Northern States Road Trip (Day 2 - Badlands and Bismarck)

Yesterday I forgot to mention that we passed by the towns of Edgemont, SD, and Provo, SD on our way to Mount Rushmore.  Funny.  They are only 10 miles from each other.

 A few more shots as we left the Mount Rushmore area.

George's profile

 We stopped by Horsethief Lake to give Douglas a chance to release some energy before hours of sitting in the van, but it was cold and rainy.  In fact, it was cold and rainy for much of the day.

Cheeeeeese!  Or not.

 I may be asleep, but I'm not giving up my pretzel stick.

This place is beautiful.  It was rainy, windy, and cold, so we simply passed through in our vehicle.  Perhaps another day we will hike around a bit.

 Umm, is this politically correct?  Small town of McLaughlin, ND (population: 600).  I wonder what their mascot is.

We drove five hours straight north from Badlands National Park through miles and miles of vast, open, beautiful terrain on the Indian reservations.

 They are doing major remodeling at our Holiday Inn.......and free pancakes from 8-Midnight each night!

Tonight we enjoyed some Mongolian food before coming back to the Inn to get some rest.

We started asking our question again to various people we meet.  "What is one thing you know about Mormons?"  Here are some of the responses:

From Dean, manager of the Roosevelt Inn (where we stayed the night in Keystone, SD):  "I have friends who are Mormons.  I'll tell you the same thing I tell them.  I can do a religion that prohibits sex, but I can't do a religion that prohibits coffee."

Note:  Dean and his wife will be going to Salt Lake City soon to visit the Church's genealogy center.  His wife does genealogy work at the local genealogy center in South Dakota.

From Cindy, manager of a t-shirt store at Mount Rushmore:  "Dress code.  I have a friend who always wore dresses, but then she rebelled...but now she wears dresses again."

Note:  Cindy began paying 10% [tithing] this year (to her church) and she says the Lord has blessed her business because of it.

Girl at the front desk of the Holiday Inn Express in Bismarck, ND:  "I've read the Book of Mormon...I study anthropology...I've been to Utah quite a few times...the most disappointing thing about Utah is the lack of alcohol."

From Katelon, waitress at Huhot Mongolian Grill:  "I don't know.  Tell me something so I'll know something about them."

Lest you think that all is peaches and cream on this road trip, I should mention (remember, we're only on day two!) that I have thought "I'm never traveling with children again" at least 10 times today.  It's pathetic how much I let a toddler aggravate me.  And you who have more than one child, how did you (do you) do it?!