May 5, 2013

Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota

I need to preface with:  Yes, I'm in South Dakota.  Yes, I had an extra-special (extended) route planned out to take us to De Smet to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.  Yes, Scott was thrilled to be a part of that.  

Then I found out they're closed Sundays.  My heart broke a little bit.  I hopefully asked if we could just go anyway and I could do the tour myself (like I need a guide), but he just looked at me strangely. 

So, instead, we're going to Mt. Rushmore this morning.  It will not be the same life-changing experience De Smet would have been...but what are you gonna do.. 

We'll just have to come back this summer. 


I knew there was a gif/picture out there that would express my feelings about being back in the United States. 


My feet  are just happy to be back on contiguous soil once again. 

Yesterday (Saturday), we started out in Great Falls, Montana.  That was, indeed, a great town.  We stayed at a Staybridge Suites.  For $119+tax, we got a granite-topped kitchen, HBO, a gym/pool, and a breakfast buffet that could’ve kept us busy for hours.  I recommend them.  The front desk clerk told me she had lived on the Aleutian Islands for 3 months last winter because she was married to a crab fisherman (“was” being the key word).  She didn’t like it there, so we commiserated for a few minutes.


It was right on the Missouri River, so I had my picture taken with Sacagawea before we left.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to stop at the Lewis and Clark Museum.





We did drive through the Lewis and Clark National Forest though.  I wished we’d had more time and/or the weather would’ve been more cooperative (rain and snow), because I would’ve stopped at every “Historical Point”.



After driving through ALL of Montana, the most boring half hour of my life in Wyoming, and part of South Dakota, we're staying a nice and shady Super 8 in Rapid City.  Such a turnaround from last night...2 more days and we should be at Fort Leonard-Wood.   

11 comments:

  1. Aw that stinks that the museum was closed, I would have gone to something like that too (we have done all the steinbeck centers here!). Have fun the next two days, you are almost home!

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  2. It was CLOSED??????? OMG. I would have cried rivers. I've told my husband every time he mentions going to that area, that he really means the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum, right? :)

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  3. Yay so happy you are getting closer to your destination! :)

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  4. I love museums, and I'm sad that you didn't get to stop at two of them. Trruly tragic!

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  5. I cannot believe the museum was closed!!! But Mount Rushmore does sound really cool :) Can't wait to see your photos! So happy to see that you're getting closer.

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  6. I am so bummed for you that after being excited, you found out the museum was closed. WOMP WOMP. But I am glad you're getting closer to your destination!

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  7. One of my favorite childhood memories is playing 'Little House on the Prairie' with my sisters. That museum would have been pretty cool. Safe travels!

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  8. You're almost there!!!!!!
    WooHOOOOO!!!!

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  9. You look so so so happy Kristin! And I am so happy for you! I know you hated Alaska. I had a friend who lived there for many years and it practically sucked the life out of her and her husband (he had PTSD) and they HAD to leave. And left over night actually.

    I am slightly jealous of all you guys get to see! I wanna travel again! I haven't in years!

    ps. I want that messenger bag of yours......

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  10. Welcome back to the US! I sort of felt the same coming from Hawaii... even though we liked it there, when we came back to the Mainland, it felt like going back to the real US. It's different in those not-attached states.

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  11. Love the pictures and reading about your journey! :)

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