Forging Ahead

Day 44-Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse Today our adventures took us to Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. We decided we didn’t need to go into the Mt. Rushmore Park because we got good pictures on the road. We saved $10 for parking. The sandstone rocks are amazing to view. We then drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial. It is an on-going sculpture build going on since 2018. They’ve finished the head but are still carving. Joe took a picture of what the finished product will be. We ate lunch there, looked at the museum, and watched some Native American dances. We then went to Keystone to shop. My favorite thing, Joe stayed in the car. Tomorrow we will drive to Badlands National Park. More later.

Day 43_ South Dakota (Custer State Park When we got up it was raining so we took our time getting ready to go. Our destination today was Custer State Park. The purpose was to see wildlife and the park. We did see deer, antelope, buffalo, and burros. We especially saw the buffalo up close and personal. I thought they looked better than the ones in Yellowstone. Maybe because here they mostly have already shed their fur. Yellowstone higher elevation so maybe that’s why. Anyway, I love seeing critters. We came back and ate lunch then Joe wanted to go the the grocery store. This time his GPS did the same thing so he ended up going on the same route he got stuck in. This time he had no trailer so it was a neat drive. Tomorrow we’ll drive that same stretch of road so I can see on our way to Mt. Rushmore. After Rushmore I want to go to Keystone to shop! More tomorrow.

Day 42–arriving in South Dakota Well, today started off as usual. Bright sunny and a pleasant drive. We went through parts of Wyoming to get to South Dakota. As usual we went through Great Plains, rolling hills, and once in South Dakota we went through Black Hills National Forest. On the way there, we were mainly using the truck’s GPS to find our campground. From our experience, when there’s a discrepancy between the truck and my phone’s GPS, mine is usually correct. Well, big mistake with the truck’s. Where it said our campground was, there was nothing there. We stayed on 16a (which was correct) but didn’t realize that there were short narrow tunnels to go through and of course there are no signs until you are right upon it that we realized the trailer was too tall. It was a single lane tunnel with traffic going both ways. There was no way to turn around...needless to say Joe was not a happy camper because he had to back the trailer down a windy narrow mountain road. I was very pro...

Day 41- last day in Montana Today is our last day in Montana. I admit I’m a little sad about leaving this beautiful state. I already miss my new found cousins. I only hope we can see each other again in this life. Today we went to the cute town of Sheridan. Turns out it’s in Wyoming. We are pretty much staying right on the border. The purpose of our trip was to find wi-fi or a good cell service. I had to post my blogs and talk to my daughter. I’ve said before that I don’t like being off the grid. I’m definitely a people person. Doesn’t bother Joe a bit. He’s basically a hermit so he loved it. 😄 While in town I got the grands their present. Though technically we were in Wyoming I bought their because at our campsite they wanted $35 for a t-shirt! We ate lunch at Jimmy John’s . Haven’t had one of their subs in a long time. We got back to the camper and read and tried to sleep. It was so hot. It was even hotter than Knoxville and along the coast. Got up to 98 here. I’ll also miss t...

Day 40- Tongue River Day 2 Today was another beautiful sunny day. It was very hot, close to 100 . We spent this day truly relaxing. I slept,read, and laid in the sun by the river. Joe fished and he caught 3 fish today. Two on one lure...he’d never done that before. Fishing license runs out tomorrow at 9:30 am. He’ll get one last time to fish. Tomorrow, I want Joe to take me to the town of Sheridan. I hope to either get cell service or wi-fi. I hate being totally off the grid. Hopefully I’ll get my shopping done. Watched Gone With The Wind tonight. Such a classic. It will probably be banned soon. All for tonight.

Day 39-Tongue River State Park  Well, we’ve had another beautiful day in southern Montana. However, after a cool breezy night last night, today there no breeze and much hotter. I think it got up to 86. Tomorrow is supposed to be 96 and Friday supposed to get 100. Gone are the cool days when wearing jeans and long sleeves were in order. Our campsite has it’s own private beach. I took my chair and sat out for about an hour and a half. I even walked into the water. I was afraid to go swimming not sure what would be under me. It is all rocks going out so I wear flip flops. Tomorrow I hope to blow up the raft so I have something to hold on to. The state park is built around a reservoir. It is the beginning of the Yellowstone River. Very beautiful. When Joe went to the nearest grocery store (about 20 minutes away) he noticed he was now in Wyoming again. This state park is on the border of Montana and Wyoming. Joe said it was a nice drive and the mountains were definitely in Wyoming. S...

Day 38-travel day to Tongue River State Park. Another beautiful, sunny day. I must say we’ve been blessed with traveling. It has not rained very much at all since the beginning of our journey. When it has, it’s been overnight and one day in Glacier we were in the rain. Didn’t last all day. God has been good by not having it rain on travel days. He knows that Joe would be nervous pulling the trailer. We are certainly headed home. We are starting to travel East and south. Like I’ve said before, it’s been so interesting seeing the landscape change. Tongue River is on the border of Montana and Wyoming. This stop is our last time in Montana. I really love Montana. It truly is Big Sky Country. I could see myself living out here if my children weren’t so far away. On the way to Tongue River the landscape started off being pretty flat. You could see for miles. Yet in the background there were mountains. The neat thing was seeing a lot of rocky hills . We were in a canyon of some sort and th...