The Hills of South Dakota

Hey friends! Thanks for checking in on our progress. We are Pat and Michelle, born and raised in Minnesota, and currently taking our 'GAP' year in our 50's. We have decided to leave normal life behind in search of something different...We recently launched full-time travel life in our Brinkley travel trailer with our dogs, Indie and Louie.

After heading out of Minnesota in mid-July, we drove across the state of South Dakota. Or at least that’s what we thought we were doing…I think in our minds, South Dakota was little more than a means to getting closer to Montana (and our kids!) Boy were we mistaken.

South Dakota was the adventure that kept on giving.. Everywhere we went, we kept saying ‘this is just so beautiful!’ We followed our noses and ended up at some pretty amazing places, almost by lucky accident. First, there was our afternoon walking downtown Sioux Falls. What a unique and dynamic downtown area, with the Falls making a beautiful backdrop to all things city-life. The dogs loved watching the ducks and getting their paws wet. We loved exploring without an agenda and seeing the huge variety of public art on display throughout the city. We ended up at Fernson Brewing in Downtown Sioux Falls one evening for a local brew and a little snack, something that involved tater tots, which seemed very ‘midwest’ of us on our way westward, haha. 

The surprises of South Dakota

just kept coming. I’m not sure if our expectations were low or we just didn’t do enough research ahead of time, but we kept finding great things around every corner of this state. The hills there are amazing - almost mountains - and full of surprises. The colors and textures and different ‘moods’ in the landscape were just so stunning. We tried to capture what we could in our pictures, and will remember the abundant hills when we think of this striking state.

We explored Palisades State Park and Splitrock Creek on a sunny blue bird day.. The stone there is pink Sioux Quartzite and it is standout-gorgeous. The steel truss bridge over the creek (built in 1908 and on the National Register of Historic Places) was another fun surprise and made for some vivid pictures. We hiked along the creek bank and the dogs loved splashing along the water’s edge. Simple pleasures!

We made a quick stop to see the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD

(The only Corn Palace in the WORLD, imagine that) it is certainly a unique spot.

Bob

We stayed overnight and saw the best

sunset of the summer -so far- at

Diamond A Cattle Ranch, located in

Pukwana, SD

(thank you, Harvest Host!)

Bob the Cat and Fred the Dog were fun and friendly hosts.

The Badlands were next, incredible! Our first N a t i o n a l P a r k of the trip did not disappoint. We felt like we were walking on Mars as we got out of the truck and explored on foot. They call this the 'Land of Stone and Light' and the geologic formations are unlike anything we've experienced before. 500 pictures later, we popped out near Wall, SD and made our way to Rapid City for a couple of days.

Badlands National Park 'The Land of Stone and Light'

From there, we ventured out on day-trip adventures to Mount Rushmore, The Needles Highway, and Deadwood. Everywhere we went, we were awed by the opportunity to take in scenery of varying scale, shape, texture and colors. 

Needles Highway

was a fun challenge

in our new extra-large

deisel GMC!

Not for the faint

of heart, but Pat

didn't skip a beat

and the beauty along

the drive was worth

the risk of a scratch

or scrape.

D e a d w o o d

Art Alley, a fun stop in Downtown Rapid City

Thanks for checking in on our adventures!