Liene's Adventures

The ignition key clicked, the engine started, and our RV was rolling farther and farther away from the everyday streets of our town… I had to pinch myself because I could not believe that this trip was FINALLY happening. This time around we were actually on the road, heading west! 

Why 'finally'? Because this was a trip that just did not happen one too many times. The first time we started planning our 'South Dakota – Black Hills – Yellowstone – Grand Teton vacation' was more than a decade ago. However, once we started making reservations, we soon realized that with airfare and hotels it was just too cost prohibitive. It was a very remote and expensive area to visit. So, we canceled the plans. The second time around was in 2020 when we had our first RV. We had made all the bookings and campground reservations and then 2 months before our trip – COVID happened. Nothing was open, so everything had to be rescheduled. Another bust. Shortly after that, we found out we were getting a job transfer to Hawaii, so even the rescheduled trip had to be scratched – failure #3. So, you can see why I did not let myself get too excited until we were on the road and driving. Past experiences made us cautious, but this day was different, and it was FINALLY our lucky attempt #4!

To be able to describe our month-long road trip into more detail, I have separated our adventures into four different chapters:

Chapter 1: South Dakota - Sioux Falls, 1880 Town, Badlands National Park, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Chapter 2: The Black Hills, Custer State Park, Mt Rushmore National Memorial, Mammoth Site, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, as well as the Devil’s Tower National Monument

Chapter 3: Yellowstone National Park

Chapter 4: Grand Teton National Park 

 

ON THE ROAD

June 12

Getting from Virginia to our first reserved campground in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was a long 1350-mile (2180km) journey one-way. I had allocated 5 days for us to get there, driving roughly 250-300 miles (400-500km) a day. My husband completely smashed the daily goal by driving nearly 700 miles (1150km) on our first day until, completely exhausted, we found a Cracker Barrel parking lot at 11PM and crash-camped there for the night. 

June 13

With such a big distance behind us and an unexpected few extra days at our disposal before our reserved check in date at Sioux Falls campground, I jumped online to see if I could find any available campgrounds nearby. Camping at Cracker Barrel parking lot just wasn’t too exciting. Camelot Campground had an opening which I immediately booked, and we headed there. With over 90 degrees outside this was the perfect place to be – they had a pool! After 2 days on the road the kids could not be any happier – the pool was where we spent all afternoon and evening together with other fellow campers and their kids. 

We even had some late evening visitors come by our campsite - close to a hundred geese that had come ashore from a near-by lake.

June 14

Although we were prepared to spend another day and night at Camelot Campground, I got a notice of a campsite cancellation at Big Sioux State Recreation Area in South Dakota. This would bring us closer to our first main destination, so we decided to take the opportunity, pack up and head there. It was a simple state park campground with no extras but with plenty of green space for playing ball, hanging a hammock or just relaxing. The kids wanted to spend time at the park’s playground, but my husband and I took turns getting in some much-needed exercise and went for a run around the park’s trails before calling it a night. 

June 15-16

As luck would have it, KOA Sioux Falls campground happened to have an available campsite for us a day early, so we were finally back on track with our initial itinerary and headed to Sioux Falls to check-in for 2 nights and start exploring. The campground was lovely with a pickleball court, a pool, a playground and plenty to do for 2 days. The first afternoon and evening was just spent at the campground relaxing and planning out the next day.

 

SIOUX FALLS

Our adventure for the day was to complete a 20-mile (32km) bike ride on Sioux Falls bike trail loop to get better acquainted with the city. We had our own bikes with us as we anticipated several bike rides on this trip, therefore, all we had to do was hop on and pedal away!

Although the day was sunny and hot, we got a strong headwind which made us put in extra work. And though there were no grand attractions along the way, we were just happy to be out, about and moving. It was still a fun ride with an ice cream stop and fresh mulberry picking from the bushes along the way… We saw many remote areas of the town neighborhoods as well as rode through central part and past Arc of Dreams. The bike path was fully paved and relatively flat, so it was a very enjoyable ride with varied scenery.

