Day Nine: The Road to Chi-Town!

So, did you know that the US is pretty flat east of the Rockies?  And the wild life is a little different.  To pass the time on the road, we went from counting antelope to counting dead raccoons!  We did get to camp along the way, and had a great meal at a cool little restaurant...

Today's academic work was to review the Earth's geological periods.

This was inspired by all the signs we saw coming through the Rocky Mountains.

I'm holding a wheel that came with a book that my Grandpa Jerry gave me.

Thanks, Gramps!!!

Somewhere in the Black Hills of South Dakota there lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon...

Didn't run into Rocky Raccoon, but we did see a couple of incredible monuments!

My dad was going to just drive by, but I really wanted to stop and see the Crazy Horse Memorial.

Crazy Horse was a chief of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

He is a hero to Indians today because he never surrendered or signed a treaty.

He is also famous for defeating General Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

They had a cool exhibit of the different Sioux chiefs.

They also had an amazing collection of Lakota war headdresses.

They had a Lakota teepee...

...and a wigwam.

Both used bison hides for shelter.

The monument is incredible.  It's so big that all of Mt Rushmore

will fit inside just Crazy Horse's head!

Here's what it will look like when it's done.

When asked what his tribe's lands were he pointed and said,

"My lands are where my dead lie buried."

The monument is totally funded privately.  No government money will be used.

You can make a donation here.

Our next stop was in Kodoka, South Dakota.

We could have gone to Subway, but instead

we found this great little restaurant that I highly recommend!

They have a Facebook page!

I had a BLT.  It was delicious!

The fries were called "sidewinders".

 

Dad had the chicken and mashed potatoes.

We met Cord, a really cool guy, and promised to give him a shout out on our blog!

If you're ever in Kadoka, SD, stop at the Sunset Grill!

Dad was glad to be in Minnesota.  He got a call from his friend Jim.

We were going to visit Jim in Chicago.  Jim's a RUSH fan, too!

It was getting late...

Minnesota is flat, but the sunsets beat it all!

We got to our destination in the dark.

Myre-Big Island state Park, just outside of Albert Lea Minnesota.

We set up camp pretty quickly...

...and settled in for a good night's sleep.

First time with the new camp stove!

Delicious camp coffee!

(For Dad.  Turns out we left the cocoa in Sun Valley.  Grrr....)

Cup O' Noodles...breakfast of champions!

Our new mascot, "Bones", said it was time to get on the road again!

If the rest of Illinois is this fun, I'm gonna love it!

Next stop...Chicago!

SEE YOU NEXT TIME!