This is definitely our most anticipated trip of the summer, we're giddy with what lies ahead. Our final destination is Grand Teton National Park by way of Devil's Tower National Monument. The planning began late last summer when Dave secured two July weeks in a row. We planned our route and chose a stop over at Devil's Tower because it seemed like a good half way point and it looked interesting. We made the reservations we could and then sat on our plans until the Teton's booking site opened up (six months prior to our arrival date).
We're off! We were on the road 10 minutes ahead of schedule (worth mentioning ;)) and made our way to Wall, SD for a late lunch. I still get a kick out of Wall Drug, such a funny touristy place. People watching is my favorite, the food is a distant second (haha!) but it serves it's purpose and is just enough of a stop to feel like we get the wiggles out.
We made it to the KOA just outside of Devil's Tower in time for an easy dinner, followed by mini golf at the campground, one of several rounds, and then an early bedtime in anticipation of a big hike the following day. The KOA's proximity to Devil's Tower can't be beat, it is literally at the entrance, but the RV sites are tight and lack fire pits because of this, and the pool had been under construction at the time of our visit, fortunately the mini golf and ice cream shop made up for it's shortcomings.
We got up the following morning and had a Blackstone breakfast before making our way to the Monument. Note to self, get to the monument for an early hike rather than lolly-gagging around all morning because National Monuments in July are busy and the lot will fill. Lesson learned, hopefully. We embarked on a quick (4 mile, Piper would not consider that quick :)) hike around the monument on the Red Bed Trail, we were ready, hydrated and fed, nothing could stop us! Except we chose the initial downhill shady route which meant we finished on the uphill portion of the trail in the sun. It was a beautiful hike with wildflowers everywhere and the topography changed to red clay beds (hence the trail name), we saw beautiful meadows and canyons in the distance. Fortunately Piper is easily distracted with silly stories and music (You Belong Among the Wildflowers by Tom Petty). We played trivia and found random ways to make the hard parts of the trail more tolerable and in the end, WE DID IT! Everyone was feeling a sense of accomplishment. We enjoyed some much deserved downtime at the campsite before more mini golf, dinner, ice cream and then a campsite cleanup in anticipation of an early start the following morning.
It was a great first leg, we are excited our arrival in the Tetons!
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| Loaded up and ready to go. |
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| National Park Nerd |
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| Snack stop! |
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| Jackalope in Wall, SD. |
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| Fridge Art ala Piper. |
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| Mini golf at the KOA. |
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| Red Bed Trail Head |
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| The final push up the sunny hill ;). |
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| Sunset bikeride... |
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| ...and ice cream stop. |
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| Thats a wrap! |
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