Fumbling Our Way Home

(This is part ? of the Black Hills vacation series. If you would like to start at the beginning, click here.)

It’s finally time to drive home! Never mind that the drive is a two part saga (will this trip never end?). We’re checked out of the horse-shit-minefield resort and on our way. We must have been in a big hurry to hightail it out of the cabins, because a few miles down the highway a driver pulled up alongside us pointing toward the roof of our car. Our car-top carrier. Which was wide open. And emptying itself in a hurry. We pulled over immediately and did inventory. It was mostly bedding up top, which miraculously stayed put, but 2 of the kid's bicycle helmets were missing. (And of course the monkeys were all clamoring to know exactly whose helmets had been left rolling down the highway, hoping it wasn't their own.) We did a U-turn to grab one we could see in the road, and then drove back to find the second. Along comes a guy in a van with the helmet in his hand. He said it tumbled into his yard, so he picked it up and hopped in his car with it. Now that's an amazing Good Samaritan. Would I have done that? I would have put the helmet up on the side of the road where the search party could see it, sure. But I never would have expected to find and catch up to the people who lost it. It kind of restores your faith in humanity when people do little things like that. At least a little. 

So we packed up, locked down, and set out on the road again. First stop:  SD Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base. I loved this place. There are many decommissioned aircraft on display, including a B52 and a F101 Voodoo. Working in the defense industry for 10 years imparted a sincere respect for the military, and I admire the innovation that created these machines back in the day. We picnicked in the shade of a B29 bomber, and then we really lucked out and saw a B1 flyover. Awesome. They have a little gift shop too, but you don’t have to walk through it to see the aircraft display! South Dakota really knows how to put our tax dollars to good use.

Next, we’re taking the road through Badlands National Park. Should I mention that it was scorching hot here? We hiked on a couple trails, but we were disappointed that the path grew too steep the little guys to climb. And going off the path was out of the question because of rattlesnakes. Yeah, our 3 year old thought wandering off the path seemed like a great idea, until he walked into a “Beware of Rattlesnakes” sign. Yikes. Not that he could read the sign, he’s no prodigy. He’s not really adept at climbing either, he fell on the same knee twice and I had to carry him with bloody knee back down the path anyway.

So now we’re heading to Mitchell to stay in the Ramada hotel for the night. It’s about 200 miles to Mitchell. It’s going to take a little luck to get there without any meltdowns. And as luck would have it, there was a great little Italian restaurant right across the street, with excellent lasagna, ravioli, spaghetti, and eggplant parmesan.

Now, we were all stuffed and wiped out. Sleep came much more easily in the suite. Aaaaaah.

To continue reading the Black Hills Vacation Saga, click here...