Early the next morning, we head off towards South Dakota again in the rental car. We drive through lots of farmland with rolling fields.
We drive through a nature reserve where we narrowly escape birds flying out of the fields and hitting the car window. We stop for a pretty good breakfast and continue on to Pierre, South Dakota. We check in to the hotel and head off to see the city. We check out the Capitol building and visit the National Guard Museum. Later that morning, we meet up one of my Dad's relatives, Eva Marie at the family farm about half an hour away and head to a town called Oneida for lunch. The town is small. Last census in 2000 clocked the town population at 740 people. There appears to be one restaurant that everyone goes to, a few bars and banks, and apparently a small motel/inn that isn't always staffed (honor system and grab a key from the front desk). We meet up with more family at the restaurant for lunch. Everyone seems to know each other and is friendly. There was a friend of Eva Marie's at lunch that when my dad mentioned I cooked a lot, looked at me and asked "oh, you cook a lot of rice, do you?". Apparently, Asians only cook rice?!? Ha! 
I actually thought it was kind of funny, due to her older age and my guess that there are not too many Asians that live or even pass through this town. We then went to visit another family member at the bank she in. It was an old school bank, with lots of marble and shiny chrome and an old bank vault. None of that trendy looking WaMu stuff! We then headed to the family farm. I got to take a ride in tractor and check out farming equipment, both new and old. Learned a bit about technology and its use on the farm (so much information, but stored on a USB drive which was kept in the massive gun safe). 
I wander around the farm fields and took a walk down the road to check out the endless fields of yellow hay and green soybeans and corn. My Uncle said that South Dakota produces the most sunflowers in the US and during sunflower harvest they fields are full of them, all turning towards the sun. I would love to see that some day. Occasional pheasants run across the road, which are hunted in the winter when the fields are cleared. After my walk, I head back to Eva Marie's where she has some afternoon pie waiting. My Dad, Uncle and I head back to Pierre.The next morning, I walk the waterfront of Pierre near the hotel. Pierre is right along the Missouri River and it has a nice paved waterfront with green space and parks. I stop and watch a few people fishing before heading back to the hotel. Then we head over to pick up another one of my Dad's relatives, Hazel, from her retirement home. She is 99 years young and a real hoot! At some point when she couldn't find her glasses, someone suggested she get those glasses strings so you can wear them all the time, and she replied "No way... those are for old people!" She is awesome. We all pile in the car to head to lunch with a quick stop to check out Oahe Dam. Lunch is burgers at one of Hazel's favorite steakhouses for lunch, where we also meet up with Tug and his wife, Joanne. The restaurant has a limo painted like a cow with big bull horns attached to the front and an AED prominently displayed when you walk in the door. All signs of a good steakhouse? I see something on the appetizer menu that I have never heard of called chislic and order it. It is apparently a South Dakota thing and it is delicious, salted and seasoned, deep fried small cubes of meat. Ohhh yeah, who doesn't need a fried bits of meat appetizer before a burger?!?
After lunch, we head to Tug and Joanne's with a quick stop at a wheat field that is being harvested. They talk to the combine and collector tractor operators and get the okay for me to ride along! The young guy I rode with is from North Dakota and comes down to work at harvest time. He mentions that "South Dakota's kind of boring, but North Dakota's where it's at!" We then head off to the farm house (not before everyone laughs at me for wanting to see prairie dogs, as they see them as annoying pests). The farm house is beautiful. 
Big kitchen, mud room full of yet another huge gun safe and a lot of hunting trophy heads, and a huge vegetable garden. Tug gives us a tour of his home vegetable garden on a tractor (it's THAT big). I also learn that it is Sturgis Motorcycle Rally the upcoming week, and get to hear a few of Hazel's stories of when she has gone. She may be 99, but she hadn't ruled out going again, by the way. Ha! My Uncle needed to check out some kind of water or electricity thing that is somewhere out in a corn field. 
