2 GIRLS, 1 AMERICA

Total Mileage: Approx. 2330 miles

License Plate Total: 48

Day 11 was a busy day of sightseeing in South Dakota. We woke up at our campsite at the Badlands and made a pancake breakfast on the camp stove. After packing up our campsite drove up to the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail. Even though the trail was short we still could see miles and miles of gorgeous views of the Badlands. While walking the trail we actually caught a glimpse of a rattlesnake. Thankfully the family in front of us scarred it off into the trees. We then headed back to the Door and Window Viewpoint for even more views. To get back to Route 90 we took the Badlands Loop. It covers most of the park and plenty of places to pull over and take in the view. The Loop connects back to Route 90 in Wall, SD home of Wall Drug, a family run general store/pharmacy/souvenir store. We had seen billboards since the beginning of our drive in South Dakota, so we figured it was worth to stop. For lunch we spilt a bison burger and a bison hotdog. Both had so much flavor. Along with our lunch we had their free ice water- that saved their business back in the 1930s. Their homemade doughnuts were hard to resist so we took one for the road (Are we glad we did! YUM!) After leaving the Badlands and Wall Drug behind we headed to Rapid City to see Mount Rushmore. While we were impressed with the sculpting process of the monument, however the distance and width disappointed us a bit. From other pictures it looks so much closer. It’s still an impressive monument that was well worth the detour. After leaving Mount Rushmore we drove to Buffalo,Wyoming, where we planned on staying for the night before going to Yellowstone. As we got closer the sun was starting to set over Bighorn National Forest. It was a great way to end a busy day of sight seeing.

-Cassie