Lake Shore Motel Chamberlain

... of the van. It isn't that big of a park, so we made it through fairly quick. We got back on the highway and headed east again. For at least a hundred miles the only thing you see on the side of the road is billboards for Wall's Drug Store. Most of them were pretty funny, and offering free ice water and 5 cent coffee, they really know how to real people in, because obviously we had to stop and check it out.

The ...

Another sunny morning, around 64F when I left. Rolling from flat farmland to more rolling hills with wind. Not much of a problem until the road construction forced both ways to one side of interstate for ... miles. That meant nice gusty sidewinds combined with many strong gusts from semis and rvs. Lots of fun so not a surprise that I chose the first motel in Chamberlain. All ...

... wagon out to the old school house and Olivia sat in Laura's real desk ! They even dressed you up in bonnets when you entered and gave you a slate. Inside the teacher gave you a history lesson as we were all seated at desks and even tested our math skills ! Andrew ended up in the corner for not doing a chore he was asked to do ! It was all in fun ! Little girls ran around everywhere in pioneer costumes and the sod barn had ...

On this rainy day, we decided to visit Crazy Horse memorial and hope to see the mountain. The actual building is just so full of exhibits and you can spend lots of time just reading about all the artifacts. We did watch a movie about how everything started and it is so ...

... in front of large groups, so I'm happy I was able to do that.  Moments like that are very encouraging for me.  It takes me a long time to adjust to new situations, but that is what this trip is all about.  New situations are scary for me, but I know I need to force myself to open up to people more quickly.  I went into this experience hoping it will help me with this, and I think it already is, after only two short days.  I am quickly being thrown ...

... and may even have some video I can post. We Tried to make it to Sturgis but since we got such a late start we didn't get there. We did meet up with some bikers in MN and they rode with us. I got a pic of them outside one of our rest stops. We made it as far as Chamberlin, SD. The first hotel we stopped at was booked but we found another called the Oasis Inn that had rooms. It was a nice place. We will make Sturgis for sure ...

... husk, and all parts corn to make a mural. The whole building is covered in corn. Supposedly they change the design each ear. (hehehe) We finally made our destination for this leg of the trip. Chamberlain, SD. Not much going on in the hotel. Just a room in which they pride themselves in the soundproofing, and the fact that its in the middle of nowhere. The funny thing is, the place is booked. I guess Sturgis is next weekend and people are starting to show up.

... it out. From Devils Gultch, we drove west to Sioux Falls. I was pretty pleasantly surprised by the city. I guess I hadnt really expected Sioux Falls to have actual falls. But it did, and the park surrounding them was great. Jerry was asking the staff there if anyone ever ran the rapids in a kayak, and they said one guy came every year to do it. But I dont think its something they like to have done. We ate lunch downtown at a place ...

... in Rapid City that we'll have to patronise before then. By now it was 94F (albeit with a cooling breeze - see previous paragraph) and we headed back to the room for lunch. MJ had to have a snooze and then headed for the private pool/hot tub complex for a tanning session and a swim. Currently reading "Undaunted Courage" about Lewis & Clark - a very excellent book about their Voyage of Discovery. About 6pm ...

... was very good. Here's a few pictures. We then set off I-29 north and then 50West to Yankon where we stopped for a short while at a lovely spot overlooking the Missouri. We were now in South Dakota and pretty soon the land widened out to cattle country with the wire fence 20 yards off the road either side and cattle drinking holes every 5-10 miles. It is an obvious difference ...