We decide to walk and find it, much to the surprise of Tug, who doesn't seem to appreciate walking (when we got back, he was driving down his relatively short driveway to the mailbox). It was actually pretty fun walking through the cornfield, as I couldn't tell where I was, so it was like a corn maze without the maze part. And of course, when we get back, there is afternoon cobbler. After the day on the farm, we head back to Pierre and say goodbye to Hazel. My Dad, Uncle and I grab a yummy steak dinner at Mad Mary's Steakhouse and Saloon.
On day three, my Uncle heads back and my Dad and I head off for some camping time. We set off for the Badlands, making stops when I see an old, nearly abandoned towns or buildings that I want to explore. Most were along the train tracks. We made stops in Nowlin, South Dakota that had an old cemetery and abandoned garage. 
And explored Cottonwood, a town with a last population count of 9 people. Cottonwood had an old abandoned grain elevator with remnants of the past inside... old floor tile peaking out of decaying floorboards, layers of faded wallpaper, a license plate from 1941, and what appeared to be a mummified cat who may have gone in to sneak away and die in peace. There was also an abandoned church that wasn't open, but you could peak in the windows. 
Always strange to see glimpses of the past in old abandoned things, like little time capsules that will eventually be swallowed up by the surrounding nature. We made the seemingly obligatory stop at Wall Drug, this massive tourist "attraction" with road signs and advertising for miles. It reminds me of that place "South of the Border" in Florida with nothing else around and so much hype that you kind of HAVE to do it. There are giant dinosaurs and jackalope paraphernalia and other kitschy things, but I did pick up two paperback books for a couple of bucks from a discount table. 
We continued on to the Badlands. The views were stunning AND I was almost instantly greeted by a field of adorable prairie dogs, popping up to say hi. First we headed to the Sage Creek campsite to secure a spot and set up camp. Then we headed out driving along Loop Road, taking in the views and stopping in another almost abandoned town called Scenic, 
home of the once Longhorn Saloon that has since been abandoned. We stopped and picked up some yummy buffalo jerky from a little open store and then headed out for a hike. We headed up Notch Trail, which was a fun trail with ladders. At times, the landscape almost felt like I was walking on another planet. The end of the trail treats you to spectacular views. 
We head back down and head to the Cedar Pass Restaurant. I ordered Indian fry bread buffalo tacos and they were pretty darn tasty! As we ate, we watched the sky get dark and a huge storm began rolling in. 
There was a brief discussion of how pretty it would be at the top of a peak to watch the lightening storm, but we both quickly and almost simultaneously said "pretty sure Mom would think this was a bad idea." We let the storm pass and drove along the rest of the Loop Road. We got to see mountain goats and bighorn sheep (and idiot tourists get entirely too close to wildlife) and were treated to even more beautiful views as it neared sunset.
We made it back to camp as it got dark, and were pleasantly surprised that a neighbor camper was nice enough to secure our rainflys on our tents... saved us from a very wet evening." They say this campsite is the more rustic of the two in the Badlands, but it felt like glamping to me as there were full Purell dispensers AND toilet paper provided at the pit toilets!
I woke early the next day while my Dad still slept and decided to go watch the sun rise on a nearby hill. I climbed up and saw a beautiful sunrise, even spotting a deer wandering across the way. I had hoped to see bison that occasionally wander in to camp, but no such luck. Once my Dad was up, we set off for Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills. We drove through Sturgis, where bikers had already started to arrive and the town was setting up for the big parties. We grabbed breakfast in Spearfish and then stopped at the D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery in Spearhead. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the grounds are beautiful. 
You also get to see (and feed, if you want) rainbow and brown trout, see a restored old rail car that used to transport fish from hatcheries to lakes around the country, tour the Booth house, and learn about fisheries management in a museum. Set up camp at Iron Creek Lake Campground. The lake was busy with kids swimming and people fishing. I went for a quick swim. We went on a quick hike and saw lots of deer (oh, and the biggest dandelion I have ever seen). State park trails do not seem as well kept up as well as Seattle, so we got a little lost, but quickly found our way back. We checked out the Spearfish Falls and then had a late lunch/early dinner at Latchstring Restaurant on their deck overlooking the canyon. We headed back to camp and bought supplies for a night of s'mores and camp fire.
