Good Times at the Badlands and Driving Through South Dakota

After Rapid City we began our long slog across the state of South Dakota. South Dakota turned to be exactly as boring as I had expected it to be, if not more so. Granted, we crossed the state on interstate 90, and did not take too many side country roads, so I can’t guarantee that the whole state is not one huge corn field, but it sure seemed that way. The excessively hot temperatures outside did not help make the drive any better either. It was so hot and dry that there were highway signs warning drivers to smoke only inside their cars and to empty all ashes into the ash tray. The chance of grass fire was very high.

Mr. Rushmore National Memorial

Sunday we crossed another state line on this trip, we hit state number 14, also known as South Dakota. That night we checked into an RV park just outside of Rapid City. Rapid City would put us close enough to the nearby attractions, and it was decent sized city so we figured we could explore some city along with seeing some nature. After parking the trailer we unhitched and drove into town to see what Rapid City had to offer.

Unfortunate Consequences of Living in Small Spaces

There are, of course, downfalls to living in such small quarters. I figured this poem and picture would give you an idea of what I'm talking about

The Wild, Wild West in Wyoming

To continue our trek east we headed north from our parking spot on Grassy Lake road, back through Yellowstone Park. When planning our drive we’d looked at the topographical map of the area on Google Maps and decided that if we headed north out of the park and back into Montana to get to I-90, that that would be the flattest way out. But, at the last moment, we rethought our plans and decided to instead venture directly east through Wyoming with hopes that the mountain passes wouldn't be that bad. I’m really glad we made the choice because we saw some really gorgeous parts of Wyoming that we would have missed otherwise.

Grand Teton National Park

The camping in Yellowstone Park was $28, which included two showers and dumping use, but did not include any hook-ups. After paying for two nights we were interested in finding a cheaper place to live, if not free. On our way down to the Tetons, we remembered that our friends at the Our Take on Freedom blog had been this way previously, and they had found a great boondocking spot between Yellowstone and the Grand Teton NP. We decided to check it out, and it turned out to be great!