Devil’s Tower National Monument

Onward to the West! We headed up I-90 and drove through Deadwood just to see it on our way to Devil’s Tower. We spent the night at the KOA just outside the park where they had filmed the movie Close Encounter of the Third Kind! The next morning we hiked the big loop around the tower. It was pretty amazing and we both said we wanted to come back and climb it one day. There were a lot of climbers spread across the tower making their ascents on the 867-foot geologic wonder.

Sioux Falls, Mitchell, Hill City, Custer, Keystone, Wall Drug, Badlands NP

Leaving Lake Itasca State Park, we struck out Southwest to South Dakota. There are plenty more places we’d like to visit in Minnesota, but because of its proximity to IL, we plan to come back sometime in the future on a week or weekend trip. First stop in the Dakotas was Sioux Falls, SD. Had to check out the town’s main attraction and namesake – Sioux Falls! It’s an iconic and sizable waterfall around which the city has created a park, and is doubly cool because it’s surrounded by rock formations that are fun for climbing! We enjoyed doing some rock scrambling and jumping around to get various perspectives of the falls. Also: The visitor center has a five-story viewing tower we climbed to get a wider, bird’s eye perspective!

I spent the afternoon at a picnic bench near the falls doing some work on my laptop and just enjoying the sight and sounds of the pounding water. It is wonderful to be able to make your workspace wherever in the world you want it to be. In the shade of the conifers next to Sioux Falls in South Dakota was my “office for the day.” I feel very thankful to be able to do this, and know it may not last forever so I plan to take in each moment of that career freedom whenever I can. The very earliest thing I can remember wanting in life is just to be outside – come sun, come rain, come snow.

Had a great experience and connection point at our brewery choice for the evening in downtown Sioux Falls. The name was WoodGrain Brewing, and if you’re in the area – HIGHLY recommend. It was a slow night, so the head brewer Steve came out and joined us to talk craft beer and offer some samples. He was awesome! And their Peanut Butter Werewolf is THE BEST peanut butter beer David and I have ever had…which is saying something cuz we’ve had a lot. We asked how he got it to be so much more thick and flavorful, and he told us that he actually brewed it with real peanut butter instead of peanut butter powder like every other brewery uses. Because of the natural oils that exist in peanut butter, he said the cleaning process after making the beer is 3x times as long and a pain in the butt. Buuuuut clearly WORTH IT for the superior product with a hilarious name aka PB Werewolf. Anyways, good conversation with brewer and bartender, an awesome couple of flights, and Steve going in the back to surprise us with 2 free bombers made for a solid end to our first evening in South Dakota.

Stopped in Mitchell, SD on our way west to see “The World’s Only Corn Palace,” a giant building covered in Western-themed images made entirely out of ears of corn. It’s only on the outside though, as I don’t think corn ears would hold up well structurally. A pretty cool idea to represent for midwestern corn country! I loved how they creatively incorporated the natural darker and lighter kinds of maize/corns into the images for shading and depth.

Since we knew John & Ann (David’s parents) were in Custer, we decided to drive across the state and surprise them for John’s birthday! David talked to them on the phone and got the name of the KOA they were staying at so we booked a few nights at the campsite next door. We asked where they were at the office and snuck right up on them while they were grilling hamburgers! They were very surprised. Mission accomplished.

The next morning we were up before dawn for the annual Buffalo Roundup that happens inside of Custer State Park. 20,000 people were expected to attend to see the 1,500 buffalo that would be stampeding on by into the corrals. We were in a long line to get to the huge “parking lot” and walk down with our chairs to find a spot in the crowd. They even had a huge pancake breakfast for everyone and we made it just in time before they stopped serving.

The roundup itself was really cool! Don’t often get to see that amount of buffalo altogether, nor as close up as we got to be, and there were a bunch of cowboys and cowgirls at the back end herding them along while on horseback. It did seem to be less bison than we had been told to expect, but I think that was because of too much hype/unrealistic expectations, or maybe covid had something to do with it…I’m not sure how, but I’m throwing it out there because it seems to affect everything else. Still – very glad we got to be there and watch the running buffalo and their calves!

Enjoyed an afternoon birthday lunch at Mt. Rushmore Brewing and then took a scenic drive up the Needles Highway. Beautiful! Those Cathedral Spires are a sight to behold. Tall, narrow, and reaching high in the sky so you sometimes have to crane your neck to see the tops! Passed through the Needle’s Eye Tunnel at the top, a thrilling and long granite tunnel barely wide enough for a single car to pass through at a time…so you just hope someone isn’t coming through the opposite direction.

