Badlands, Deadwood SD

Sunday, June 28th First on the agenda was taking advantage of a Continental Breakfast that was offered at the Frontier Cabins store/office. One could buy anything in there from jewelry to replica guns. As tempted as we were we wanted to be selective as to what we brought home. Leaving there we headed to downtown Wall to see the famous Wall drugstore. It was huge and reminded me of an indoor mall but this didn’t have a main walking area. The various stores were connected by doorways that led into the next room. Kind of like a maze. I guess there were some hallways but it was a confusing menagerie. We left having sampled some apple pie and donuts. Joe was impressed with the western wear shop that had boots galore along with holster rigs. I, on the other hand, found myself over by the Brighton leather goods. The town was done up in Western storefronts, wood sidewalks and hitching posts. We shopped and thankfully were not bitten by the souvenir bug. Not yet that is. Once satisfied that we'd seen enough, off to badlands for some incredible photos of bison, prairie dogs and awe inspiring landscape.

Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota

Saturday, June 27th Our journey led us Northwest through Wisconsin. We enjoyed getting away from the throng of city drivers and started to see more countryside. Little did we know then that it was a prelude to what was to come. Talk about country! Once into Minnesota all we saw were large, huge farms. There were no single houses anywhere. They were vast parcels of land that are being farmed. If we saw any structures they were farm buildings and silos. The land was rather flat but lush. One thing that had me clicking away on the camera was this one area with wind turbines. There must have been hundreds of them. I wonder what they were powering. I was expecting to see 1000 lakes but saw none. We traveled along the southern most border of the state. So, I guess, all the lakes must be in the northern part. We seem to be enjoying the adventure and hope to reach South Dakota this evening. We crossed over into South Dakota and the landscape gradually changed. It’s funny to see this. The first part of SD was uneventful but as we neared the west side the terrain took on a new look. The land over the next hill exposed the beginning of some rock formations which we later discovered were part of the Badlands. They were similar to the Grand Canyon but not as vast. As darkness shrouded the landscape we were unaware of the encroaching formations around us. It wasn’t until the next day that we saw with amazement that we were in the northern part of the Badlands. Arriving in Wall, SD we tried to find a hotel /motel that didn’t have a “NO VACANCY” posted on their lobby door. Since it was late and we were starving we found the Red Rock Restaurant. Joe asked the owner if they knew of a place we could stay for the night. Not believing that anything was available it was a real surprise to hear her say “YES”. She proceeded to tell us about some cabins that are on the opposite side of the Interstate away from the bright lights. Most people miss them because they aren’t chain hotels. This was a Godsend. With one quick phone call we were in. What a great country we live in. The cabin was a replica of a Cabela’s catalog. The furniture was rustic and huge; the decorating was wilderness themed with towels, shower curtain and upholstering to match. It was heaven. Joe fell in love with it and now wants to have one of these cabins to make it his MAN SPACE.

Orcas Island or Bust! 2009

Friday, June 26, 2009, about 6:10 a.m. found us leaving Baltimore and heading toward RT 70 which later met up with the PA Turnpike. We skirted around Pittsburg and headed toward the Ohio Turnpike which took us across the entire state. We were very fortunate at missing several rain squalls. Gas prices ranged from $2.69 - $3.09 per gallon. Joe and I were both surprised by the amounts charged for the tolls along the way. It finally stopped outside of Chicago.
Our first night was spent in Beloit, WI at an Econo Lodge for $53.33 which included a sorry excuse for a continental breakfast. We should have just bought an Egg McMuffin across the street. Still, I thought the price of the room was very reasonable.