We headed to the Black Hills of South Dakota next. Mt. Rushmore was incredible to see in person. Pictures don't do it justice...you can feel the patriotism in the air. We spent the day waiting for the 4th of July fireworks (but they do them on the 3rd of July for some reason!). After eight hours of patiently waiting (and for me, we all know that's a HUGE stretch), a fog bank rolled in an hour before the fireworks were due to launch, so we admitted defeat and walked the 2.5 miles back to the car (downhill, luckily), and called it a night. The next day, we stopped to check out the Crazy Horse Monument (from a distance) and we took a tour of Custer State Park. The wildlife was incredible to see so close to our cars (luckily none under any cars). We saw donkeys and stopped to feed them. The buffalo were HUGE and right next to the car. We saw elk, deer and antelope and I broke into my rendition of "Home on the Range" (Home, home on the range...where the deer and the antelope play...) I don't know about playing, though...I was quick to pull my arm back in the window after one snorted at me. Later, we went into town a few miles away to watch the 4th of July fireworks (actually on the 4th of July!) While in the Black Hills (which are more like mountains), Matt and others did some rock climbing...complete with harnesses, ropes, and anything else you might need to avoid a plummet to your death. He climbed about 200 feet and loved it! Keaton and I stayed back at the campground, did some shopping, read and soaked up some sun. I have a fear of heights, a fear of breaking a nail...and a fear of breaking every bone in my body, so the rock climbing did not appeal to me in the least. We headed over to some rock formations called the Needles and did some climbing on those rocks. (Those I can handle because you're not making a vertical ascent...and you don't have to get your hands dirty.) We did a 5+ hour hike near Sylvan Lake one day (the lake featured in National Treasure 2). It was pretty strenuous and the air is very thin, so we were all huffing and puffing pretty good. We went up to Harney Peak and I made friends with the ladies and their giant schnauzer behind us. Keaton and the kids practically ran up the trail and arrived a good 30 minutes before us adults...who actually took time to look around and enjoy nature's beauty (while trying to catch their breath and cussing out the husbands for picking such a strenuous trail). The view at the top was worth the sweat and struggle...as long as I didn't look down! We could see our campground in the distance and it was very, very, very tiny. (It's really the 2nd largest KOA in the country and is huge when you're not looking down at it from the top of a mountain.)
We headed over to Devil's Tower and were somewhat disappointed not to see any evidence of UFOs or aliens in the vicinity. I had to know why it's called Devil's Tower and the ranger told us that the Native Americans called it Bear Tower (the deep vertical grooves look like a bear clawed his way to the top). During the translation into English, it was misinterpreted as Bad God's Tower...eventually becoming Devil's Tower. (I'm sooo ready for Jeopardy!) The kids weren't too excited about the history and took off to climb on the rocks at the base of the tower. I'm making Keaton watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind to appreciate his experience.
Grand Teton National Park is absolutely breath-taking. The mountains actually don't look real...they look like a back-drop from a movie set. We drove around the park and saw a moose and her baby eating in the marsh. Incredible!! We saw antelope, more moose, deer, more elk, and a black bear and her two cubs. We hiked on the trails and came upon a bull moose enjoying a snack about 25' from us. I was snapping away on the camera and a guy came up and told me I could get closer to it (I assumed he was talking about the moose) as long as he was eating. I told him I was close enough to the action! People asked if I was nervous being that close and I told them that as long as I could outrun the last person on the trail, I wasn't worried! I was worried about all the "Beware of Bear" signs, though...especially since too many people tell me that my lotion smells like cotton candy. Needless to say, I skipped the lotion on our hiking days and dealt with dry, scaly skin...it's better than being a snack for a bear. Speaking of bear, if you're approached, you're supposed to stand still and not run. They may charge you, but they bluff sometimes. If they do attack you, you are supposed to lie on your stomach and wait for them to finish their assault. Yeah, right! I had to quit reading all the information because I was having anxiety attacks. I figured that, again, as long as I could outrun the last person in our group, I'd be okay. We saw waterfalls, canyons, and again I broke into song during one of our hikes..."The hills are alive with the sound of music..." (They say singing is one thing to do so you don't surprise bears and I wasn't taking any chances!)
Yellowstone was interesting with its geological formations (it's on top of a volcano), but it was STINKY. The smell of sulfur is pungent and prevalent in a lot of the park. Old Faithful was awesome to see, as were the mud pots, other geysers, and hot springs. We came across one hot spring with steam billowing out from it and a buffalo sitting in the steam...like he was enjoying a day at the spa. Stinky, but cute! We saw lots of wildlife, but they were all so far away...not close-up encounters like in the Tetons - except for the buffalo walking down the middle of the road escorting us for a while! I loved the buffalo...especially the babies! Yellowstone is huge and we had to drive and drive and drive to get anywhere to visit anything. We went on an animal search at 5 a.m. one day and were rewarded with seeing a grizzly (way off in the distance). I was too busy yawning to see it...plus Matt didn't share his binoculars with me.
We stopped at the Battle of Little Big Horn on the way home and decided to make some longer driving days and get home a day early. Keaton was THRILLED to hear the news...he'd get to see his beloved Elizabeth a day earlier. He pretty much slept while in any vehicle, so he's one well-rested kid!
The motor home was awesome! I still don't like the mountains and get especially nervous when I can smell the brakes of the vehicle in front of us, but I did like the Ford engine's automatic downshift feature. I especially liked the room with the two slide-outs and LOVED being able to use the bathroom while in transit. We were able to pick up six new states on our quest and we're now up to 38 states we've visited in an RV. We're not sure about next year's adventure...but it will be definite cause for celebration: Keaton's high school graduation and our 20th anniversary! We're happy to be home and look forward to planning the next adventure!
