Cedar Pass Lodge Interior

... 21 feet tall, and done that way because he truly did have a bigger honker).
- Also learned that Teddy Roosevelt was the first President to travel abroad as President and that George Washington had no biological children of his own but adopted Martha’s two.
- Perused a very comprehensive museum on the history and makings of Mount Rushmore.
- Storm clouds moved in, and big drops and loud thunder hit us before we left. We hustled to hit the road ...

... The rangers told us the yellow grass was the dead grass from last year and green grass was this year's new grass. They said the greenest time to visit is in June, although it depends on that particular season's rain. The past couple years there has been a drought so it's been much more dry, but if anyone plans to go in June it should be quite green.

... feeling of being permanently suspended, never reaching a state of equilibrium. After 3 days of this, the long and meditative trek through parched plains and prairie was just the tonic I was looking for. Plus, as I came close to the original trail head, I stumbled across a small herd of Bighorn. I got a bunch of clear shots, but most of them were of sheep butts so I picked just the ones that showed something a little more interesting.

... if massively sweaty. Then there's the ladder, which promises to lead up into breezier climes... I took a few minutes to rest in the shade of an outcropping before starting up. Luckily I was right, and as soon as I cleared the top edge, one of the area's famous winds kicked up and dropped the temp by about 20 degrees. This made the rest of the hike almost obscenely pleasant in contrast to the sweltering misery of the ...

... beautiful...the valley was as far as you could see and green and just spectacular! After the water break the boys get out their slingshots and have some fun. Off to our next trail, a steep 1/4 mile one way (although Evan would argue that it was more than a 1/4). This was very steep and dangerous (slippery gravel). At some points you used both hands and feet to get up. This is also Trevor's favorite kind of adventure...he ...

... spent about half the day hiking, including the premiere trail in the park that leads to "The Notch," a hole in one of the peaks that stands probably three hundred feet above the surrounding plain. This is a land of scarcity - dry, few people, and few animals. I give it a six of ten, a must-see if you're ever South Dakota way.

... were my favorite part of this trip for a few reasons: first, we got to meet real tourists and others simply curious and second, it was one of the most beautiful parts of the nation I had ever seen. Let me deconstruct real tourists briefly: I'm an *******, and I do things like grab my wife from behind and pretend to push her over the edge. She loves it (though she screams a little at first). I saw ...

... a pack, grabbing some water, and spending a couple weeks camping in the wilderness. From here, we headed north a bit more, to the main campgrounds of the Badlands National Park. We set up camp on a very exposed plain, no trees in the area, and slightly raised over the surrounding ground. Seemed like a great site when we picked it. After setting up, we decided to go for a hike. There were several trail heads nearby and we ...

... the formations, their colors and shapes are incredible to look at. We drove around and saw some wildlife(mule deer, prairie dogs and bison). We also got some great pictures. After we drove around for a while, we realized we weren't far from Wall, SD. Kelly has been dying for another home made donut since yesterday. We drove in, had dinner and then walked around 'Wall Drug Store ...