The next day, I woke up just in to watch the sun rise over the lake. We packed up our camping gear and headed to the town of Deadwood where we visited the cemetery to see Wild Bill and Calamity Jane were buried. Wandered the cemetery for a bit and then headed in to town to see the bar where Wild Bill was shot and killed. 
He was playing poker and holding what is now now as the "Dead Man's Hand." We headed off to Hill City and I had a small wildlife sighing of a fox on side of highway.... still no bison. We visited the South Dakota State Railroad Museum. 
It was nice, but much smaller than I would have thought considering the history and reliance on trains in the midwest. We grabbed a BBQ lunch at a spot on Hill City's main street. The town used to be an old mining town but now looks cute and arty. Currently, however, it is overrun by bikers with motorcycles lining the entire main street. We head off to Mount Rushmore. 
Fun to see in person and walk around and see it from different angles, my favorite moment may have been when a little boy of about six years old said to his mom "Ewww, I am looking right up their noses!!" There were several interesting speakers, including a National Park Ranger history of the landmark session and a Native American speaker telling stories and showing traditional dances with information on the upcoming Pow Wow. 
We then headed out, taking a winding road to a viewpoint area of Mount Rushmore for a different perspective. Looked way smaller than standing right under it. On my last attempt at bison sighting, we headed to Custer State Park for the animal loop. We asked at the Ranger station and he gave us tips on where a large herd were recently seen. 
We headed over and got out of the car to walk down and there they were... 300-400 bison! Some fighting, some with babies, some resting, some grazing, it was awesome and a little scary to see due to their strength and reported speed (they can run fast!). Also saw a few pronghorn. But most importantly (no offense to the pronghorn), I saw bison so the trip was now complete. We headed towards the town of Custer, as I had read some report that supposedly the nation's best burger was in Custer, according to Trip Advisor. Out of nowhere, a massive hailstorm with temperature drop of about 20 degrees. The hail was HUGE and crashing on to the roof of the rental car. 
We pulled over under some trees to weather out the storm. It stopped as quickly as it started and as we continued towards Custer, a traveling motorcyclists had dumped his bike, but appeared okay. As we awaited our table at Black Hills Burger & Bun, a snowplow went down the main road trying to clear the accumulated hail pellets. Crazy! I ordered a Hot Granny burger that came with bacon, jalapenos, and cream cheese. My Dad and I both agreed that while it was a good burger, but "best burger in the nation" is a stretch.After our dinner, we started the drive back towards the Denver Airport, this time stopping in Lusk, Wyoming as it got late. There were only two hotels and both were full. Apparently, most rooms were full as FEMA was there after recent major flooding. Somehow my Dad talked to the man at the Best Western Pioneer and got us this cute two bedroom house behind the hotel. And it had a hot shower, which felt great! The next morning, we headed to the hotel for breakfast and it was the greatest hotel breakfast ever! The inside was full of bacon, waffles, fruit, oatmeal, biscuits and gravy, and breakfast burritos. Out in the courtyard sat an authentic 1890 chuckwagon, which was manned by the extremely personable hotel owner who was cooking made-to-order omelets with all the fixings! This must be the BEST Best Western ever to exist. I want to stay there again just for that breakfast. But alas, we have a rental car to return and a plane to catch. We did make one stop as I have always heard cowboy boots are comfortable and have always wanted a pair. What better place to get cowboy boots than Cheyenne, Wyoming to remember this trip AND complete my "I don't give a f&@$" fashion style? I think my Dad was annoyed because this store had a huge selection and I wanted just the right boots, but I finally found the pair I wanted (with some exasperated persuasion from my Dad). And then back to the airport for the return home.
Meeting some of my dad's family was great. Getting to spend a week with my dad and see a part of the country I have never seen before was even better. And it gave me slightly better understanding and new perspective on a completely different lifestyle from mine. Great work week off and now back in time for another week of work. Trip photos are up online or you can view them as a slideshow.
