I Own North Dakota

It was about time Ryan had a break from driving so I took the wheel for a while today.  We left Deadwood, SD around 9:30 am and got to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota around 1 pm.  The open roads and 75 MPH speed limit make for a fun drive.  I then slowed down to about 20 MPH in the park.  The park had some more fantastic views and crazy wild life.  Wild horses and more bison were on the road, including right next to a visitor center where you had to walk close by a bison to get to the restrooms. 

After a couple hours we got back on the highway and I drove into Montana so out of the two of us, one can say they drove in ND and one can't.  I handed over driving duties soon after but I hope Ryan enjoyed being a passenger in a National Park as much as I did.

We have also seen a lot of highway animal casualties during this road trip but today marks the first time either of us has seen a huge porcupine on the side of the road, We didn't know they ran wild out here.

It was a long day in the car but this sunset welcomed us to Big Sky Country.

Two Tours

A day without getting in the car was what we needed.  We walked all over Deadwood, SD and it was everything I wanted it to be.

You might not know this about me but I LOVE tours.  Any tour really, but haunted tours are my absolute favorite.

The first tour was the Boothill Tour.  We got on an old school bus painted green with the windows removed  and got to see and hear about all the sights of historic Deadwood.  There were stories about all the buildings and some of the characters that built this town like Wild Bill, Sheriff Bullock and Calamity Jane.  The highlight of this tour was Mt. Moriah Cemetery where we got to see where Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok are buried.

It is a funny story because Calamity Jane wanted to be buried next to her "friend" Wild Bill but it is rumored he didn't like her and his friends buried her next to him as a joke.
From the hill in the cemetery we could see most of Deadwood and it was pretty and quaint.

On our way back through town we heard about some of the ghosts and haunting and it only made me more excited for our tour that night.

We also went to the Adams Museum. It was information overload but was interesting learning about all the fires and floods and crazy people in the place.

5:30 finally arrives and we are at the Bullock Hotel for our Ghost tour.  We learned all about Sheriff Bullock and the building including the fires and how it was used for patients during the small pox epidemic.  I will say I believe in ghosts and all that stuff so maybe I am just seeing what I want to see but I got two interesting pictures. One I showed our tour guide and she requested a copy saying it was a great example of orbs.  The other picture is a mirror where I think I see a faint image of a man's torso in a suit jacket.  Say what you want - I have heard it all from my skeptical husband.

On our walk back to the hotel we stopped in the Saloon #10 where we watched a reenactment of the murder of Wild Bill Hickok and it was fun to see the guys all dressed up and tell the story.

Then we had a quick dinner and I am ready for sleep.

Have you herd?

I was awake at 6 AM this morning because I was too excited to sleep any longer.  Today I got to see Mount Rushmore.  We drove up to it and thought it was cool but it wasn't until we got into the park that we realized how awe inspiring it is.

I loved every minute and every view you get of this massive monument from the Presidential Trail.

We even got a friendly stranger to get a picture of the 2 of us that isn't a cell phone selfie.

Next up was Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD.  I knew nothing about this going in except Ryan said it might be for kids.  It turned out to be a crazy story in a little town and it's still turning up new discoveries.  What I learned (the short version):  long time ago...big sink hole...huge mammoths fall in hole...hole fills in...in 1974 a subdivision is planned...bulldozer finds big bones...scientists get involved...40 years later bones of 61 mammoths have been found and they are STILL digging. The bones in the pictures are the actual bones (they leave most of them in place). 

On to Custer State Park...this was another picturesque drive with up close animal encounters.  I mean really up close...the Bison blocked the road and even rubbed their heads on car bumpers.  Wild burros stopped cars and begged for food very aggressively and more prairie dogs were everywhere.

What a great day!  I went into this trip with no expectations of what we would see and everyday I am blown away.  Sometimes you don't see another person or car for a half hour and it is so quiet you can almost picture what it must have been like in those pioneer days.  Totally loving this trip!

Badlands!

Today we spent hours in South Dakota going through Badlands National Park and it is a good thing a picture is worth a thousand words because all I can say is WOW!