National Parks Vacation, Day 3: Corn, Badlands, Teepee, oh my!

We’re back home from our National Parks Vacation! I decided to share my travel journal with y’all so you can relive the glory of our family vacationing with me…Enjoy!

Day 3 National Parks Vacation, August 11

We woke up in the morning to the most dazzling sunrise at the Ingalls Homestead.  It was so lovely.  It was a chilly morning with so much wind…Emma and I talked (and squealed with glee) that this was the weather Laura would have known!  It really brought the books to life to be there.  

After a failed attempt at making coffee over the fire (again, the wind), we set out for our day. 

We checked out of the wagon, loaded the car and were off.  

Bye Ingalls Homestead! 

Our first stop was the Mitchell Corn Palace. 

Well our first stop was technically McDonald's for some coffee! But anywho... This is a free destination and was so fun to see!  They decorate everything with, you guessed it, corn!  After about an hour exporing the history of the corn palace and all of the mosaics we hopped back in the car and drove on.  We did make sure to buy some postcards though!  

On our way we were able to make a stop at the statue, Dignity: Of Earth & Sky. It was awe-inspiring to be under her shadow. Her strength and beauty is majestic as she overlooks the river. It is a definite must-see when visiting South Dakota.

Then we had what felt like forever (3 hours) in the car for our next and final destination for the day…

Badlands National Park! 

We made it to Badlands at about 1:00 Mountain Time and found a picnic table for a lunch.  

After a delightful lunch of sandwiches, chips, and fruit, we set off to do some more exploring and to see the park.  

For the most part we drove around because we were visiting at the peak sun hours and it was so hot! 

I miscalculated on the amount of water that we needed too and I think we all started to get a little dehydrated.  

We did some hiking and climbing in the fossil area. 

Then we drove on to see the Prairie Dogs.  

We arrived at the Prairie Dog settlement and were so delighted to find the cute little prairie dogs to feed.  We had trail mix and they loved eating the nuts out of the mix.  Calvin loved giving them because he hates eating nuts.  So there you have it, prairie dogs and Calvin are a match made in heaven.  

After prairie dogs we slowly made our way out of the park and towards our hotel.  I say slowly because there was quite a bit of construction work and I wanted to stop for lots of photos.  

At our campsite we revealed to the kids our surprise…

we were staying in a teepee!  

They were excited and it was a super cool experience albeit maybe not one I would do again.  

We set up camp while the kids went swimming.  The pool was right next to our teeppee site which was very convenient.  We then went to make supper when we realized that our campfire didn’t have a grate to set a pot on.  Our campstove has still not been replaced or fixed so we were in a bit of a bind for what to eat.  Luckily we had canned ravioli I had brought and we had vanilla pudding for dessert.  Very fancy indeed.  

After dinner it looked like rain might be rolling in but it also very much looked like it might miss us.  We decided to chance it and go back to the national parks either to try to hike or to watch the sunset from a lookout. 

We drove to Notches Trail.

  We walked to a dazzling overlook area and marvelled at how gorgeous it was.  We then started on the trail when it began lightening and then started raining. 

Nick turned the car around so we were facing the sunset and watched the sun and the storm at the same time.  It was a very ethereal experience.  The lightening filled the entire sky and the clouds were rolling across the badlands.  

Then we went back to the campsite where it also had been raining.  You know what a teepee has at the top?  A hole in the middle.  Thankfully only my pillow and Emma’s got a little damp.

Then it was off to bedtime!  I wish I could say that it was a great nights sleep but for me, not so much.  I had an anchor rope in my face all night.  There was no flap or door to the teepee and I kept waking up in fear that a coyote or person or snake might find their way into our teepee.  

But in the end it was a once in a lifetime type experience and I am so thankful that we got to do it! 

What We Spent

Postcards at Mitchell $1.20

McDonald's $4.28

What I'm Thankful For

Our things didn't get soaked in the rain at the teepee

Getting to see the Badlands

I didn't wet my pants while waiting for the bathroom at the visitor's center. They only allowed 10 people in at a time and oh my goodness sakes, was it the longest line!

The breeze (wind? when do you call it which?) was great through the night and dried our towels from showering. Lovely!

See you for Day 4!

Read all about our first day when we visited a spam museum!

Don't miss our 2nd day's adventures when we stayed in a covered wagon!