Woke up in Bismarck, North Dakota...I think. That was today. Yes. It's 10 p.m. and it feels like Bismarck was a week ago. We are all travel weary tonight.
We started off perky and full of energy this morning. Kids played a little catch in the hotel room with an apple while we packed up....
Don't ask me to explain. I can't. Sometimes it's just better not to ask.
First thing we did was drive by the North Dakota State Capitol, which isn't hard to find as it's the only tall building in Bismarck. If I hadn't read about the capitol, I wouldn't have known that's what it was. It just looks like a big brown office building. You can drive right up.
We have seen a lot of state capitol buildings. I don't know exactly how many, but a LOT. This is without a doubt the most underwhelming one of the bunch. As is pretty much the entire state of North Dakota. Seriously. I do not see one reason to ever visit here again. It's not bad, there's just nothing here. I mean if there was a zombie apocalypse, this would be the place to be cuz you could see them coming for miles. We stopped to get gas and I was at the register, and of course my accent gave me away, and even a local gentleman said for us to get on to South Dakota because, "They have trees there!"
Only we could be stuck in traffic in a state where the entire population is less than 700,000, but we managed to find it on the way out of Bismarck.
I can't even tell you how happy we were to cross into South Dakota. Not only do they have trees here, but they also have towns along the way. With gas stations. And restrooms.
And, adorable little locally owned drive-in's! We had lunch here in Herreid, SD. Awesome little lunch spot. We ate outside and were pretty much the lunch show for all the regulars. Seriously. Even the kids picked up on it and asked why people were staring at us. When the circus comes to town...
Their high school mascot is also the Yellow Jackets, which was very exciting. Btw, their colors are yellow and black. They must not have those fierce orange ones in South Dakota.
South Dakota is still very rural, but so different from North Dakota. Lots of picturesque farms and fields. We made it to Pierre, the capital. And, since I am a trip advisor addict (Senior Contributor status!), had identified the best ice cream there. Off to Zesto's we went and we were not disappointed!
These walk up soft serve places are popular up here in these parts. Thomas had the Armadillo, appropriate for a Texas boy, chocolate with peanut butter hard shell, hot fudge and peanuts....
Grace and Scott both got another mint something with the green snot...
Mandy sticks with the classic hot fudge sundae....
And this Southern girl ordered up the Peach Cobbler, fresh peaches, caramel and pecans!!
It was here that Mandy informed us that this was her favorite state because today she had the best chicken nuggets she's ever eaten & the best ice cream. Those of you who know Mandy know those are THE two things that she can't live without. Therefore, she will be attending college in South Dakota.
South Dakotans did their capitol right. BEAUTIFUL!! Tallest thing in the entire city and you can see it from wherever you are...
From Pierre we headed West toward Rapid City. Looooooooog drive. We did have a road trip first today. I rode in the back with Mandy and Thomas rode shotgun during this stretch. First time we've had a kid old enough to ride in the front seat on one of our road trips!
I'm not sure what our driver thought, but this to me was the longest stretch of the day. We stopped in Wall at Wall Drug, a complete tourist trap/hokey roadside attraction, not because we really wanted to, but just cuz we wanted to stop the car for awhile!
It started as a drug store forever ago and to drum up business they put a million signs on the road advertising "free ice water." Now, it's turned into a complete cheesy tourist nightmare. Crowded with lots of over priced worthless tourist junk. We enjoy that to some extent, but this was way more than I could really bear. The kids weren't impressed either. The thing they liked the best was this "old fashioned" telephone booth...
We left here and pressed on to Rapid City. Got there in time for dinner at the Colonial Restaurant. Just good old fashioned American food. Scott and I split a Buffalo Burger, which was really, really good! We all had a little bit of dessert, it IS vacation.... Scott and I had the banana cream pie and Thomas ordered chocolate cake, a whole one apparently....
Scott had to help him out. Can't go wastin' perfectly good chocolate cake you know!
We are staying at a campground with these awesome cabins in Custer, which is actually closer to Mount Rushmore than Rapid City. The cabin is brand new with a full kitchen and bunk beds for the kids so no one has to sleep on the cot! We are here for the next three nights. It was nice to unpack and relax in a homey environment this evening.
The kids played card games with each other. Scott read. We bought all the state magnets and the display board and Thomas and Mandy put on all the states we've been to. Thinking I'll frame it and hang it in our new room upstairs, which is travel themed...
We are all super excited for tomorrow! We are going straight to Mount Rushmore first thing!!! Kids are over the top excited about it and really so are Scott and I. Driving in this evening Scott said, "I can't believe we're here. I've wanted to see this my whole life." These road trips are honestly one of the best things we've done as a family. Blessings abound in such a variety of ways...kids bond as siblings, strengthens Scott & I as a team, we all get to know each other better, we learn a ton, and we see what life is like outside our Rockwall bubble. Even though we are road weary tonight and miss our family and friends, we still wouldn't trade these Milder Moments for anything in the world!
Blessings from South Dakota,
Leslie
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