Adventures - Day 3 on the Road

We started out so well this morning, in the trucks and ready to pull out of Sioux Falls, SD at 7:58am! After Scott prayed, we headed out, ready to see Mt. Rushmore. The night before, Scott Biddle said the roads were pink. (I wonder if he was also dreaming of pink elephants...) So we were rather surprised that he was right...the highway WAS pink! Not more than 15 mins down the road a scaled down "panic" call came over the walkies. Scott said the check engine light on the Explorer came on and was flashing. After yesterday's close call with running the Penske truck on fumes, we planned to stop to fuel up, and a travel plaza was at the next exit so, we stopped there. Thankfully there was a substantial service station as well. The long & short of it was that Scott's 4th cylinder was mis-firing and needed new spark plugs & wires. Since it was such a pain to get to all the wires and it was already up on the lift, we decided to have Randy replace all the wires & plugs while he was in there. We'll have a picture of Randy soon.

While we were waiting, we had a nice conversation with a local farmer from Hartford, SD. Interestingly, he commented that the people in that area of the country "had their head screwed on straight unlike those in government." There you have it, straight from the mouths of those in the heartland! Since the truck was going to take a few hours to fix, we took advantage of the Bowling Alley across the highway. The Ten Pin Alley was UNBELIEVEABLE!! (We'll have a few pics of this too) The place must've been brand new, complete with a restaurant and Godfather's pizza! Have you ever been in a bowling alley with couches, coffee tables, and cosmic carpet, all without the stench of stale cigarette smoke? If you're ever driving thru South Dakota on I-90, you have GOT to stop in Hartford and bowl a game or 2! The pizza's pretty good too!

Ok, so after 4 1/2 hours there, the truck was finished & we were seriously on our way to Mt. Rushmore. The scenery began to change eventually, and the rolling hills of miles & miles of grassland made you feel very small. As we neared Wall, SD (east of Mt Rushmore) and home of the famous Wall Drug, we stopped off at a scenic overlook. Amazing. We're not even sure that the pictures will even do justice to what our eyes saw. We made a short stop afterwards in Wall, for a pitstop and to park the Penske so we could hop in the Explorer and head to the Badlands. This National Park was unexpectedly spectacular once we passed thru the gate & paid our $15. The words mindboggleing and breathtaking come to mind as we stood at the first overlook and surveyed the cavernous and jagged landscape below. It seemed to go on for miles and miles. We felt like we could see to the ends of the earth. As we drove through the park, we witnessed more spectacular views and wondered how all of this formed, how the outlaws survived in these canyons back in the wild west days, and how these formations withstand the weather changes that occur in these parts, yet remain, seemingly, unchanged. That is, until the wind coming thru our truck caused a vacuum effect and sucked out a WalMart bag, which found its way into the air, littering the formerly untouched Badlands.....uh-oh.

It was now about 5:30pm and we headed back to the Penske, grabbed dinner out of the coolers, and headed to Mt. Rushmore. What a beautiful drive up the mountain! This National Monument was equally impressive, but in a different way. We hope to be able have some great pictures to post of this as well. Daylight was beginning to wane and the crowds were gathering for the evening show which included a short movie, some speakers, a few military personnel and the lighting of the monument. It was absolutely incredible to look at what the dream of one man produced. Using the natural resources to sculpt 4 future-altering, outstanding leaders in the history of this great nation. The museum underneath the pavillion seating housed so many exhibits and photos that caused us to pause and reflect on the sacrifices and passion of people who wished to provide a memorial for all to see, and more importantly, never forget.

It was time for us to head out so we could reach our hotel in Gillette, WY before we fell asleep, it had been a LONG day, but very rewarding, despite the morning challenges. Let's just say that I-90 between the hours of 10pm & midnight are something that would make the strongest person fight for staying awake. I John did a great job driving the Penske all day, and he was my guide as I fought for those 2 hrs to keep Scott & I alive while driving the Explorer. FINALLY, we reached exit 124 in Gillette. That Super 8 never looked so good!

Great job today everyone! Let's sleep in!! Tomorrow we head to Butte, Montana--Big Sky country!