July 2019 – The King Family

Thursday, July 25 – We are headed northward! If all goes well, we will finish seeing all 50 states on this trip.

Today we travelled from Kennesaw, GA to Paducah, KY. Alan is pictured below being goofy beside the pig at the Cadiz, KY tourist information center.

We went through the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area (between the Kentucky Lake and Cumberland River) and paid $5 to drive through the Elk and Bison Prairie. Worth it! Saw no elk but did see 4 wild turkeys.

We then arrived in Paducah, Kentucky – our home for the evening. We drove to the riverfront and enjoyed their murals (an artist was working on one) along the river. The temperature was perfect for walking. They also have a train on display to honor the role that the railroads played in their development.

We ate at Doe’s. They serve lunch until 5 PM. We strolled in at 4:40 PM. It is Central time here. Our stomachs are on Eastern time so it worked out well! Afterwards, Alan took me back to the hotel for quality lounging time while he went in search of Pickleball! We are off to a great start.

Friday, July 26 – Happy 33rd Anniversary to us!

We left Paducah, KY after our free breakfast at the Fairfield Inn. We drove straight into Illinois, passed a lot of cornfields, and then crossed the state of Missouri. We stopped at Ozarkland because it seemed like everyone else was!

We are excited to be visiting and staying the night at our nephew Dale’s studio apartment. When we took the exit for his apartment, Alan realized that it is the same exit that Travelport is on. He had been here decades ago for work and stayed at the Embassy Suites – the same place Kelsey stayed when she came for Dale’s graduation.

Dale took us to Joe’s Kansas City Bar B Que. It is famous and we had to wait in a long line but it was worth it.

Then we went to Chicken N Pickle – a newish Pickleball/restaurant chain. Alan is very happy. (Best. Wife. Ever. He really married well!) Dale played his first Pickleball game with Alan. He has skills!

Saturday, July 27 – We started the day with a great breakfast prepared by Dale – he has cooking skills too! We bid farewell to him and drove about 7 minutes to pick up Bill and Diane at the airport.

Our ride from Kansas City to Sioux Falls took us along the Nebraska/Iowa state line. We stayed primarily in Iowa looking at a lot of corn fields. “90% of their land area is for agriculture”. Mostly corn and soybeans. We also saw flooded plains. Their late spring snows melted onto already saturated grounds causing devastating floods. We couldn’t get to the first Iowa welcome center because the road was still closed. Buildings look like our SGI house after the Hurricane Micheal storm surge – the bottom part removed. We also saw a couple of silos that had collapsed in the flooded fields. A lady at the welcome center located 5 miles from the interstate on the Lincoln Highway told us that the interstate only reopened about 3 weeks ago!

We made a quick trip into Nebraska for a Taco Bell break.

Finally – Sioux Falls! We deposited our luggage at the Springhill Suites and moved in to Falls Park. It was a beautiful area.

Next, downtown. They have a lot of sculptures to view. We ate delicious burgers at JL Beers before walking upon a car show. Many cool cars, live music, and a bunch of people enjoying the outdoors.

Sunday, July 28 – Yesterday we travelled through 5 states (Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota). Today has been all South Dakota. We started with our buffet breakfast compliments of the Springhill Suites in Sioux Falls.

We enjoyed 80 mph speed limits on our road trip. I would have taken a picture of a sign but we were going too fast! We slowed down and visited the Corn Palace! Loved it! The art on the inside and outside of the building are made of corn cobs. Inside is an auditorium/basketball court/souvenir store – depending on the need of the day. Alan bought a caramel corn cob and a shirt. He embraced his inner tourist.

We crossed the Missouri River and went from corn and wheat fields as far as the eye can see to rolling hillsides. We are enjoying the scenery which is so different from what we usually see. Our next stop Al’s Oasis – for obvious reasons.

We noticed an exit for the Minutemen Missile site. Inside was a map with a scenic loop of the Badlands. So we decided to take the loop. Just before entering the park was a store called Robert’s Prairie Dog Town where you could buy peanuts for $1 and feed the prairie dogs. So we did!

Then we entered the Badlands. Every turn brought a beautiful vista. The pictures do not do it justice, but we tried.

We continued on to Wall Drugs. We have been seeing billboards for it for 100s of miles. They started a booming business when they began giving away free ice water in the 1930s. I think everyone in South Dakota was there! I had a donut and free ice water. Alan had ice cream. There were a lot of statues, history, souvenirs, food, an arcade – something for everyone.

