Summer Roadtrip Day 10: Sioux Falls to Keystone SD

After leaving Sioux Falls, we visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell SD.

We saw a highway sign for the South Dakota Tractor Museum in Kimball SD. Steve wanted to check it out so we made the detour. Unfortunately, it was closed and wouldn't open for a few more hours. 

The Holy Trinity Church that is right next to the museum was having a yard sale to raise money to repair the roof. We stopped to see what was there. Steve talked on of the volunteers into opening the church so we could see inside. This church is considered to be an important example of Bohemian vernacular religious architecture in South Dakota and a visual survivor of Czech settlement history.

and then she even gave us a tour of the basement, which had a collection of historic items from the church and town.

We then stopped at the Dignity statue in Chamberlain SD

which overlooked the Missouri River.

We also visited the Lewis and Clark visitor center. 

A few more miles down the road, we stopped to see the giant pheasant made of railroad ties and other parts 

We then crossed the Missouri River.

From there, we headed further west, stopping to see the exhibits at the Minuteman Missile National Historic site.

Before the entry to the Badlands National Park, we stopped to see prairie dogs (real and giant).

We then visited several areas of the Badlands National Park.

We walked on a few of the paths to get a better look at the rock formations and scale of the area.

But it was really hot and humid, so we mostly just stayed at the scenic overlook areas.

We even saw a few bison as we left the park.

I think the highlight for Steve was seeing the military practice "rescue operation"

After leaving the Badlands, we drove to Wall SD. It was really busy at Wall drug, so we decided to skip it. Instead, we stopped at Dahl's chainsaw art to see the World's Largest Jackelope.

Steve paid the $1 admission to go inside.

While I stayed on the ground with Sasquatch 

From there we drove to Rapid City and stopped at Firehouse Brewery for dinner.

It was still light out, so we drove to Mount Rushmore. 

Unfortunately, the sun was setting behind the monument when we got there, so it was hard to get a good picture.

We thought about staying for the lighting ceremony, but that was still 1-2 hours away and we were tired, so went to the motel for the night. After relaxing a bit, smwe saw this lighted view from the motel.

Summer Roadtrip Day 11: Keystone SD to Cheyenne WY

Today we left Keystone and drove past Mount Rushmore. We actually got better pictures from outside the park today than we got yesterday.

We enjoyed the scenic drive through the Black Hills down Needles highway.

Including driving through the narrow tunnels.

On the way to Custer State Park, Steve accidentally rolled down his window. Because the cable snapped earlier in the trip, his window completely sunk into the door frame. When we stopped to pay the entrance fee at Custer State Park, he attempted to "fix" the window by pulling it up and taping it into place (and later jammed microfiber rags between the window and the door frame to keep it in place).

We drove the wildlife loop where we saw lots of prairie dogs and bison.

We also saw pronghorn antelope,

bighorn sheep,

and burros.

After leaving Custer SP we drove South to Hot Springs where we had lunch at a BBQ restaurant (delicious burnt ends!) and explored the town a bit.

from there, we drove to Cheyenne Wyoming, to spend the night. We saw lots of wildflowers growing in the grasslands.

While driving, we encountered a few sprinkles, but most of the rain was in the distance.

After we checked into the hotel, it started raining. 

Because we had a late lunch, we weren't hungry for dinner, so hunkered down in the room where we were warm and dry. 

Summer Roadtrip Day 12: Cheyenne WY to Pojoaque NM

Because our hotel rate didn't include breakfast, and we were a bit hungry from skipping dinner, we bought some gas station burritos as we left Cheyenne early this morning.

It was a little bit cold and windy as we followed the interstate to Denver.

Once we got to Denver we decided to take the more scenic route, Highway 285. The views along this route were breathtaking and we really enjoyed the drive.

We mostly drove and only stopped at a few places, other than for stretch breaks or gas. Our first fun stop was at the South Park sign for photos in Fairplay Colorado.

We then drove to the UFO Watchtower near Hooper CO. When we arrived, we just weren't feeling it, so skipped the visit and continued our drive.

We stopped at the San  Luis Valley Brewing Co in Alamosa for lunch and a much needed break.

As we were driving through Antonito CO, a shiny house caught my eye, so we needed to take a detour off the main highway to check it out 

We later learned that this is Cano's Castle.

After leaving Colorado and entering New Mexico we headed towards Taos, NM. As we got closer to Taos we drove past a community of Earthships (buried houses).

We took a break from driving and stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. 

The view was absolutely breathtaking.

