So if anyone is ever planning a road trip through this part of the country, there's a great route, not very travelled, out of the east entrance of Yellowstone. You take Route 14/16/20. It will take you through Big Horn National Park with some of the best canyons and gorges and waterfalls ever. And almost no one else around. We took that to Crazy Horse Memorial and then Mount Rushmore, then hooked up with 44 right outside of Rapid City, SD and headed for the campsite we're at now. It's by far the best campground we've been to when it comes to beauty and privacy and the ability to really get away from it all. It is about 1 1/2 hours from Rapid City, right outside of Interior, SD. That 1 1/2 was the weirdest drive. Kindof like something out of the Twilight Zone. Vast, barren, absolutely NO ONE on the road. If you had a flat tire you'd be screwed. No phone service. No signs. Then suddenly there's a billboard for a bar and grill in "uptown" Interior, which is pretty funny considering Interior has maybe a six block radius. It's worth it though. Lots of trees right next to the White River, and again, not many people. The owners are both from California (Oakland and Stockton) so things like internet access are here, but no phones.
We are now officially into our third week of the trip and today none of us could remember what day it was. Success! I was hoping that there would be a moment when we stopped keeping track of everything. Cork talks like a girl. I've thought about that a lot on this trip. I remember my friend Allegra sitting at our dinner table telling us about a class she was taking for her Master's program. She told us that the true definition of introvert and extrovert are opposite of what we would think. An introvert finds balance from being around lots of people and an extrovert finds balance by being by themself. I think of this because I can go for hours not saying a word, just listening to music and looking out the window. Cork, on the other hand, yakkity yakkity yak. Sometimes it's interesting and oftentimes it's like being in a small town beauty salon. "He said then she said then he said then she said.." To be fair, I could win a contest with some of the stuff he knows, but jeez, be quiet already.
We're heading through Badlands National Park tomorrow and on to Minneapolis in a few days then to Milwaukee. Lily can't wait to see MIKAIL and RYAN and SASHA and MABLE and all the adults that go with them. She's actually having a good time these days, but there are moments when she so wants to go back home that I almost break... And go figure, she's terrified of bees and insects. I've been her mom for, well, as long as she's been alive, and I had no idea she was this freaked out by them. It does make camping a bit of a challenge for her...
