Day 4

Started the day at 6 at a cool 56 degrees.  Off to make the Wildlife Loop Road.  Saw deer, prairie dogs, buffalo, antelope, burros and sheep.

After a good homemade breakfast, we headed towards Mount Rushmore.  It's hard to comprehend the vision it took to create Rushmore, but heck.....the road getting there. You exit a tunnel and bam!  There's Mount Rushmore perfectly framed in the tunnel.  It can't help but inspire a little patriotism or some sort of Americana, USA spirit.  Everyone needs to visit it.

We then headed 2 hours east to the Badlands National Park.  Wasn't sure what to expect. Words like eerie come to mind, but I think the best 2 adjectives are peaceful and calm.

View from the back porch, Day 3

Yum....rib eyes!!!

It's been a good day!  We left our campsite in eastern Colorado, made it through Nebraska in 4 hours and here we are tonight at Custer State Park in South Dakota.  We drove through Wind Cave National Park - saw lots of buffalo and antelope.  The state park is really awesome - quite big. Not at all like a Texas State Park.  When we got out of the truck, we took a deep breath and smelled the pine trees.  So fragrant! As we turn out the lights tonight, the temperature says 68 degrees.  We had the best 5 star dinner money could buy - rib eyes from Kasper's in Weimer and fried okra and baked potatoes, all from our garden.  Looking forward to a day of exploration tomorrow!

View from the back porch, Day 2

OMG.....you wake up, barely have your eyes focused, you walk out of the camper and look up on the red mountain and you see something moving.  Fumbling, you get the keys to the truck to unlock and get out the binoculars.  Once they are focused , you see a small herd of desert big horn sheep grazing.  By the time you wake the hubby and get the camera, they are gone.  Oh well......


We went on a 2 hour bike ride around the park.   There were 6 low water crossings and a lot of beautiful scenery. Left the park around 11 with Bonny Lake State Park in Colorado as our destination.  How do I say....I have never seen so many sunflowers. We are talking miles upon miles. We talked to a farmer from Kansas this evening at the campground and he said that just a few miles down the road is a really big sunflower oil processing plant.  This was probably a really pretty park once a while back.  The lake is down so very low.  But still, in the middle of nowhere, here it is. Until tomorrow....

View from the back porch, Day 1

The way we travel to get out of Texas.  After 12 hours of driving, we arrived at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, near Amarillo, Texas.  The sunset was awesome! The red cliffs were on fire.  Chatted with folks from Canyon Lake, Canyon and Australia.

Getting Ready

August 26, 2010



By the time we leave on our adventure in the truck camper and head west, we’ve spent a year or more dreaming and planning. We think back on past vacations, re-read old travel diaries, research parks and places, bought a few books, a new travel atlas and we’re ready to hit the trail. We get these pictures in our minds, these feelings in our bodies, this desire to get out and explore what God has created for us to enjoy. That’s what wanderlust is. Our curiosity and excitement are what nudge us to travel in the first place.



So I have to say that for this trip, we have a relatively new Chevrolet dually, a 2 month old Lance truck camper and 30 days of vacation stored up. The temperatures here on the gulf coast this month have averaged in the triple digits. We haven’t been on a long adventure since 2007 – the memorable trip to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, where the Dodge truck broke down and we had to be towed. Although inconvenienced, we were still blessed to be able to explore the park and enjoy one of the best campsites at the park – a full hook-up site right behind the gas station. Who would have thought. Let me just share this overwhelming thought……we can’t wait to get to some cool weather! (And yes, it’s a lot to pack clothes for every season, but we really don’t mind at all.)



We get comments from friends and family that seem to question why we have chosen to vacation the way we do. Everyone has their own lifestyle and thoughts about vacation. One of our goals is to visit every National Park in North America, the country we live in and love, before venturing too much into other countries. There are 58 in the United States. We have ventured to 22 so far. This trip, if we follow our route that is only in our heads, we will add 12 more. We enjoy the solitude and the unknown that is found in nature and in our National Parks system that we couldn’t get if we were confined to hotels and such. We enjoy cooking our own meals outside (except when there’s a bear in the woods watching us!). We don’t mind the driving too much….as long as the scenery is good, the company is good and there is no highway construction. But the driving affords the chance to see and experience things that you might not be able to if you’re flying.



The trip starts August 27, 2010. The only reservation, or definite plan, is for the first night. We will travel to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, near Amarillo, Texas. Mapquest says it will take close to 11 hours to drive it. But…..these are things that Texans must do to get out of the state. We are early risers so the plan is to get a real early start, so we can arrive in the cool part of the day and enjoy this park that we have only passed through in years past on our way home from other vacation adventures.

And yes, for those of you wondering, it was hard to say good-bye to baby Aiden. He's growing so fast!  But....does it look like the tires can hold all that weight?  We have to remember that there are stores along the road!