Chilly Beautiful Banff National Park

O Canada

We rolled into Canada this morning at the Sweet Grass, Montana border crossing. We had trouble using our credit cards at the pump and we were a little nervous. Then we tried our bank cards at an ATM...Tom's didn't work...Lesle tried two and neither worked...(okay.. So it turns out that the Huntington Bank one expired 05/17, but the Discover Bank one was valid..) So she used her fancy Discover app to find an ATM that would work. Declined. And so was Tom's card..So we are lost in a foreign land that doesn't want our money.. But we found a nice Campground in High River, Alberta that was happy to accept a credit card. George Lane Park. Right in the middle of town but it doesn't seem like it. We actually have electricity tonight! And a nearby bank gave us money! Everyone in Alberta is extremely nice, so I guess it is true what they say about Canadians. (They also all obey the posted speed limits) Days on the road: 15 Days Without Seeing a Moose: 15 We head to Banff National Park in the morning and the predicted high temperature is 42 degrees. I hope that is Farenheit....

Big Sky Country

We put in ten hours on the road today to try to get a little closer to Alaska instead of spending another day taking pictures of buffalo and prairie dogs. Leslie was having a great time driving and pulling the camper up and down the mountains of Big Sky Country and then it got even better when we reached a construction zone where the pavement had all been ripped up and she got to pull the camper through bumpy mud. Follow that up with pulling it through a roundabout and then into a gas station and she started to wonder if having a job might be easier. Always the gentleman, Tom pumped the gas and did the city driving. (And also took over driving the next time the pavement ended) All of this hard work was done to reach Great Falls, Montana and to camp at Walmart! Hey, don't laugh! It's free and you can run in to use the restroom in your pajamas. We don't believe in bucket lists, but if we did, "Camping at Walmart Across the Street From a Refinery" would have to be at the top of the list. But we are now stocked up on provisions (PB&J and Diet Pepsi) and only about three hours away from the Canadian border! Thanks for following our blog!

Devil's Tower

Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming was our last stop before we head north to Canada. Devil's Tower is amazing. We stayed at the campground in the park and we had a lovely view of the Tower from the A-House. We did a hike around the base, a hike on Joyner's Ridge and a hike through another prairie dog town. Next up, Montana!

Custer State Park Critters

Leaving South Dakota

 Well we are finally leaving South Dakota and heading North! To Alaska! With a short stop planned in Wyoming, for good measure. 2,036 miles on the vehicle. $366.00 American dollars in fuel. Not able to upload any pics, but trust me, South Dakota and it's critters are lovely. Old Hatchet Finger's finger has healed enough for him to play the ukelele again. Today we are enjoying our 21st anniversary of wedded bliss, which we celebrated in style Sunday night with Buffalo Stew at the Blue Bell Lodge. Much later we survived another dangerous thunderstorm. I believe the worst one yet. Tom's South Dakota travel tip: Don't split wood with a hatchet while you are holding the wood. Leslie's South Dakota travel tip: Don't put shampoo in a laptop case with your laptop in it.

Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse Memorial

 We took the Iron Mountain Road from our campground at Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore. The Iron Mountain Road is a 17 mile scenic road that was designed in the 1930's. It twists and turns and has very narrow tunnels which frame Mount Rushmore in the distance.

After checking out Mount Rushmore, we headed to the Crazy Horse Memorial which is amazing. It is still a work in progress and receives no Federal funding. In addition to the sculpture, there is a Native American Museum, cultural center, and we got to watch two Lakota Indians dance and dance a song with them.

 

Custer State Park

We have spent nearly a week at Custer State Park in Custer South Dakota. Partly because we love it and there is so much to do, but also because we were afraid that if we left we would find no place to camp over the Memorial Day Weekend.

Custer State Park has about ten campgrounds, a Wildlife Loop, several scenic drives, lots of wildlife and is close to Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Wind Cave, Deadwood and tons of other things. And we tried to do it all! 

We are staying at Center Lake Campground and we pretty much had it to ourselves until the weekend. We think it is the best campground in the park.

There are herds of buffalo that roam through the park. Also deer and antelope playing. Well, they look like they are playing. No clouds in the sky and we seldom hear a discouraging word.

We also visited Wind Cave National Park. It is a really cool underground cave system and Leslie volunteered to lead the tour group thru the cave so that the ranger could wait for everyone. Lead them down a long, dimly lit slippery staircase...with slippery hand rails.....and remember where the ranger said to stop....

Tom hid a rock for the Kobayashi family to find when they visit later in the summer. 

The only problem we have run into is that Custer State Park is like living off the grid. We can never upload any pics or videos... But I guess it is worth it... Oh, and Tom cut his finger with a hatchet.... Hopefully it will heal soon and he can be back to playing uke!

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