottery tickets and a much needed LARGE black coffee for daddy. I could not help but think that this is where Liz Chaney is from! The skies opened up soon after that and it rained steady for a couple of hours. The highway signs say 80 MPH, but with the rain there was a danger of hydroplaning, so I didn’t drive anywhere near that.
My Android was not charged at this point, but I managed to find a charger, so I could at least finish off the classic rock video I downloaded.
As soon as we hit Montana I was WAY TOO TIRED to get gas or tickets. My wife ordered ahead and we picked up Subway sandwiches in Billings and drove right to the Air B&B in Laural for the night! Apparently this Air B&B came equipped with free M&M’s in the jar, but I was too exhausted to see them!