Waking up and not having to pack up for the first time was so nice. We took our time. We made pancakes and I worked out (I tried out the picnic table technique)! We prepared a picnic and made choices about what we wanted to do today. We decided on visiting a Prairie Homestead on our way to do a hike or two in the park depending on heat and moods.
Our hike was a long one and we were exhausted after (more details below) but we made it and were happy to get back to the camper to do a little housekeeping. Our first laundry day and grocery trip! The girls were, of course, dying to go to the pool so we split up and Keith headed to the nearest grocery and I started the laundry and took the girls to the pool. I also caught up on these posts using a hotspot from my phone while I watched them.
Things we did:
- Elsa made her signature pancakes (we were running out of milk so we used dried buttermilk and it was great!)
- Took Goat Dog on a walk around the RV park and found some prairie dog and metal buffalo/bison (same thing)
- Went to Prairie Homestead and saw the Brown’s little house on the prairie-like residence.
- Saw more prairie dogs (white and tan)
- Saw some goats
- Listened to a movie about this particular family claiming the 160 acres the Homestead Act allowed them and how they improved the land. They arrived in the late 1800s and seemed wealthy (had a sewing machine, organ, wallpaper, car, etc.)
- Headed to the Badlands to do Saddle Pass trails without Goat Dog today: a combination of Medicine Route and Castle Trail
- Realized a little late in the game that our trails were longer than we had measured or at least felt that way as the sun beat down (the sun beat down is a phrase from a collaborative board game called Forbidden Desert and was a constant joke during the second half of the trip as the clouds moved away from the sun and the temperature shift was huge!
- Asked for a water fill-up from some hikers at the halfway mark so we could get back to our car (Thank you Eliza and Jole!!! Saviors!) Other plans would have been for one of us to stay with the girls and the other one to walk the other half of the trail back to the car. Pretty sure the trail was at least a mile longer than we had measured and the temperature rose about 10 degrees while we walked. Lesson: Measure your trail more precisely and do less with kids—they walk slow. 🙂
- Got groceries (20 miles away and sparse on produce and meats—we are food snobs we know)
- Did laundry (it cost $4.50 and the campground had huge industrial laundries)
- Went swimming (again!) until the girls were too cold. It is amazing how cold the pool is in 100 degree weather. I think maybe the wind blowing cools the water or something??
- Made some box mac for the girls and they ate the whole box! That rarely happens.
- Tried for an early bedtime (read the blog for their book!) but I think 9pm is where we keep landing.
- Worked on documenting our trip. It’s a lot so I think this is a good way to keep it manageable and memorable.
As always: Make sure you wait for the photos and captions to load below! If the photos are too small and you want to zoom in don’t forget you can Cmd+/- on a Mac or Cntl+/- on a PC to zoom in/out your browser!
How did Goat Dog do without you? Any retaliation for leaving her behind?
I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to hike in the treeless environment–well done everyone!
Just imagine living in that house–“Little House on the Prairie” has new meaning. Can you imagine trying to grow things to eat???
I think she did ok? The wind in the area muffles the sound. We did not get in trouble and even asked because we were curious and no one had heard her.
I can’t imagine growing anything in the desert. It looks so hot! The cabin looked so cool! So many” modern “ conveniences! My Nonni had a sewing machine just like that. With the foot peddle too. I believe it had been converted into electric.
Cool! Yah, they mentioned it was difficult to grow stuff…plus prairie dog burrows! Very cool about the sewing machine!
Hi Tara,
you get an A+ for all of the social studies, geography, science and reading/math (everything!) you’re doing with the girls. Love their matching dresses and hats. Willow is a trooper. You are all getting brown as berries. 🙂
Quite impressed by all of this! xo
Thanks! We are all so thankful that the many stars aligned allowing us to be able to do this trip. Hopefully more in the future!