750,000 Gallons per second

Today, our last destination of the journey, was spent at Niagara Falls -- a spot we reached after a short 2 hourish drive from last night's campground. We spent several hours enjoying the site, the falls, and feeling tantalizingly close to Canada (there is a spot in the middle of the bridge connecting the two sides, with respective flags from each country, where you officially cross the border). Of course, we donned our blue ponchos and took the Maid of the Mist ferry ride up to the base of the falls -- the wind was wiping so hard, and the spray so intense near the Horseshoe Falls (the larger of the falls) that it felt like being in a shower with dozens of plastic clad friends (the water was too much to think about pulling out the camera for a picture down there). We then walked over to Goat Island (situated between American Falls and Horseshoe Falls) where we ate an unsatisfying lunch before returning to our RV and then camp. Our exhausted trio quickly fell into a much deserved and much needed nap.

Tomorrow brings an early alarm for our final push through New York (and into parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey) before crossing the bridge and entering Long Island.

Fireflies!

4 states, nearly 500 miles, and just under 12 hours from the time we left our campground northwest of Chicago till we arrived in Erie. Lots of driving today, so no pictures. But I do have some observations from our trip so far: gas gets cheaper as you get east (was in the $3.79 range through much of the west, bit lower in the midwest , and as low as $3.24 today in Toledo - but spiked to $4.29 in metro Chicago); windshield roadkill also diminishes as you get east (at earlier gas stations stops, the windshield was covered in bugs, not so much recently); the higher the highway tolls, the worse the roads (states without tolls have great highways -- Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, midwest states -- but in Indiana and Ohio, both with high tolls, the roads stink!).

And tonight at our campsite, we enjoyed a nice surprise -- fireflies! None of us had ever seen real, live, glowing fireflies -- they are all over the place here and were a fun welcome as we took a dusk walk.

Tomorrow, on to Niagara Falls!

Tracking Our Gas

As Mark will readily admit, he's a bit specific in some traits. That's carrying over into his tracking of fuel and mileage on the trip. If you're so inclined, you can follow along. Just click on this Gas Spreadsheet.

Traveling through Big 10 country

Lots of driving today -- and lots more of I90. After a quick breakfast we left Sioux Falls and continued our trek east. Soon enough we were cruising through southern Minnesota, and aside from a quick rest stop, a requested visit from a friendly state trooper (actually the second in two days -- Stacey was again impressed with how nice and cute they are here, though he declined on being photographed), and lunch in St. Charles, not much interrupted our trip through the Gopher State. The western Minnesota farms resembled those in South Dakota, but as we headed east, it seemed as if the crops and barns and silos shifted a bit (and of course, more cows). A long, downward set of curves brought us to Wisconsin. More farmland, but many more trees. We passed on the Wisconsin Dells (the waterpark capital of the world) and cruised into Madison. The route took us straight to the capitol (looks like every other state capitol building -- but no protesters for the moment, it was Sunday after all) and then to the University of Wisconsin campus. It was a bit hard to navigate in our 32' traveling thunder, but the campus, its diverse architecture, and the town seemed to posses a great vibe. Syd and Mark cruised around a bit (after we parked near Camp Randall), and Stacey's day was made when we found a Trader Joe's and she enjoyed her Organic Mixed Green Salad! We then pressed on into Illinois -- where we made camp about 50 miles before Chicago and the mosquitoes made dinner on us.

Welcome to I90

Saying goodbye to the Mt. Rushmore area was surprisingly difficult -- we all very much enjoyed our time in the South Dakota hills and could see a return trip (at least if it wasn't so darn difficult to get to). Syd and Mark began the day again with a pancake breakfast while Stacey and Sasha enjoyed a long walk. Syd then rode a recumbent bike for the first time with her new friend Olivia. Heading out through Hill City, we stopped at the Ben West art gallery where we learned: a new piece of art will soon hang in our home, and Mark looks great in a frock.

The rest of the day was spent cruising down I90 in South Dakota where we went from Mountain to Central time, passed the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, dined (?) at an all you can eat pizza buffet (the best place we could find in Mitchell), before finally making camp in Sioux Falls.

Tomorrow we're heading to Wisconsin.

Feeling Patriotic

For Syd and Mark, the "All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast" lived up to its billing, and we left satisfied. In the morning, we rented a car (for a nice change of pace and to get through a few low tunnels around here) and headed over to Bear Country USA. There we drove through their park among all sorts of wild animals: Elk, Mountain Lions, Arctic Wolves, Reindeer. The highlight though were the (you guessed it) scores and scores of bears -- just wandering across the road, scratching their belly, laying around. Very cool and very fun.

From there we headed to our ultimate destination in the Black Hills and the reason we made the effort to come here at all. Winding our way, it was Syd who first noticed the faces carved into the mountain. Truly majestic! The park is modest in size (especially compared to our recent stops) but well set up. It is very reminiscent of key Washington landmarks. And walking through the court of flags, where every state is represented and viewing our presidents atop the mountain is breathtaking.

And of course, there's the gift shop!

Tomorrow starts our slog through the rest of the country -- long drives to make it on schedule to New York.

Driving through the Western Plains

Lots more driving today -- around Denver, up to Wyoming, then over and up through South Dakota (and lots of two land highways!). And though much of our day was spent looking through the windows of our RV, the ever changing landscape provided nice surprises. Wyoming's vast plains and South Dakota's rolling green hills. We even spotted a few wild Bison in the hills near Hot Springs. The highlight of the day was visiting the Crazy Horse National Monument. You can see see from our pictures that the effort is still a work in progress -- the face is complete and the top of his out stretched arm is taking shape. But considering the pictures from 1948, before the project and carving began, much work has already occurred. Crazy to think it'll likely take another 50+ years to complete!

The KOA here near Mt. Rushmore is surprisingly nice -- even fun. It's large with lots of activities (Syd and Mark are looking forward to tomorrow's pancake breakfast), and Syd is already making friends.