We finally rolled in to Rapid City. We stopped at a Visitor Center and learned that we had crossed into Mountain Time and we have gained another hour for our day! We went to our condo, we downtown, ate dinner, went to Walmart, and ended our day! Whew!

Monday, July 29 – Another busy day! The sun rises early and so did we. We didn’t rush, ate breakfast in, and then headed to Sturgis. Bike Week starts this Friday. We do not want to be in that crowd, but we would like to see the area. They are putting up tents and making preparations for a large crowd. We were not terribly impressed, but we aren’t bikers.

We moved on to Deadwood. It was very quaint/touristy. We are up in the hills and the temperature is cooler. We started at the picturesque visitor center and then strolled through the town. We stopped and ate at Saloon #10. We drove up some steep, curvy hills to the historic cemetery but didn’t pay the $2 to go in.

We got back in the car and headed through Lead and Spearfish Canyon in search of waterfalls. We came along one with no name at a random spot in the road. A tornado had been through the area as evidenced by the trees snapped in half on the opposite hillside and confirmed by the locals.

Further down the road, we found Roughlock Falls. It has a paved, easy trail to follow to the falls. It also had a spot for wading. The water is cold.

After a quick stop at Bridal Veil Falls, we drove to Belle Fourche to find the geographic center of the United States. We weren’t sure where it was so we pulled in to the Tri State Museum – and found it! The visitor center had a lot of historical artifacts and information.

On our way to the condo, we stopped by the side of the road to get a pic of one of the numerous hay bales that dot the landscape.

We had one road mishap – a rock flew up and chipped the windshield. It’s not too bad. If we had to have a car problem, I think this is the best kind to have.

Last stop before the condo, the Senior center to find out about Pickleball. They have new courts! Alan and Bill will be playing at 7!

Tuesday, July 30 – We are off to Mount Rushmore – until we realize that we have left the park pass in the condo. Change gears! We are off to Custer State Park. On the way we saw Bear Country so we tourists did what tourists do! We drove through and saw tons of wildlife – elk, one barely visible arctic wolf, Buffalo, pronghorn, timber wolf, Bighorn sheep, mountain goats, mountain lions, and many black and brown bears. Then we could walk through a well maintained area to see smaller animals like porcupine, badger, arctic fox, and coyotes. The cutest were the baby bears!

We continued our journey to Custer and decided to do the Wildlife Loop first. Yes, we have already seen a lot of animals, but these are in the wild so it’s completely different! We saw more deer, petted donkeys, and saw more buffalo.

After a brief stop at the visitor center and a stop to fuel the vehicle and ourselves, we took the Needles Highway – 3 tunnels, needle like rock formations, and more beautiful scenery.

To stretch our legs, we stopped at Sylvan Lake. It appears to be a very popular spot. Chairs are set up for a wedding. There are swimmers, paddle boarders, and kayakers enjoying their day.

On the way back to Rapid City, we stopped for a free wine tasting at Prairie Berry Winery. We have seen ads for Red Ass Rhubarb Wine in several places. It’s a 100% South Dakota made so we have to try it. We like it!

We make a stop at Walmart for salads for dinner. The girls rest while the boys play Pickleball.

Wednesday, July 31 – Our last full day in South Dakota and we are off to Mount Rushmore. Turns out that we didn’t need the National Park pass that we left in the condo yesterday. It is a free National Monument but you have to pay $10 to park. I didn’t realize that you can see it from the road! The boys hiked up a trail with plenty of stairs for a closer view. The girls read books in the air conditioned gift shop! The amphitheater area is currently unavailable because of construction.

Next stop on today’s agenda – lunch at Desperados in Hill City. It is the oldest hand hewn commercial log building in South Dakota. Then on to Crazy Horse Monument.

We moved on to Wind Cave National Park. No tours were given today because the elevators were not working. We didn’t see the caves but we saw numerous prairie dogs! They are so cute. When we would get out of the car, they would start chirping to alert others of “danger”. We also saw buffalo roaming over the rolling hills. It was just beautiful!

We drove through Hot Springs and saw a woolly mammoth park, but it was $10 and later in the afternoon so we opted not to go in. Instead we stopped at Sinclair Gas Station and posed with the dinosaur. We all remember these from our childhoods.