Mike & Kris - Enjoying The Ride

We left Chicago, made our way through the maze of traffic and intersecting freeways, and over $40 worth of tolls!  Traveling west we went through Wisconsin(found out later we should have stopped for cheese curds!), and crossed the Mississippi River.  We made a quick stop at a lock along the river and saw two different tow boats moving their huge loads both up and down the river.  They each had at least twenty barges attached.

After making our way through Minnesota, we stopped in Wall, South Dakota, to see what the 50 some billboards had been talking about.  Wall Drug is much more than a drugstore, it is like an old Western town outdoor shopping center. It is quite a place!  After parking, we went up to Badlands National Park for the afternoon.  We were not sure what to expect but we were amazed at the stunning peaks and valleys before us.  They explained that the area was a sea 70 million years ago and that they have discovered fossils from the sea creatures that existed in it. At one time this area was covered by 2500 feet of water.  Each layer tells a different story–so cool.