We mainly just drove through Taos and didn't spend any time other than to take a short stretch break and bathroom break and then we were on our way to Santa Fe.

As we drove towards Santa Fe, we entered the Rio Grande gorge and drove along the river.

We were really enjoying the drive and looking forward to visiting Santa Fe, before spending the night in Albuquerque.

Unfortunately, we got about 20 miles outside of Santa Fe (in Pojoaque) and then the transmission of the car went out.

Steve limped the car along the highway until we got to an AutoZone, which turns out that it's brand new and hasn't yet opened yet, so we then limped the car across the highway to a gas station where he was able to add some transmission fluid and further troubleshoot.

Unfortunately, the car was essentially rendered undrivable for any distance and all auto shops in the area were already closed for the day.

Steve made friends with a lot of people in the parking lot who offered help by lending tools, sharing some wire, and one man (thanks Fernando!!) even hooked up a tow strap to the back of his truck and towed us to the hotel where we spent the night. (Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Casino).

By the time we got to our room and settled in it was after 10:00 and all of the casino restaurants were closed except for the deli, so we split a cold turkey sandwich for dinner.

Summer Roadtrip Day 13: Return home

This morning Steve got up early to further inspect the car while we were waiting for transmission shops to open. The hope was to be able to find a shop that could do the work as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

We ultimately decided it made more financial sense to rent a U-Haul and towing dolly and tow it home ourselves, tmrather than spending 3+ more nights in the area 

We took an Uber into Santa Fe, picked up the truck and trailer, and left Pojoaque shortly after noon.

We took the interstate through the outskirts of Santa Fe and then also through Albuquerque (so we didn't really get to visit either), since our goal for today was just to make it home, and night sightsee.

As we drove through Albuquerque, we were hit with a deluge of rain!

Once we were outside of Albuquerque, we stopped at a gas station for a late breakfast/lunch. These burritos were not as easy on the stomach as those in Cheyenne!!!

We drove in and out of rain for most of the way through NM, with a dark cloud seeming to stay over us.

We were happy to enter AZ and return to sunny weather.

We were about 100 miles from home and I needed a bathroom break (thanks to the gas station burritos!!).

When Steve tried to start the van (to keep the battery charged while the hazard lights were on for towing) he discoved the van's battery was completely dead. Then he urgently needed the bathroom, so locked the U-Haul and ran inside.

After returning to the U-Haul, I asked him to open my door. He started looking for the keys when I spotted them inside the truck

One locksmith later....

And one stop to install a new battery in my minivan...

We finally arrived home around 10:30 pm (and to a very happy dog!) 🐕 

Hawaii Big Island (March 10-18, 2025)

After cancelling our trip to Australia, I started checking possible flights to use our Air New Zealand credit, during the time we already had planned for vacation.

Prices to New Zealand were higher than normal and going to Fiji, Samoa, or the Cook Islands cost more than I wanted to spend. 

In the process of searching, I found that Southwest had a great deal on flights to Hawaii (less than $500/person), so we decided to go to the Big Island, since neither of us had been to that island before.

We were able to book the trip for March 10-18, so we didn't need to rearrange work or dog sitter schedules, other than losing a few days at the front end. 

We also didn't need to alter our packing list much, since we were still going to have beach/snorkel days and time in the tropics/rainforest.

This is an overview of where we went each day:

Day 1: Travel and arrive in Kona

Day 2: Visit beaches on Kona Coast

Day 3: Chocolate tour and visit South Kohala area

Day 4: Drive along Kona coast area, across Ka'u (south), through Hawaii Volcanoes NP on way to Hilo

Day 5: Visit waterfalls and parks in Hilo area

Day 6: Visit the Puna region

Day 7:  Drive along East coast / Hamakua region and north / Kohala region on way to Kona

Day 8: Visit beaches on South Kona coast.

Day 9: Travel home

Day 1: Travel and arrive in Kona, HI

March 10 - flight

After boarding the plane, we had a bit of a delay due to mechanical issues. Everyone had to get off the plane and reboard a new plane that didn't have a fuel leak. After a two hour delay, we were on a new plane and on our way. Good thing our original flight had a 3 hour layover in Honolulu before flying to Kona, so we didn't have to worry about missing that flight.

We mostly napped on the 6- hour flight to Honolulu.

We were greeted with a rainbow as we picked up the rental car in Kona.

After checking in to the time share/condo we rented, we went out to dinner and split two appetizers - mango shrimp and an order of ahi poke nachos.