Our main goal was a visit to Falls Park. It just happened to be the end point of our bike ride as we had parked our RV not far from this park when we started the ride in the morning. We could finally slow down, park our bikes and explore the park. Although there wasn’t a lot of water volume this time around, the falls were still quite impressive with water rushing through various levels and cascades crushing on the rock below. We walked all around the falls, explored every lookout and climbed down to the river level. 

A little sunburnt but happy about the new sights we saw, we tied our bikes to the back of the RV and headed back to the campground. It was time to make some dinner, let our legs rest after the long ride and just spend a leisurely evening by a firepit. 

I was woken up in the middle of the night by a storm. The worst storm I had ever experienced anywhere! The wind was howling, the trees and poles were bending and shifting, and the RV was getting tossed left and right by gale-force gusts! A weather advisory had been issued a few hours earlier, but we weren’t in the epicenter of the storm, so I did not expect too much. But this felt like an approaching tornado! The rain was pouring buckets hammering the RV with brute force. I got up to check all windows and vents to make sure nothing had been ripped open and leaking. Everything seemed ok so far. I peeked outside and all other RVs and campers were getting shaken left and right just like ours did. There was not much I could do at this point, so I crawled back in bed hoping for it to pass…

June 17

It did not pass… When we woke up in the morning, it was still pouring and howling. Everything outside was flooded. Thankfully we had completed all the packing the night before, so we could just unplug the RV and hit the road. And that is what we did. Our goal was to reach Badlands National Park (300 miles (480km) away) where we had campground reservations for the next 2 nights. 

 

AKTA LAKOTA MUSEM

The farther away from Sioux Falls we drove the more the weather improved. The crazy wind had stopped and the downpour had turned into just a light drizzle. Needless to say, we were very thankful for that! And because we had left so quickly and early in the morning, we found ourselves with a few extra hours at our disposal. One of the stops I had marked as an optional side-trip on this stretch of the road was Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center. And with the extra time, we decided to make the stop. It was an educational outreach museum which told the story of the Lakota people beginning prior to European colonization and ending with contemporary issues facing tribes today.

Many of the authentic artifacts dated back to the 1800s and were collected from the immediate area in South Dakota. This was our first introduction to Native Americans of this region and the museum was not only interesting for us as adults from the historic perspective, but it was also attention-grabbing for my kids. There were several old-time games available that could be played with rocks and sticks that kids could try, as well as other hands-on educational activities.   

Akta Lakota was also one of the few places where kids could earn Lewis & Clark Trail Junior Ranger badges. So, this also became our first junior ranger badge of the trip! 

 

1880 TOWN

As we continued our journey towards the Badlands, I kept seeing all the roadside billboards about 1880 Town. What was 1880 Town?! I had to google. Apparently, it was a town with more than 30 original buildings from the 1880 to 1920 era of South Dakota, authentically furnished with thousands of relics. And it was literally by the roadside with a dedicated RV parking lot. We gave in, sure, why not visit?! 

This was our boys’ happy place as most of the buildings were open and could be not just looked at but explored from inside as well. There was a schoolhouse, train station, bar, barber’s shop, blacksmith’s, pharmacy, church, jail, post office and whatever else was necessary in a town in 1880s.

The bar and cabaret stage were quite impressive, and there was even a pianist playing songs that visitors could just sit down and listen to. The abundance of historic relics completed the picture. We were very happy that we decided to make this stop.

We were finally counting down miles to our first big national park of the trip – the Badlands! One last turn and we were about to make it official when… we saw something squirm around the roadsides. There was lots of movement with little heads appearing and disappearing above ground. Prairie dogs! So, so many prairie dogs! Oh man, Badlands will have to wait. We pulled into a parking lot and went to check out these little creatures.

