Life in the Cheese Drawer

here i am, rockin’ the iphone hotspot to upload my day 3 pics. nate and i left our awesome hotel room this morning and headed up to the dinosaur park. nate went halfway; i went to the top. 
then we headed into the hills and went to wind cave. that was awesome! i totally recommend a cave tour. it was the first time i’d done it. nate even came out of his summer-cold stupor to enjoy it a little bit. 
then we were off to blue bell lodge for our camping cabin. i saw a few buffalo on the way! also antelope, elk, mule deer, prairie dogs (of course), and i’m sure something else i’m forgetting. 
so far, nate is not impressed with the camping cabin’s amenities. the beds are pretty uncomfortable, but the view is stellar. now’ i’m going to make a smore over the lantern since i didn’t want to drive to the store to get wood. 

welp, nate is still getting his sleep schedule switched around, and on top of that, it’s allergy season here in SD. or else he’s sick. huzzah!  -_-
we left chamberlain at about 9:30 this morning (no breakfast at al’s – free continental at the hotel; we’ll hit al’s on the way home) and took off in a chilly, grey morning. after a sketchy stop at a gas station in belvedeire, we made it to the badlands, where the sky cleared up about halfway through the loop. it must have been a very wet spring, because things are very green here. 
nate and i stopped at a few viewpoints and i got some pics (below). of course the loop ended at wall, where we had an unexpectedly expensive lunch at wall drug. hot beef sandwiches at kitchy restaurants are so good, but $12? omg. and $4 for a slice o’pie. after the usual tour and a photo with my green lady, nate and i left for rapid city. 
i got a fancy hotel tonight because a) i knew nate would be feeling like poo this day and would appreciate a jacuzzi suite and b) the next three nights are going to be roughing it in a camping cabin, which i’m sure nate will be in love with (haha). 
pics from the badlands! #hifromsd

 

off like a prom dress!
nate and i drove across i-90 this morning, and after a very sketchy experience at a taco ball, arrived safe and somewhat sound (like, not so much in the bowels, but ok everywhere) in chamberlain around 4:00. after a short nap, i headed out to a lakota museum, family dollar, and al’s oasis while nate took a longer nap (to correct his sleep schedule). 
i also stopped at a boat launch and then headed up to the lewis and clark interactive rest area blah blah blah for some pics at sunset. 
tomorrow, we go through the badlands, maybe check out a nuclear missile site, and hopefully nate’ll be up for wall drug! plus, bonus hot tub hotel room tomorrow night!
picture time!