(con't) It was about 8:00pm when we arrived at Badlands National Park. Since we were on the very edge of the time zone the sun was just about to set. The Badlands are incredible! You drive through surrounded by towers of rock and deep crevices all with layers of different colors of rock. We hopped out for some pictures and let the kids climb a bit amidst the "Beware of rattlesnakes" signs. Being there at sunset was especially beautiful since there were amazing shadows on the rock and gorgeous 'sky-blue-pink' clouds. We left in the dark and heading up to Wall, SD to our hotel.
Day 3 - Wednesday, August 26
What an awesome, mighty and creative God we serve. We are truly seeing God's handiwork in creation while we drive across the country. From the landscape to the wildlife to the flowers all creation sings praise to our God! Today has been packed so far. We started out at the famous Wall Drug Store. It's a complete tourist trap with tons of little shops. Mom O, you would LOVE this place! We didn't want to spend too much time so we just shopped a bit and took some pictures. We saw the giant T-Rex in the back 'attempt to feed'. Nathaniel and Josh were terrified! Next we drove an hour-ish to Rapid City where we stopped at this little Dinosaur Park. It had a few rather pathetic, painted, cement, dinosaurs but an amazing 100 mile view. Next we drove through Bear County USA. It was pricey so we debated rather we should or not but we got our money's worth. We saw a large variety of animals but the highlight was definitely the black bears. We rounded a curve and saw 20-30 bears walking around, splashing in a small pond and walking right beside the cars. It was fun (and slightly frightening) to see so many bears up close. Next stop was Mount Rushmore just a little further south. It was inspiring to see such large replications of past presidents after walking through The Avenue of Flags. We hiked the Presidential Trail that gets a bit closer to the monument. There were a lot of steps so we were pretty hot when we finished. We stopped at a concession stand for ice cream cones. Caleb chose a cup instead of a cone and he asked the gal at the counter if he could have a spoon please. She told the gal at the register to 'give the boy a free pop' because he's the first child she heard say please today. She said she would shake our hand if she could (she had gloves on) because we are doing a great job. We were all so happy, especially Caleb with his free root beer. After Mount Rushmore we headed south through a scenic Black Mountains drive. The scenery was awesome, tight turns and tunnels. As we drove through one short tunnel we could see through an opening in the trees straight to Mount Rushmore far in the distance. That was a nice surprise! We didn't pay to do the Custer State Park Wildlife Loop because of time constraints. I think that's where the buffalo roam. So we missed fields of buffalo but did see a couple resting beside the road. After our scenic drive we started heading south towards Denver where we are spending the night with good friends. We're due to get there at 10:35pm. I'm glad we are taking a break from travelling tomorrow. It's been going great but we're all pretty sleep deprived. Today was another fantastic day of sunny, blue skies with poofy clouds. The kids did great again with just a few minor squabbles. The sunset in Wyoming tonight was breathtaking! Goodnight all.
P.S. It's really dark in Wyoming at night!
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