Last night we spent our final night of the trip in a hotel in Altoona, Iowa. This marked 14 straight nights away from home including visits to 9 different Holiday Inns. But most thankfully, it brought our arrival routine of checking for bed bugs to an end. Each night, Julie and I would pull back the sheets and inspect the mattress looking for itty bitty critters. Fortunately, none were found, but there was a Best Western that we refused to stay.

484 miles until home 🙂

Next big road trip…….Joe drives while we nap.

Today we went to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s old homestead. It was very fun and interactive. We got to see the places she lived, a church, a schoolhouse, and a barn with horses, ponies, cows, and chickens! I got to ride a horse.  Joe and I got to steer a horse drawn wagon! We also got to make our own dolls and rope! There was an awesome schoolhouse where we got to learn from a teacher. We also got to learn about some things they made like grain, rope, hay twist and dolls. Today was very fun and now we are on our way back to Ohio!

Well I finally had a Griswold moment today. We planned to end the day in Mitchell, South Dakota with a visit to the world’s only Corn Palace. As we turned the corner, I was horror struck with what I saw. The Corn Palace is under repair. UGH. I now know how Clarke felt when he arrived at Wally World. I somehow avoided a trip to the local firearm store and instead just sulked to the hotel.

Last night, we went to Mt. Rushmore National Park. We got there and ate a meal and headed down to the outdoor auditorium to watch the ceremonial lights. It first started with a nice speech from an ranger about us being the presidents’ legacies. Then we watched a video about the presidents and their impacts on America. At the end anyone who served for our country was honored and they had a flag ceremony. Finally they light up Mt. Rushmore and it was beautiful. We all loved Mt. Rushmore and were happy that we got to learn about four of our most important leaders.

My dad has been to many different states. One state he has never been to is North Dakota. Until now he didn’t think it actually existed. But now he knows it does. We drove through the legendary North Dakota today, folks, and it was boring. At least we have proof that it is real.

Today, we got to experience another new new. Whitewater rafting. We all had a blast. Some were a bit nervous before it started, but everyone had a blast as we rafted down the Yellowstone River. The rapids were for beginners so no huge waves, but we did get some good size splashes. And we also all got to jump into the river and hold on the side of the raft – it was COLD! It was a great day and we are all looking forward to finding another time to go rafting again.

We spent the rest of the day trekking across Montana. Pretty dull drive. Tomorrow is another long day of driving as we get to Mount Rushmore.