Land Acknowledgement: This is the land of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ and Yankton people. They were stewards of this land from time immemorial. Click the links above to learn more about these native people.

First stop on our way to Sioux Falls was Wall Drug. Yep, I bet you've seen the bumper stickers (they still sell them!). A strange truck stop/kitschy souvenir/free water/fresh doughnut stop. The kids loved the random huge jackalope and we laughed at some of the funny animatronic animals, including a giant gorilla that played Ally Oop Oop! the song. Also something to note that there are numerous famous paintings throughout Wall Drug including a Wyeth and other prominent Western artist. So it was fun to wander around and check those out. Once we had our fill of free water, we headed to the Badlands.

This area is so hard to describe and unlike anything I have ever seen. Such cool and unique rock formations! Unfortunately, it was HOT out there (temp at one point said 103 degrees) so we didn't get out of the car much and our stops were few and far between. We definitely got a feel for it and with our trusty GyPSy Guide we learned all about the formations, Indigenous People who lived here, and what life was like for the first settlers. The kids enjoyed adding one more badge to their Junior Ranger banner.

The other downside to this leg of the trip is the car ride lengths. Because of the distances we have to travel we are sometimes in the car for six to eight hours - whew! It will be nice once this section is over and we can take some shorter trips between places!