2JeepPeeps

Working on a design for our badge...what do you think...

Completed some modifications of the tent area in preparation for our next trip. Tried to make an efficient way to vent the Zero Breeze cold air and exchange to and from the tent. Think this will work well!

We watched as the thunderstorms went around us on our final night at Elk Mountain campsite. We had a little rain late in the night and dry weather to pack up and start the drive back home.
We drove through Hot Springs and took the opportunity to stop again at Upper Crust Café to pick up some pastries & cookies for the trip! Unfortunately we faced strong headwinds for the entire drive across the rest of South Dakota and Nebraska.
We stopped for a late lunch at Legends Neighborhood Grill in Broken Bow NE and took a quick break at a rest area off I80 near Kearney Nebraska overlooking corn fields.
We had planned to camp at Beaver Crossing, but due to the gusty winds, we decided to just stop at the Love’s Travel Stop in Syracuse NE to get showers and call it a day.
After a restless sleep, we left for the final leg of the trip the following morning, which was about a 5-hour drive. We stopped outside of Kansas City for our final gas stop of the trip (after 30 or so, I lost track of exactly how many gas stops we took during the trip)!!!
Sherry thought it looked funny that I was filling with the extra gas that I carried while at the gas station.
All said and done, we traveled over 4,400 miles, encompassed 10 states, and 3 time zones! Now for all of the unpacking and cleaning up.

After the Wind Cave tour we took a short venture to the nearby town of Hot Springs, the county seat of Fall River County, South Dakota. This little “city” offered much to do such as a live paleontology dig (The Mammoth Site), relaxing natural warm mineral spas, and distinctive sandstone architecture, and even the annual craft festival going on along the river.
After stopping at the visitor’s center, which was an old railway depot, we walked across the street and ate at a quaint eatery, Upper Crust Café “Where you go to get your daily bread”. It was delightful and they also had some amazing breads and pastries.
Next we drove down the main street and went to the Mammoth Site. It is the world’s largest mammoth research facility and one of the top fossil interpretive sites in North America. With over 60 mammoths (58 Columbian, 3 woolly), which have been found at this site in Hot Springs, along with at least 87 other Late Ice Age animals. It was very interesting to see.
We also took some time to wander through the booths of the 49th Annual Craft & Arts Festival along the river in Centennial Park. With the weather moving in, we again stopped for gas and headed back to our campsite.

We started our morning at Wind Cave National Park with the Fairgrounds Tour, exploring both the upper and middle levels of the cave. The tour featured unique honeycomb-shaped calcite formations called boxwork, as well as popcorn and frostwork in the upper level.
It was a 1.5-hour, 0.6-mile route that enters and exits by elevator. Navigating the 450 stairs—including one climb of 89 steps—definitely left us breathless! We were also able to view the cave's natural entrance.

We departed Theodore Roosevelt National Park and continued our journey to South Dakota’s Wind Cave National Park. Our route took us through Sturgis, Rapid City for a quick gas/coffee stop, and Custer for some informative maps. We arrived at the park and located our spot at Elk Mountain Campground. This campground straddles the edge of a Ponderosa Pine Forest and is minutes from Wind Cave.

Exploring Theodore Roosevelt National Park-2
The next day, we began at the original park entrance sign located at Painted Canyon Visitor’s Center.
We continued to the north unit entrance of the park, exploring the unique features offered throughout this side of the park.
We drove back to our campsite on the south unit and explored a couple of other sites along the way.

Exploring Theodore Roosevelt National Park-1
We started exploring the features of the park from the south unit, enjoying the beautiful landscapes and unique features it had to offer.

Pictures from our stay at Cottonwood Campsite in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
We secured a fantastic site that offered great privacy, shade, and a clear view of the sky, all while being conveniently close to the restroom facilities that had running water. A highlight of the site was the unexpected wildlife; a bull bison blocking the path to the bathroom, four Bison bulls walking right past our Jeep, and witnessing a group of three bison stampeding through the campground. I felt like a “dumb” tourist being so unintentionally close to them…they were huge.