Life is a Highway

Friday, August 5th
We left Wyoming with thoughts of heading to Devil's Tower National Monument and also over to the Badlands National Park.  There are two camping areas in the Badlands National Park, one with water and one without.  We were thinking of opting to have the with water option.  Along the way, we saw many prong horned antelope.

We got to Devil's Tower but decided the $10 to drive right up next to it wasn't worth it.  After all, the temperature was in the 90s and for the first time in a while, we were experiencing high humidity.  Nothing lost though, the views from outside the park were great.

 Please note the large, building clouds in the background.  We'll talk more about that later.
We left Devil's Tower & proceeded into South Dakota.  Herds of leather-clad motorcyclists were spotted all along the road.  It is the Sturgis Rally weekend.  Wishing to check out some additional scenery, we exited Interstate 90 and traveled instead on the scenic Spearfish Canyon Hwy.  Being passengers in a car, we were certainly a minority.  The Spearfish Canyon Hwy. lead us through Lead, Deadwood and Sturgis.  It was fun to travel amongst such chaos but after some consideration we decided to leave the whole scene behind and continue onward.
Remember the clouds?  Well, at this point on the radio we began hearing predictions of rain and/or thunderstorms.  Weighing our options, we eventually chose to skip the Badlands & continue on to Chamberlain, SD.  Although Chamberlain is only about a 5 hour journey from Grand Meadow, we chose to camp for our last night out.  At about 9 p.m. we arrived in Chamberlain.  When checking in, the campground host indicated that weather could be heading our way and asked if we were season campers.  Confident in our camping ability, we set up camp on the bank of the Missouri River at the Cedar Shores Resort & Campground.  This location holds a special place in our hearts; we had camped at this same spot six years ago while traveling out to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Unsure of if/when weather would hit, we quickly made dinner, cleaned up and settled in for a hot, humid (and  potentially soggy) night.  Ironically, before sleep, we spent some time evaluating and discussing what we would do again and potential improvements if we had the opportunity to go on a similar future trip.  Drifting off to sleep, we could see lightning in the west but it was off at distance.
At about 11:30 p.m., a slight breeze moved in.  Minutes later, the slight breeze changed into a roaring wind of steady 50-60 mph and heavy rain.  Holy Hannah!  The sides & bottom of our tent moved erratically and with force. Quickly, we mobilized into some sort of action.  Sara spread out on the floor of the tent trying to prevent water from blowing under the its bottom.  Mike with his arms tried to support the tent poles.  After a few minutes, it seemed quite apparent that if we ran for cover in the vehicle, the tent would most likely fly off (stakes, sleeping bag, and Thermarests included) & drown in the already swollen Missouri River.  We maximized our surface area on the ground determined to ride out the weather.  Then the game changer happened:  with a wind gust the rain fly suddenly became half detached and flew off on one side leaving us wholly exposed.  Quickly drenched & with no end to the wind & rain in sight we changed tactics.  Sara grabbed armloads of bedding and ran loads to the car stuffing thoroughly wet items into the already cramped space.  Mike stayed in the tent, his body weight keeping it in contact with the ground.  Finally, we collapsed the tent and Mike dragged a picnic table on top of it to keep it in place.

Drenched with rain & mud, we had no choice but to laugh.  Everything was muddy & wet.  Camping until morning was no longer an option.  Perhaps it was time to go home.
As the rain slowed, we removed the picnic table, collected our tent, changed into drier clothes and drove off towards Minnesota.

Tired, we arrived home this morning, Saturday, at ~5:40 a.m.  The sky was just beginning to brighten.  Our Alaskan grand adventure was a wonderful experience and we'd certainly do it again.  For now, however, we're happy to be home.  

Total mileage:  8, 890 miles.