They had dug vast underground cave / tunnel networks all over the field. They jumped into one cave and then popped out though another. As they saw us approach, they got curious. Through the process of elimination, we found out they liked almonds and cashews but had no interest in walnuts. They were so much fun to just watch and observe – they were tumbling and chasing each other, grooming and playing. We spent way more time here than we anticipated. Prairie dogs are funny little things!

 

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

But now it was finally time for Badlands National Park! First official park photo by the sign and soon after the vastness of the Badlands came into view.

As several of the trails we wanted to do were on our route to the campground, and the day was still early, we decided to explore this section of the park before heading to our camping spot. The first stop right after the entrance was a short walk to the Big Badlands Overlook. This was a truly magnificent kick-off point for our Badlands adventure! The views with eroded rocks and buttes were otherworldly. And those colors! Layers of gray and clay red contrasted with the green grass and blue skies… Wow! What a sight! Could it even get any better?

A short drive up the park road and we reached another parking lot. This one had 3 different trails available for exploration. We started with the shorter half-mile long (0.8km) Window Trail followed by a 1.5-mile-long (2.5km) Door Trail. We especially enjoyed the Door Trail as only a small portion of this trail was a maintained boardwalk, but the rest was more of a find-your-own-route type of hike. Our kids felt like explorers making their way through the rugged terrain looking for the best path through the eroding landscape. 

Unfortunately, an accident with a cut open head, pool of blood on the rocks and medical transport in the parking lot was a necessary reminder that this was a wild place and not always just fun and games. An older gentleman had slipped and fallen. Thankfully, his family was around to assist and help him.

As the day was slowly ending and we were rapidly losing daylight, we left the third trail for another day and headed to our campground – Badlands Hotel and Campground. It was a simple campground with nice views of the Badlands but not too many other extras. However, nothing could beat staying inside / near a national park!

June 18

We woke up early, made breakfast and packed up for a long day of exploration. First trail of the day was going to be the Notch Trail. This one started from the same parking lot as Window and Door Trails yesterday, but we ran out of daylight to complete it. After a little backtracking we were back at the part of the park we knew already, and headed out on the 1.5-mile-long (2.5km) Notch Trail. This was the most popular trail in the park mostly due to the steep wood ladder that led up the side of a mountain. Just seeing this ladder in photos and videos made me very cautious and weary as to whether it would be safe enough for a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old. But I definitely underestimated my boys as they passed the challenge with flying colors.

The rest of the trail was fairly simple with a few drop offs and a panoramic view at the end. However, the ladder was definitely the highlight.

Visitor centers had always been on our to-do list, so as we were passing by the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, we had to make a stop. As already expected from a national park, the visitor center was complete with an exhibit hall, movie theater, hands-on activities and a gift shop.

But the most impressive was the Fossil Preparation Laboratory! They had real paleontologists working on fossils and visitors could see it all through a glass and even try their own hand in ''unearthing a fossil''. Many fossils were on display here as well. This was such a fun experience!

For those collecting junior ranger badges, there were 3 different badges to collect at Badlands – Badlands NP badge, the Paleontologist badge and Night Sky Explorer patch (more on this a little later). Our boys had worked hard on their Junior Ranger books and earned all 3 badges from a ranger here at the visitor center!  

By now it was coming to noon, and we started to think about lunch. Navajo tacos were something we wanted to try while here, and the Cedar Pass Lodge by the visitor center had exactly that on their menu! Check! Navajo tacos were served on Indian fry bread with bison meat, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese and other toppings. Although they were sizeable portions, our initial idea of sharing two tacos between the four of us did not quite work out. The tacos were so good that we ended up ordering more once we ate the initial two. This was definitely one of our best and most authentic meals on the trip. 

After our lunch stop, we were ready to carry on with Badlands exploration. Today’s goal was to drive the whole length of the Badlands Loop Road which was 34 miles (55km) long and had 16 different scenic overlooks, pullouts and hiking trails. Although some of the pullouts might end up being too tight to maneuver an RV around it, we were determined to make every stop we could. 

