Heading to South Dakota for a Family Gathering

When our son-in-law Laszlo chose North Dakota as the next state to check off his bucket list of national parks, he supplemented that with a family trip to South Dakota to tempt Gina and Emma to go. Julie and I said we would be happy to join them.

After all, we had a great time visiting Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore in 2016, and Big Sky is only about an eight hour drive away.

Gina found a nice hotel in Custer that was close to restaurants, had plenty of activities and welcomed pet dogs.  She booked a room for she, Laszlo and their daughter Emma for five nights, from Friday through Wednesday.

We put out feelers to family to see who else might want to join.

My sister Darlene holds South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem in very high regard, and she surpised us by saying she and Brooks would love to go to see Mount Rushmore, bringing their Pomeranian Teddy along.  They booked a room for Monday and Tuesday nights, when there would be fewer crowds for Mount Rushmore.  Their son Brooks and his chi-weanie dog Rizzo decided to also get a room for those nights.

Our son Jay and his wife Sasha said they would come in along with their King Charles-Beagle JoJo for the weekend, allowing that Sasha to work remotely on weekdays for her new job that she started a few weeks earlier.

Amy didn't give much consideration to joining, because her friend Laura was getting married in California.  Jay and Sasha generously offered their condo and Prius for her use while they were traveling, which worked out perfectly for Amy.  Still, it would be a pretty good turn out, with Julie and I stretching our original plans to spend the entire five nights.

Jay and Sasha drove to Big Sky the week before the drive to South Dakota rather than flying in for the weekend as they originally planned, but they needed to work from home on Friday, so they were sleeping when Julie and I arose well before dawn to clean the kitchen and bathrooms before hitting the dark, rain-slick road through the canyon into Bozeman and beyond.

The previous day, we had jam-packed the Escape with crates, artwork, guitar, golf clubs and television, because leaving for an early morning departure for an extended vacation wouldn't be quite stressful enough without the added pressure of continuing through all the way to Pennsylvania after our time in Custer ended.

It was a tough drive for the first couple of hours, with trucks and construction workers driving towards us with bright headlights reflected off the black pavement as the rain poured down through the pitch-darkness.

Actually, after the first hour, the sun fortunately rose enough to make the oncoming headlights not quite so blinding at about the time we left the two-lane highway of the canyon.

Once the sun came up, the drive through ranches and farms became quite scenic, so the rest of the drive was certainly pleasant, other than not being able to see anything out of the inside rearview mirror over the piles of stuff.

We arrived at the Bavarian Inn at about two, and with check-in time at three were disappointed when the front desk clerk said she did not have any rooms available despite a parking lot with few cars.  I dropped Julie, my guitar and our suitcases in the lobby so that I could create another seat to be able to pick up Gina and Emma at the Rapid City Regional Airport.

Laszlo had flown into Pierre in order to get a rental car that cost $1000 less than one in Rapid City, where demand is strong because of the strong desire for a taste of freedom while seeing beautiful sites on vacation, just as it was all summer in Big Sky.  He had planned to go up to North Dakota and to see the Badlands, stretching his family's trip, so it wasn't as odd a choice as it may seem without knowing all the details. He wouldn't arrive until about 7:30, while Jay and Sasha didn't get in until about 11.

Amy was at a wedding in California instead of,
South Dakota, but never far from our thoughts.
This photo is from their trip to Germany and
Amsterdam a few days earlier.

That evening, Gina had researched and selected Black Hills Burger and Bun, which would be perfect for Julie and me, because we like to keep it casual and would have no dogs requiring special accomodation.

Julie and I split the Double D, which had two enormous hamburger patties along with french fries and was delicious.  We laughted upon seeing the vegetarian burger is called The Lousy Hunter.  Emma opted for a small burger, while her mom enjoyed a hamburger salad.  Julie's wine wasn't as good as the local IPA.

After dinner, Gina and Emma went in the indoor pool and hot tub, while Julie and I lounged poolside.

The next morning, Julie and I would be hiking to the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains, so it is good we used the evening to get well-fed and rested.