On the other side, climbed around on some more granite spires and saw the “Needle’s Eye” namesake formation. It really does look like a giant eye of a sewing needle!

The next day, the four of us spent the day walking the town and shopping in Keystone and Hill City, two more small, historic towns in the Black Hills. Lunched at the Ruby House, an old saloon decked out in Western garb and decor – felt like a step back in time. Also played a sunset game of mini-golf in Keystone, which ended up just being more hilarity because the course was NOT well maintained, very steep since it was on the side of a mountain, and sometimes almost impossible to actually get the ball in the hole when you were a foot away! Had us laughing at our ridiculously high scores later. After golf, we hunted down this brewery/winery that we had wanted to visit called Firehouse.

Always nice to spend a few days mid-traveling with family! Glad we got make some fun memories together for my father-in-law’s birthday weekend.

We left them and headed back east to check out the famous Wall Drug store and Badlands National Park! Wall Drug started out as just a tiny drug store in 1931 and has grown into a ~76,000 square foot tourist attraction with everything you can think of: Souvenir shops, Western shops, bookstores, full restaurant, an indoor “Cowboy Alley” that is essentially a mall, a museum with local historical photos, backyard for kids to play in, a giant animatronic T-Rex, and more. It is a must-stop with 5 cent coffee and one of the best breakfasts we have ever had – the flapjacks are out of this world! Ice cream and free ice water are among a lot of things they advertise on their TONS of billboards you will see driving down I-90.

And just South of Wall, SD…the BADLANDS! We’ve wanted to visit Badlands National Park for quite a few years now, and finally had the opportunity to spend a few days there. It was magical.

****NOTE: Most of the Badlands pictures will be at the end of this post – it was easier to upload them all at once!******

Upon entrance, I stepped outside the RV onto the park grounds for the first time with Badlands by Bruce Springsteen playing on my phone. Clearly the best way to enter the park. We had to have listened to it at least 10 times throughout those 3 days, whenever the fancy struck us to jam out 😀

We started with the main Badlands loop, route 240, and just took our time. Did a small hike out into the craggy, rocky desert on the East side and on the way out passed a ton of signs in a row reminding us to turn back and “get more water!” before proceeding. It was eerie, dry, jagged, sharp, looked almost identical in every direction once we got away from the road, and often just felt like we were walking on the MOON. Would be totally outside of the average human’s comfort zone…which is exactly how David and I like to live our life. Love it. 

There are so many more stories from our time here, but for the sake of catching up I’ll just pick two that stand out in my mind.

Our second day we decided to brave Sage Creek Rim Road, the dirt road that goes out into the prairie on the West side of the park. Usually, trailers and RVs are not recommended to drive on these….and for good reason, as we discovered. We were both laughing along the drive, everything shaking and rattling and rolling around and falling off walls and counters – felt like we were going through a consistent earthquake! And we had to yell to hear each other because it was so damn loud. But it was crazy fun, and WORTH IT. After an hour and change of bouncy driving we got to a place where all the buffalo hang out. We got to eat lunch right next to a whole small herd of them right outside our vehicle, could see the facial expressions and observe their mannerisms so clearly! And the bright, cinnamon colored small calves are precious. One of the more intimate experiences with a buffalo herd – just them and us. 

The last story I’ll tell is from when we dry camped on BLM property neighboring the national park. You basically just drive around on grassy roads and find a level-ish spot to park. We lucked out and got a wild spot right next to the cliffside, and David lined it up nicely so that we had the most magnificent view out of our living room window! Watched the moon rise over a herd of bighorn sheep walking around right under us on the cliff’s edge. It’s something else being in your PJs and being able to observe from inside our little home. That we can be in places like that makes me love our home on wheels all the more for making it possible. 

Woke up the next morning for the sunrise over the cliffs – and all I had to do was sit up in bed.

Oh, this wandering life. If so blessed, I would choose to do it for always.

****Here’s a selection of our favorite shots from the Badlands:

Duluth & Lake Itasca State Park

Heading west from Apostle Islands we stopped in Duluth, MN for a day. They have a lakeshore walk and a stunning rose garden situated high up on the cliff overlooking lake Superior. SO many different colors and shapes of roses! Since we were there on a Saturday, a wedding was taking place in the garden and we just happened to be there at the opportune moment and witnessed the ‘first look’ of the bride & groom!