Our first successful stop was Saddle Pass Trail. Although it was just under 1-mile-long (1.6km) round trip, it had a considerable elevation gain of 250ft on crumbly sand and sediment. My boys were sliding on their butts and slipping backwards. They themselves thought it was hilarious but the momma in me was a little cautious… However, we persevered and the views from the top of this trail were truly impressive. 

Our next stop was the Fossil Exhibit trail. It was a short 0.4-mile-long (0.6km) boardwalk where visitors were allowed to get off-trail to go explore the surroundings and maybe even find a pre-historic fossil of their own. Quite a few lucky explorers had had luck finding fossilized animals or bones here. Although we were doing our best, luck wasn’t on our side and after more than an hour we had to tell the kids that it was time to move along.

As we were walking back, we couldn't not notice the many birds coming ang going from a near-by shelter. These were cliff swallows who were supposed to build their nests in cliffs but had now figured out that human made shelters were much sturdier and protected them from the elements better than exposed cliffs. Now, many of the Badlands picnic shelters and information booths were taken over by swallows and their nests. Adaptation at its finest!

As we got back to the parking lot and our RV, we noticed that on the other side of the park road there were some interesting landmarks and a peculiar landscape. We decided to go and take a look at it for a little bit. There were a lot less people here than across the street on the Fossil Exhibit Trail, and at times we were the only people around. The landscape here was truly Mars-like and something from another planet. We loved it! Badlands National Park was so stunning!

As we were making our way along the road, we stopped at several other amazing overlooks - White River Valley Overlook, Burns Basin Overlook and Pinnacles Overlook. Each one of them offered varied yet magnificent views over the Badlands.  

Yellow Mounds Overlook was something different and took us by surprise. Here it did not offer vast valley views, rather a single mound in bright yellow color with pinkish-purple sediment layers which was a stark contrast from everything else around. This section had one of the oldest geology in the park.

 

WALL DRUG

At this point we were approaching the end of the Badlands Loop Road. It was still early afternoon and we did not quite want to return back to the campground, so we chose to press on and visit the town of Wall (just outside Badlands National Park) and its famous Wall Drug store. Although we were not much into man-made tourist traps, it was an interesting and different stop.

Of course, we had to try their famous 5 cent coffee and some doughnuts. The doughnuts were so good we went back in line and got some to-go as well. The maze of colorful stores was very enticing to our children who picked some souvenirs for themselves and a few books. Outdoors, one could take their Instagram shots while ''riding'' a jackalope, a rodeo horse or the famous dinosaur. This was a very crowded place and very touristy (as expected), so after we had done our walk-through, we were ready to leave. 

For little junior rangers, there was another badge that kids could earn here in Wall. The National Grasslands Visitor Center was located right here in town, a walking distance from Wall Drug. The booklet was easy to fill out and soon enough our boys had added another junior ranger badge to their collection – Buffalo Gap National Grasslands Junior Ranger badge.

 

BACK TO BADLANDS

We had two routes to choose from to get back to our campground – a faster one via interstate 90 which routed around Badlands National Park, or the slower Park Loop Road which went through the park. Though slower, we decided to go through the park again to take in all the views one last time! Also, we wanted to try driving Sagecreek Rim Road which was described as a bumpy gravel road leading to Roberts Prairie Dog Town. Sagecreek Road offered a different scenery from the inner park road – the cliffy formations could only be seen in the distance, but vast prairies had taken over here… This was where we finally saw our first wild bison of the trip! 

Another odd animal was moving around and about in the distance. What was that?? Looked like a deer but the coloring was off… We had to google. Apparently, these were pronghorn! I had never seen one before in my life and suddenly I felt like we were on some magical wildlife safari! We saw animals I never even knew existed here!

