Aug 17, Saturday Travel Day
We parked our car, left our luggage in the parking lot, and went inside for a meet and greet and a light breakfast.
The bus will be leaving around 8 AM.
The snacks, water, and luggage must be loaded onto the bus before everyone boards.
We had skipped breakfast and were hungry by lunch.
We stopped at Loves & Hardees in Jackson, TN just off I-40 for a restroom break. The gas station was being repaired so we had to enter the building adjacent to Hardees.
We stopped at Pilot and Subway where hubby and I ordered a chicken & a Pepperoni wrap, a salad, and 2 cokes. I ate half of my sandwich which was not good.
Around, 6:35 PM we stopped at I-270 Cracker Barrel in Fenton, MO for dinner.
I ordered a kids’ meal of pinto beans, with apples, a slice of onion, a small container of chow, chow, and water with lemon to drink. Spent 57.7.
I also bought a woman’s top and a man’s shirt. We spent $57.51.
We arrived at the I-270 Best Western Hotel 12220 Dorsett Rd. Maryland Heights, MO. for an overnight stay in room 321.
I felt dirty after the long ride so I took a quick shower.
Then I went downstairs to play some games but everyone was too tired.
I ended up walking around the building three times with Mrs Haygood.
We could see the Quiktrip market from our room and a full moon in the sky.
I watched a little TV and fell asleep.
We spent all day traveling around 390 miles.
It was a beautiful day but still very hot.
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| Full Moon |
2024 August 18, Sunday Travel Day
I saw the sunrise from the hotel and decided to walk
around the hotel (Best Western) around 6 AM.
I met our bus driver along the way, he, said he had walked around the block several times.
I took a few pictures one of 1-270, one of a berry bush, and a couple of the front of the hotel.
I went back upstairs to get hubby and we went downstairs for breakfast around 7:30 AM.
I put gravy, egg, and biscuits on my plate and drank cranberry juice.
There was a mural of downtown St Louis in the lobby where I took a couple of pictures.
We were on the road by 8:30 AM.
Our first stop was around 10:30 AM at the I-70 Boonville, MO. Rest Area.
We saw a Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker there.
We have to stop every 2 to 3 hours for restroom breaks.
We stopped around 12:30 PM for lunch at I-70 Panda Express in Blue Springs, MO.
Hubby and I shared a large plate of honey walnut shrimp, orange chicken, beef, noodles, and broccoli.
We also ordered Three Rangoons and spent $14.70.
We stopped at the I-29 Rest Area in Dearborn, MO. around 2:30 PM
Hubby and I had our picture taken together on a big red rock.
We arrived at I-29 Pizza Ranch 3505 Metro Drive Council Bluff, Iowa around 5 PM for a prepaid buffet.
I ate a slice of buffalo pineapple pizza and 2 slices of sweet apple. Hubby ate fried chicken, corn, cream potatoes, and a slice of pizza. On their restroom doors were Cowgirls and Cowboys.
We arrived at our Hotel (Wingate by Wyndham, 4716 Southern Hills Drive Sioux City, Iowa) around 8:15 PM.
Another long day of traveling around 507 miles.
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| Mural in Hotel |
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| Rest Area Boonville, Mo |
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| Rest Area Dearborn, MO |
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| Pizza Ranch Council Bluffs, Iowa |
2024 Monday, August 19
I ate a waffle with sausage and drank cranberry juice.
We left the hotel around 8:30 AM.
We stopped at a rest area in Salem South Dakota around 10:30 AM.
We arrived at 11:25 AM at the Worlds Only Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota.
The palace is decorated annually with 7 murals made out of 12 different colors of corn, framed with native grass, straw, milo, and sour dock. All are grown by local farmers.
Our guide gave a speech about the Corn Palace, and we were led into a gymnasium to learn more about the palace.
We went outside and across the road to view the palace from outside and to listen to more about the corn murals that surround the palace.
One of the murals displayed was Bob Barker, from The Price is Right.
Hubby and I split a Club Croissant and 2 glasses of frozen lemonade.
We ate lunch a club croissant with lemonade at Uncle Zeke’s.
We stopped around 2:30 PM at the Lewis & Clark Welcome Keelboat and Interpretive Center overlooking the Mississippi River Exit 264 in Chamberlain, South Dakota.
