Badlands Badlands whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when THEY come for you..

Hi Friends!

Loretta :)

On the road again! Loretta and I were headed back to Missoula for our last Check in. This was one "Last" that I wasn't sad about at all. I mean maybe a little sad but not the sad you'd think, more like the "UGH! . . . Check in.".  >:( Loretta and I have been really lucky when it came to past Check ins. Yea they were no fun but we didn't have to do nearly as much as other teams who were switching shows or partners but now it was our turn to unload everything out of the truck, lug them all over tarnation, and "Check it" all in the prospective places. Grrr! Thankfully we had a long drive to numb the dread. ha! We drove straight from Hendricks, Minnesota to Billings, Montanna which made a very long drive but we  found fun things along the way.

We knew we would be driving through North Dakota where there were some really cool things to see. One of the first things we saw was this praire dog farm where we saw and fed a bunch of those little critters. We drove through the National Park of the Badlands which was soooo cool. It felt like we were in another world and the view went on for miles. We took lots of photos and ventured the land whilst trying not to step on a rattlesnake. I can take on spiders and any other kind of creepy crawler if I have to but NOT snakes. They scare me.

We also got to go to the famous Wall Drug. This was something that was apparently every TAD thought was a "Must See" when on tour. I think this place is just a hodge-podge of stuff. They have really cheap homemade donuts, souveniers, clothes, fudge, and little playgrounds for kids (aka ME) to crawl on/climb. What I think it's most known for are all it's signs on the highway 90. All the signs are different and all have catchy phrases on it with a random object or animal.  You'll see signs like "Catch ya at Wall Drug only 215 miles away" with a big fisherman on it. By the time you get somewhat near, you start thinking, "Well NOW I'm curious. What ISSS Wall Drug?". We now know and honestly it's kind of cool but I don't feel the need to go again. Been there. Done that. :)

The last place we stopped was a place that I had been HOPING to see all tour but never really thought I'd get to go. I feel like there are certain places that every American should go see, places like the Grand Canyon, the White House, and Niagra Falls which technically is in Canada too but STILL! Where we last stopped on the way to Billings, Mt falls under this list. . . . . Mount Rushmore. I was seriously stoked all day to see it and see it we did! I never realized how big it actually was but at the same time it seemed small. Of course its big it is a mountain but it seemed so far away which made it appear small. We later found out that we could've taken a trail to get up closer but we were on a tight schedule and couldn't stay long. However, we did get roam around the town and even considered staying there for the night instead of Billings because it seemed so cool. After much discussion we agreed to keep on going but not without buying a souvenir or two. We went in this one store and this elderly man who worked there stopped us and filled our brains with all this information about Mount Rushmore and the architect/his family line. He was a very nice man and I did learn a thing or two but we had to get going.

Once back on the road, I got this burst of energy that I could drive all the way to Missoula. We were only 5 hours away and I was wide awake. One of Missoula's driving rules for long trips are for each of us to drive in no more than 8 hour segments and together no more than 16 hours a day. TECHNICALLY I would be breaking that rule but I just kept thinking by the time they find out we'll already be there and what are they gonna do? Nada. Loretta wasn't on the same page with me but that was ok we made it to Billings safely and had a good night's rest which was what we needed. Well I did wake up at 5am at the sounds of the couple next door. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for over an hour. . . . thats all I will say. . . .
Haha OHHHH cheap hotel rooms!

I guess I was starting off the next day of driving on an interesting note. :)
I'm almost home!
-Jen