Here we go again!
Amaris and Fox set the primary destination of the Summer 20201 road trip for Glacier National Park (GNP) with secondary locations in Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There would be stops along the road and tertiary sights that we are pleased to share. The first two overnight stays were in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, South Dakota. Both cities offered unique cultures, people, and natural sights that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you for joining the gang on this incredible trip across the United States as everyone learned more about how vast, diverse, and beautiful this country is.
The journey began with a 5am departure from Chicago as there were 9hrs of driving (without stops) ahead of us. A couple hours into the drive was the first stop for breakfast, coffee, and strategery with clients at GraceCoffeeCo. Following the break, we were back on the way through the northern hills of Wisconsin and lush green fields of southern Minnesota before reaching Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls has a great artist scene with the SculptureWalk throughout downtown, pink stone of Falls Park, and Arc of Dreams™, Our one night in town was spent at a convenient flat in downtown.
The night was short, a record-breaking day of heat greeted everyone as we headed west on I-90, which would create quite the experience sooner rather than later. There is not much between Sioux Falls and Rapid City apart from the open road, large tracks of land, a few small towns, and the second least populace state capital of Pierre sitting on the Missouri River 35mi north of the interstate. Following a roadside lunch and more client calls at Blarney's in Mitchell, SD we continued to head west in the scorching heat before a Griswold style comedy unfolded 15 miles west of Murdo, SD.
Through the rolling hills of central South Dakota the Crosstrek began flashing “AT Temp” and we pulled over to make an assessment. Fox called his old man and before anything could be done there was a surprising knock at the window with a young trooper greeting everyone with the suggestions of a tow truck. As luck would have it the second company we called was able to reach the stranded travelers within 20 minutes and an expensive 125mi hitch to Rapid was secured. Over two hours later, with much more knowledge about the Badlands, 1880 Town, Cold War Era Minutemen Missile Silos, Ellsworth AFB, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and Black Hills, the truck reached a Subaru dealership. Once again, as luck would have it, the driver’s son in law was willing to take the marooned crew to the Canyon Lake Resort while being a polite tour guide and chauffer the next morning.
As is tradition at this point, luck would have it, by lunch time the vehicle was fixed and we were on our way into the Black Hills with nothing more than an extended warranty service for zero dollars. During the stay in Rapid, we enjoyed a relaxing evening on the shores of Canyon Lake, enjoyed breakfast at an understaffed Perkins, received recommendations to a few local spots in downtown like Firehouse Brewery and Press Start before leaving town.
The Black Hills had much more to offer than we were able to see due to the car delay and a tight schedule to reach Sheridan, WY so we made a quick pitstop at Mount Rushmore and were on the way again. In our humble opinion, some of the best views of the monument are on the highway approaching from the East rather than paying to park and walk up to the dead presidents. A few other attractions among the tourist filled hills are Custer State Park and Wildlife Loop, Cosmos Mystery Area, Wind Cave that the is central to the Lakota Emergence Story, Crazy Horse Memorial, and the remote Devil’s Tower. The tower was a natural wonder on the initial itinerary but unfortunately it had to be bypassed until next time.
Following the two interesting days in South Dakota everyone was excited to see the Black Hills fade away and open into the oil filled plains of Wyoming. The next stop on the road trip was Sheridan, Wyoming where we spent two nights and a wonderful day of horseback riding with Buffalo Mountain Outfitters, which we HIGHLY recommend, in the Bighorn National Forest.
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