Outside we saw: The Purple Heart Memorial Highway Marker, the Sojourn at Camp Pleasant Marker, the TP memorial to South Dakota, the Lewis and Clark Memorial Bridge at Chamberlain, South Dakota Tribal Headquarters, South Dakota Tribes, Regional Tribes, The Making & meaning of Dignity, Dignity of Earth and Sky (& 50-foot Statue), Lewis and Clark Bicentennial 1804-2004, National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, A place of History, Lewis and Clark waving the Flag, Behold the Missouri River.
We saw displays of a Keelboat, wolves, rabbits, Elk, Goats, birds, and information about the Missouri River Region.
Our next stop was around 4 PM at Wall Drugs in Wall, South Dakota. We stopped for pictures with the Jackalope, Buckin’ Bronc, Mini Mount Rushmore, a Buffalo, a large gorilla playing the piano, and a six-foot rabbit in Wall’s backyard. Inside are many more photo stops one was the roaring T-Rex. Inside is the Western Art Gallery Cafe, cafeteria, a Travelers Chapel, Eye Candy, and the RockHound Shop
In Cowboy Alley, we saw statues of a prospector with his mule, Gumbo Lil of the 1909 Badlands, Major General Custer 1865, Wyatt Earp, a Saloon Dancer, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody, and many more.
We arrived around 6:30 PM at the Colonial House, 2501 Mt Rushmore Road, Rapid City, South Dakota.
Hubby ate roast beef with gravy, a salad, and a baked potato (undercooked).
I ate 3 pieces of fried cod fish with an undercooked baked potato which I did not eat.
We both were served a brownie topped with vanilla ice cream.
We arrived at our hotel around 7:15 PM, Country Suites and Inn, Rapid City, South Dakota Room 317.
I worked on this journal and went to bed after a shower
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| Rest Area Salem, South Dakota |
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| Wall Drugs, Wall, South Dakota |
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| Corn Palace Mitchell, South Dakota |
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| Dignity at Chamberlain, SD Visitor Center |
August 20, Tuesdays
Breakfast gravy and biscuits with cranberry juice at the hotel. (Country Inn & Suites).
Departed at 8:30 AM for The High Plains Western Heritage Center Museum Spearfish, SD.
Where we learned about the American Frontier, How the Cowboys lived, how the American Indians impacted our lives, and the hard work of life on the frontier.
We saw the Cowboy Hall, Fashion Display, Rodeo Room, Native American Display, transportation Room, Fur Traders Display, Custer Hall, Early Pioneer Room, Founders Hall, Prairie Kitchen and Shepherds Hall, the Balcony, and Frontier Street.
Our next stop was the town of Deadwood where Custer was shot in the back of the head while playing cards.
We ate lunch in Saloon 10’s (where Custer was shot) at Deadwood Social Club in Deadwood, South Dakota. Upstairs was the restaurant. Former years was a house of ill repute.
Hubby and I split a Bus Hamburger and he ate a salad.
We split an order of onion rings and drank water with lemon.
We spent $18.19.
We walked up and down Main Street.
We visited the Deadwood Model Train Museum at 614 Main Street.
The display is in a 70-foot hallway for free and if you want to see the train run it will cost you one dollar. It was an amazing sight to see, the train ran through the miniature town of Deadwood.
We visited the Black Hills Mining Museum 323 W. Main St. Lead, SD.
Our guide gave a speech about the mining of gold and how it ended.
It cost more to mine today so the mine was shut down. It is now used as an underground research center. SURF Sanford Underground Research Facility.
We rode back through the towns of Lead and Deadwood.
We ate dinner at Perkins Restaurant and Bakery 250 Mt Rushmore Road Rapid City, South Dakota.
We were served Turkey & dressing, cream potato with gravy, and corn.
We were served a bowl of Ice cream for dessert.
Back at the hotel by 7 PM.
It had been a long day so I went to bed early.
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| Character Custer at Saloon #10 Deadwood, SD |
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| High Plains Western Heritage Center Spearfish, SD |
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| Riding Bucklin' Cow |
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| SURF town of Lead, SD |
August 21, Wednesday
We ate Breakfast at the hotel (Country Inn and Suite)
I ate an Egg, sausage, and waffle with cranberry juice to drink.
We left the hotel at 8:30 AM and headed to Fort Hays to pick up our tour guide.
We arrive at the Borglum History Center around 9:15 AM in Keystone, SD.