We knew of larger brewery in Duluth called Bent Paddle that makes some quality brews and *of course* had to check it out. Due to covid, people were only allowed to stay for 90 minutes. We hung out their for our full time allotment and then headed down the street to Fitger’s Brewhouse for dinner. This place was in an old downtown building right on the lake where they share a hallway with a sort of indoor mall with shops. Like a lot of brewpubs, the food was fantastic and most of the beer was decent with a few beers having some prominent off-flavors. And our server was really nice and wanted to hear all about our travels and where we still planned to go! People seem very excited to listen to our story, and many express sentiment that they wish their situation would allow them do the same.

The next day we drove over to Lake Itasca State Park, which happens to be the headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi! They have a lot of backpacking campsites in the park so we booked a site online. When we got there, none of the workers could understand why someone with an RV would want to backpack and tent camp instead of staying at the RV campsites. It was hilarious to us but we think we got in free because none of them knew where to direct us? Not sure but the park was beautiful and in full display of Midwestern fall colors!

After about a 4.5 mile hike to our site for the night, we were pleasantly surprised to find that our campsite was a private site on a lake and we even had our own toilet! Complete with a log bench and a fire pit.

The last place we visited was the famous headwaters spot where the river actually begins flowing off of Lake Itasca. It was fun to walk across the rocks that had been placed there a long time ago for people to experience walking across the origin point…and to imagine how much bigger it grows as it flows state to state!

Bayfield, Cornucopia, & Washburn Wisconsin

The Apostle Islands National Shoreline is a group of 21 islands of the coast of Wisconsin in Lake Superior. They are known for their beautiful, forested shorelines and especially for the sea caves! We stayed 3 nights here and explored the area. This hike south of Bayfield is called Houghton Falls Trail.

The only brewery in the area was South Shore Brewing so we checked it out – apparently the building used to be a bowling alley! The owner was our bartender and told us all about the history of the brewery. His beers were not too bad and there were a few we really liked.

The highlight was definitely our sea kayaking tour around Sand Island where we got to kayak all over and throughout the sea caves on the islands coast! There were some points where we were so far under the island that it was pitch black and we almost hit our heads a few times. So cool!

The next day we hiked along the northern shoreline of Wisconsin on the Bayfield peninsula – the peninsula sits just South of the Apostle Islands. Due to the nature of the weathering here, the caves are even BIGGER than the ones we’d kayaked through the day before! It was too late in the season for kayak rentals in this area so we will just have to go back later to explore those bad boys from the water (anybody care to join?). The hike along the cliff’s edge above the caves was awesome in itself, though. We think these pictures speak for themselves.

Galena, IL ~ Potosi, WI ~ Decorah, IA ~ Eau Claire, WI ~ Chippewa Falls, WI

For the next few days we stayed in Galena, Illinois where we were married 3 years ago. We had dinner in the DeSoto House Hotel where we all stayed that weekend. There are a lot of little shops and restaurants downtown to visit and we had a great time.

Next we drove up to Potosi, WI to visit Potosi Brewing Company and the National Beer Museum. This was a treat because not only is this place been here a long time, but their beer was great and the museum was really cool. They have used a natural spring for their brewing water since 1852!

David has always wanted to visit Toppling Goliath Brewing Company in Decorah, Iowa so we took a small detour west. We had their beers at our wedding and they are tasty!

There was a small park called Pulpit Rock near our campsite that overlooked the river, so we explored!

Now we were back on our way north through Wisconsin. Spent a night in Eau Claire to visit Leinenkugels Brewing Company and the Leinie Lodge. It just reminded us of college days long past. We took the tour, although we couldn’t go into any of the buildings except the Lodge because of Covid.

Madison, Wisconsin

Our first stop after leaving Batavia was Madison, Wisconsin. Gabrielle used to live here so it was sad how many places we used to go to were closed and/or boarded up because of the protests and Covid. We did hit a lot of familiar spots and a few breweries we had always wanted to visit.

We also got to visit Aunt Chintz, Uncle Mike & their family who live nearby.

Finally got to go to Brunkow’s Dairy Farm in Darlington, WI which is our all time favorite dairy. Gabrielle was pumped! She used to get their cheese at the Madison farmer’s market when she lived here.