I really like washing my hair with shampoo

Day 3
Saturday, August 27, 2011

David and I are sitting at the Hotel Alex Johnson eating turkey sandwiches and they are probably the best turkey sandwiches we have ever eaten. Similarly, this morning after our long hike in the Badlands on the Castle Trail, and the Medicine Root Trail (6 miles total) we drank the most delicious Gatorade in the history of Gatorade! It's funny how much better things taste when you are really needing to eat or drink something.

Ok, so to pick up where I left off yesterday afternoon...we finally arrived in the Badlands last night at 5pm Mountain time and checked into our Budget Host Motel...I was greeted by a dead cricket on the bathroom floor, or at least I thought he was dead. I saw a let twitch so I killed him properly. Dad would be so proud of me killing my own bugs :) As I explained to David when I was surprised by the second cricket later who jumped out of my hand towel in the bathroom, I have no problem with bugs in general, I simply get startled when I see them inside as they are not supposed to be there.

We did find this place they call Wall Drug and it is more touristy than we ever imagined. Definitely worth going to though even just for the solidarity with other travelers who have ventured there...not to mention I caught and rode a giant Jackalope :)

It was a little chilly with
the breeze as we started out...
the jacket didn't last very
long

Both of us were so tired by the time we went to sleep that it didn't matter that the beds sunk to the floor when you sat on them, or that that squeak with every turn. We both slept in until 7:30am and we were on the trail by 9 which we discovered is too late in the day to begin a hike in a dry wasteland. We were on the trail from 9-noon and it was upwards of 100 degrees. We took water with us but by the time we were finished we were both thrilled to see the car! It was an amazing hike that we would do over again in a heartbeat and will recommend to anyone. It was an incredible experience to stand, turn around 360 degrees and see not a soul in sight. The only sound was the wind blowing around us, and there wasn't a cloud for miles. It was awesome in the truest sense of the word.

Next we went back into the town of Wall, SD to get lunch and we were on our way to Rapid City. This 1.5hr part of the trip is a mystery to me because I passed out in the passenger seat and was not awoken until we reached the Hotel Alex Johnson where we are staying for the night. The first thing we both did was take showers and put on clean clothes. The shower had real soap and shampoo bottles! It was the greatest excitement from the most simple of experiences, but after washing my hair with bar soap yesterday, a teeny tiny bottle of B&BW shampoo is all it takes to make this girl happy!

When we felt like real people again, we headed out to see Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore. It was a bit of a drive to get there but the scenery is beautiful. Both sites were large and I couldn't help but marvel at the logistical side of the construction of the sculpture. It is just remarkable to me that their construction was even possible. We met an Ohio State student at Mt. Rushmore named Tim. He is driving back from doing an internship in Idaho for 7 months and so he is doing some sight seeing as he ventures back to Ohio before school starts back up. We figured this was the perfect opportunity to get our O-H-I-O picture checked off the trip to do list. Following that was the light up presentation which included presidential trivia, a Lewis & Clark recap and a mini life history of the lives of the 4 sculpted presidents. As David put it, it was a very "Happy Meal version of American History."

And now I sit eating my sandwich and preparing to go to bed. Tomorrow we go the 8-9 hours to Yellowstone and once there, internet and cell reception will be sparse. If you don't hear from me for a few days, trust that we are alive and well.



Oh, P.S. I got a question regarding who David is, so for David's and my family and friends who don't know one or the other of us, here are the mini bios:

David: Born and raised in Columbus, OH. Big Family. Buckeye for life. Works for a company in Waukesha, WI called AirGas
Emily: Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. Big family. Buckeye for life. Works as a nurse at the James Cancer Hospital at OSU
Emily and David: OSU students involved in the Student Alumni Council (SAC) since freshman year of college and have since become and remained wonderful friends and travel buddies. They also traveled together to the 2011 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, LA