Bought a couple of postcards, for $2.15 and got my picture taken with Abraham Lincoln, an Eagle, and The American Keystone Wooden Chair with three steps up to sit on it. It has Mt Rushmore’s President’s head on the back.
It is trimmed with the US Flag's red, white, and blue strips and stars.
Depart for Mountain Rushmore at 11:15 AM.
We had a group picture made at the base of Mount Rushmore.
Toured the museum where I saw the head statue of Gutzon Borglum who created the carving of the presidents of Mount Rushmore. The plaque of Luigi Del Bianco the chief carver on Mount Rushmore. The list of workers on Mt Rushmore.
We saw the markers of Comparison, George Washington 1732-1799, Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826, Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865, and Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919.
Mount Rushmore Gift Shop I bought, The Christmas Coat, Buffalo Bird Girl, and a recycled bag spent 426.31.
Hubby and I split a ham and cheese sub sandwich with Cheeto for lunch at the Mount Rushmore cafe and spent $18.00.
Hubby and I split a kid's waffle cone and spent $7.50.
I fed the chipmunks, and French fries, that were scurrying about.
At 2:00 PM we headed for Custer State Park and Wildlife Loop.
We stopped to feed the Mules and there we saw several Prairie dogs.
When they saw we were invading their territory the watcher of the group started barking out a warning for the other dogs to return to their dens.
We saw goats, elk, horses, and buffalo.
We stopped at the Visitor Center which had several displays about the prairie and the bison.
I bought nail clippers, Band-Aids, and V neck top and spent $27.04. I scratched my leg and it would not stop bleeding.
We saw smoke rising in the distance in the park and we saw a helicopter going back and forth near the smoke.
At 6:30 we arrived at Fort Hays for the Chuckwagon Dinner and show.
There were several other buses and four very long tables of people around 400.
Everyone was seated and then given instructions on how to enter the chow line.
The main thing we were told was to keep moving.
Our food was placed on a tin plate baked potato, baked beans, fried apples, and roast beef. On top of our food was placed a large piece of parchment paper.
On top of the paper was placed the biscuits, slide cake, and all our condiments.
We had tea, lemonade, and water to drink.
Once we were finished we passed our plates and silverware to the end of the table and were picked up by our servers.
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| Visitor Center Winter St Keystone, SD |
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| Mount Rushmore, Keystone, SD |
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| Custer State Park |
Then the show began.
Five entertainers could play and sing.
They portrayed the entertainers of Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, and Elton John.
The young woman could play that fiddle.
We were back at the hotel by 9 PM.
Thursday, August 22,
I ate gravy, eggs, biscuits, and cranberry Juice for breakfast.
We rode to the Crazy Hores Memorial and Museum where we watched a movie about the history and the design of the stone mountain of Crazy Horse.
We visited the Indian Museum of North America, (Artifacts that reflect the diverse history and culture of the American Indians),
the Native American Educational and Cultural Center, the Mountain Carving Gallery, (story of the Mountain) the Sculptor Home and Studio, (the Sculptures Studio)Collections, (Art and artifacts reflecting the cultures of the American Indians).
The Cultural program opportunities include Artist in Residence, Gifts from Mother Earth art show and sale, Talking Circle speaker series, and daily cultural performances.
Hubby and I ate lunch at the snack shop, we shared a bratwurst, chips, and a Diet Coke.
We stopped in Hill City around 3 and stayed for about one hour. We bought a scoop of ice cream and spent $5.00.
We saw the outside of the Museum of the Black Hills a Tyrannosaurus Rex. We walked up and down the main street and inside a few stores.
Our next stop was the Journey Museum 222 New York St. Rapid City around 4PM. Outside we saw the Historic Pap Madison Cabin and markers. We saw gardens of wildflowers outside.
Inside we saw a movie, a quilt display, and the Stratoshpere bowl. Through the ages, the forest has changed.
Pioneer life and American Indian life. A tipi by Martin E. Red Bear. American Indian painted robes, Lakota games, and beaded work. We saw extinct animal fossils. "Alli the Allosaurus, "Tinker" the Tyrannosaurs. The Central Black Hills, Mt Rushmore Black Elk Peak, Lead, Creek, and Nemo. A story about the Battle of Little Bighorn Battle of Greasy Grass. Custer's Black Hills Expedition of 1874. Lots of animals, and birds. (badger, black-footed ferret, ruffed grouse, muskrat, and Bennie the Bison.
