July 10 was an action-filled day, but one in which all the pieces fell into place – SD kismet, perhaps!

Inspired by Ranger Ed the paleontologist, Ben woke up really early to search for fossils. And he found one too! He submitted a sight report and we sent pictures to Ranger Ed so he can investigate. We await his reply. 🙂

Before leaving the Badlands, we stopped for a short steep hike that afforded a wonderful view of the surrounding landscape (look for Chester parked below) and the thrill of a summit.

Next stop was Wall Drug, the iconic and ever-expanding attraction in the town of Wall. We had been primed by – count ’em – 67 billboards along the highway in SD, but we would have made the stop anyway. 🙂 Rowan commemorated the visit by purchasing a cowboy hat and has already had multiple compliments on it.

Continuing the “SD Rocks” tour, we stopped at Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse, both inspirations of art and engineering.

We had planned to stay at Wind Cave National Park, but made a last-minute change for Custer State Park, snagging the last campsite, which turned out to be within walking distance of a semi-professional theatre that even had tickets left for that night’s show! So, after a quick dinner at the campsite (yay, mac’n’cheese’n’peas) we enjoyed “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” to cap off our marvelous day.

Day 12: Badlands National Park SD to Custer State Park SD via Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse – about 150 miles.