4th trimester: Road Trip Finale

After a rough start on Sunday morning (we think Lucy's various modes of noise making drove our neighbors to their car), we rallied to have some of our best days of the trip. We hit Mount Rushmore in the morning and then decided to swing by the Mount Rushmore KOA and check out the accommodations.

The Mount Rushmore KOA is pretty much a kid's dream. They had a pool, water slide, splash pad, jumping pillow, bikes for rent, pancake breakfast...the list goes on. So we got ourselves a campsite and settled in for the afternoon. On Monday, we decided to stay another night, but did leave for a day trip to Wind Cave National Park where we took a claustrophobic tour of a very small section of Wind Cave. The cave tour was certainly one of the high points for me. I think the girls enjoyed it too, if for no other reason than it was a nice break from the heat. After the cave tour we availed ourselves of the KOA activities again.

This morning we hit the road for Deadwood. Deadwood sounded like a cool place, but it's pretty much a town full of casinos. I suppose gambling is part of it's history, but the vibe is pretty lame - lots of slot machines and tired looking people. We did get some old time photos taken of the family - they are pretty hilarious. Unfortunately there are no digital versions provided.

We wrapped up the day at the Deadwood Lodge just outside of town. More swimming and a nice dinner at which Lucy announced "I'm tired." I think that says it all.

Despite having one last night scheduled at a state park near the border, we think we'll head all the way back tomorrow. The Black Hills provided some protection from the heat wave going on around us. Our scheduled destination tomorrow night is right in the thick of it so we're going to cruise home with the air conditioning on. It's a wrap!