To save the wear and tear on our Pilot and all the additional mileage, Chris used his Hertz points and rented a van for two weeks for our summer road trip to Canada and South Dakota (to visit Mount Rushmore). After a busy morning of laundry, cleaning, mowing, and packing as well as having the basement painting finish up along with having the granite installed, Chris and I headed in to Longmont to pick up our van at 12:30 pm. It was a Chrysler Town & Country and we were quick to fill it up. I love all of the space and cubbies in a minivan. I don't really want to drive one, but they sure are great for travel.
We were packed and ready to go by 2:10 pm. A little later than we had planned, but we weren't in any rush to arrive in South Dakota at a certain time. That's a good thing because we used the "Neverlost" navigation included in the vehicle. We not so fondly refer to it as "Everlost". We overlooked the need to specify highway travel over fastest route by any means possible. We ended up on gravel roads through the countryside. Not ever having been to South Dakota before, we didn't realize that we were off the beaten path. I did think it curious that for so famous a place, we didn't encounter a lot of traffic. Never fear, Neverlost got us to our destination, just in a really roundabout manner.
We did detour in Fort Collins before getting too far from home for a quick drive by of the temple site. It was pouring rain at the time so we didn't get out. The temple was looking fabulous and so beautiful.
In our drive to South Dakota via a portion of Nebraska, we traveled through a lot of small towns. Beautiful, yes, but very few options for dining. We finally came across a place in Hot Springs, South Dakota called Chops and Hops. I think it was our waitress' first time working. She was a lot scatter-brained.
Now, if you are going to visit Mt. Rushmore, what movies would you watch as you traveled? Why, "National Treasure" 1 and 2 of course. The second movie focuses on the famous site, but you have to watch the first one first.
In between the movies, Chris and I and Kristen listened to a book on tape that we had picked up at Deseret Book--"Deep Cover". It was great and Kristen was enthralled by it. She especially loved the love story part. Misha and Amy listened to music or watched movies on their devices and missed out on a great story. Every time we stopped the car during our trip, Kristen was quick to say, "Turn it on," when we got going again.
We arrived in Rapid City around 9:30 on Monday evening and quickly made our way to the Hilton Garden Inn. It wasn't long before we all drifted off to sleep.
We didn't have a huge room, and with a roll away, it was a little cramped. We were there until Thursday morning, so keeping socks and clothes together with girls who like to drop their clothes and go, was important. We didn't spend much time in the hotel except to sleep since we had many places to see.