 

The road became more and more of a washboard, and we decided it was not worth breaking our RV already at the start of the trip. We had seen plenty of prairie dogs the day before, so the choice was made to turn around and head back. 

I guess the approaching evening had brought out all the animals, as not far from the Pinnacles Overlook, we saw a herd of mountain goats crossing the road right in front of us and grazing on the green roadside grasses. We parked and watched them for a while. A true wildlife safari tonight!

We finally returned to the campground just as it started to get dark. As we started to make some dinner, we discovered that our RV toilet was leaking water. We called around and a mobile RV repair offered to come out to us for a $500 call fee + cost of the repair. That was just ridiculous, especially because the cost of the part to fix the issue was just $40 (the guy was going to sell it to us for $180)! Unfortunately, we were in the middle of nowhere (Badlands!) and could not buy this part ourselves here. Feeling being taken advantage of, we said big, fat ‘NO’ to the mobile RV repair and shut off the water intake for our RV until we could find a parts store and fix the issue ourselves. Thankfully, the campground had bathrooms and hot showers available for everyone, so not having water for a night was no big deal. 

One last thing we wanted to do at Badlands tonight was attend their 9pm Evening Ranger Talk and Summer Night Sky Viewing program. The only problem was that it was freezing cold! Before the trip, we were worried about hiking in mid-June temperatures of 90-100 degrees, but a freak weather pattern had created the opposite effect, and temperatures were dipping below freezing instead. Hence you might have noticed all the jackets and sweaters in our pictures. It was the same storm system that had caused all the rain in Sioux Falls for us a couple days ago. We dug up all the sweaters, jackets, hats and gloves that we could find in the RV and headed out for the ranger talk. People had come wrapped in blankets and towels. It was unbelievably cold. But the ranger talk was really entertaining. My kids could not stop laughing about the funny ways the ranger described the park animals, and looking at the stars through a huge telescope was the highlight of the night. I think these are two programs at Badlands not to be missed. This was also where kids could earn their Night Sky Explorer junior ranger patch.

/Photo: The Dickinson Press/

As it was almost 11pm when we got back to the campsite, we turned on the heat, crawled under the blankets and went to sleep. It was a long but wonderful day!

 

MINUTEMAN MISSILE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

June 19

Today we were closing our Badlands National Park adventure chapter as it was time to move on. Just outside the Badlands National Park entrance was Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. Although I was not too interested in this stop, my husband, being a military man, was very much looking forward to seeing it. This was the location where nuclear missiles were hidden under the Great Plains during the Cold War. Several control centers were scattered around the plains. Some of them offered tours but with only 6 people allowed to enter the control center per tour, the tickets were almost impossible to get. I was ready to snag them up the second they were released (several months prior) but I was still not fast enough… 

We still decided to pay the site a visit and check out the visitor center and watch the park movies. I have to say that the movies they played here were great for those who did not manage to get the control center tour tickets. They had a virtual control center walk here with a ranger explaining everything that we were looking at as well as adding some other commentary. My kids were so into it that they wanted to stay and watch the movie one more time! Unfortunately, we did not have quite that much time, so we walked through the exhibit and then went to hand in our boys’ junior ranger booklets. In return, they earned a Junior Missileer patch to add to their growing collection.

Leaving this area concluded the first big section of our road trip – introduction to South Dakota and Badlands National Park. We were ready to turn a new page and see what else was out there to explore. Our next big stops were planned in the Black Hills region with Custer State Park, Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, Mt Rushmore, the Mammoth Site and many other exciting places further into the journey.

Before we could do any of that though, we had to fix the leaky pipe in our RV toilet so that we could have our water back. Luckily, Rapid City was just on our route and had plenty of hardware stores to pick up the necessary parts. For just $40 and some elbow grease my husband fixed what we were going to be charged $500+$180 just the night before by the mobile RV repair. We were still so mad about that! Nonetheless, the toilet was fixed, the water was back on, and Chapter 2 of our road trip could start.