We rode NAJA Shriners in Rapid City for dinner.
It was a buffet-style meal of roast beef, turkey, gravy, rolls, green beans, salad, and cheesecake.
There was music and dancing.
We were back at the hotel around 9 PM.
Packed our bags and sat outside the door for the doorbell man will pick for tomorrow to put on the bus.
We will carry our overnight bag down in the morning.
Friday, August 23, Travel Day
Breakfast at the hotel where I ate eggs, sausage, and waffles. With cranberry juice to drink.
On the road by 8:30 AM.
We past several sunflower fields on I-90 exit 110 Route 240 into the Badlands.
We took Route 240 South to the Pinnacles Entrance and stayed left to enjoy the Badlands Loop Road.
We rode through Badland National Park a park of over 244,00 acres of protected land.
We made several stops: at the Panorama Point Overlook, and Yellow Mounts Overlook, Homestead Overlook.
Some of the markers we saw were: The Big Badlands Badlands National Park 244,00, birds and Junipers, Born of Volcanos, Jungle on a Seabed, Homestead, and Ranches, Air Pollution (a Threat to Badlands National Park).
We stopped at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center Badlands National Park around 11:47 AM where we saw.
Megacerops coloradensis, the Hyaenodon, Archaeotherium, Extinct tortoise, and 3-D print of a Subhyracodon skull, a Saber-toothed Cat-like Nimravid, fossil turtle, and fossil ammonite.
We saw the life of a homesteader in the Badlands and in the early 1930s, most families had left the area due to drought conditions that destroyed the livelihoods of the farmers. The government bought the land and is now included in the park.
We traveled through Murdo, Reliance, and Mitchell, SD.
We ate a chicken wrap for lunch at Subway somewhere in Koadoka, SD.
We stopped at White Lake, SD rest area where we saw a small white church with a welcome sign. (Corsica Christian Reformed Church Grace Reformed church).
We saw a triangle about South Dakota Wildlife, Laura Ingalls Wilder, (the prairie town of de Smet), and Palisades State Park.
We saw a purple heart memorial Highway marker. We saw several barn swallows next.
We traveled through Humbolt, Sioux Falls, and Oacoma, SD.
We ate dinner at Best Western Plus 3200 W Maple St. Sioux Falls, SD around 6:45 PM.
We ate pasta with meatballs, salad, rolls, veggies green beans, carrots, squash, and cauliflower.
For dessert chocolate chip cookies and iced tea.
We arrived at Wingate by Windham 4716 Southern Hills Dr. Sioux City, Iowa around 9:45 PM and were in room 221 in Sioux Falls, Iowa.
Saturday, August 24, Travel Day
Breakfast at Wingate by Windham where I ate eggs, potatoes, waffles, and cranberry juice.
We took our overnight bags down to the bus and were leaving around 8:30 AM.
We are headed to the WWI Museum in Kansas City, Mo
We stopped at Kim & Go at 9:16 AM in Sloan, Iowa.
We stopped at Rest Area Council Bluffs, Iowa at 10:39 AM
We stopped in Joseph, MO at Texas Roadhouse for lunch around 12:43 and left around 2PM. Spent $32.09.
Hubby and I split a steak and grilled Shrimp for lunch.
We shared an onion Blossom and sweet potato, rolls, and salad.
We stopped at the WWI Museum in Kansas City, Missouri
around 2:30 PM and were on the road to Maryland Heights.
We rode through St Louis to see the Arch.
We stopped in Columbia, MO. at McDonald's for dinner and spent $10.75 and $3.23.
Ordered nuggets, fries, ice cream. Hubby ordered a hamburger.
We arrived around 9:15PM at the Best Western Plus 12220 Dorsett Road Maryland Heights, Mo., room 224 for the night.
After another long day went straight to bed.
Sunday, August 25, Travel Day
Took our overnight bag downstairs ate breakfast and was on the bus by 8:30 AM.
Breakfast consisted of waffles, eggs, and sausage with Cranberry juice to drink.
Rest stop at 10:48 AM.
We stopped in Dyersburg, TN at Arby for lunch at 12:47 PM. Ordered 2 sliders, and a coke.
Hubby ordered a big Cheesy bacon Burger with Curley fries and spent S19.09.
Home by 5 PM
