For all who've read "Macaroni Boy", this is Klavon's! We are in Pittsburgh PA and this is an original Drug store/ice cream soda shop with the wooden booths, marble counter tops and swivel counter stools. They still have wooden phone booths and an old green Hamilton Beach milkshake mixer. So cool!
Mark digging into his chocolate delight!
Last night we camped at Laura Ingalls homestead and today we are visiting a school similar to the one in which she taught. Two of the desks in this room are original and so is the bookcase which is not shown in this picture. All of the kids had to where outfits that children would have worn when Laura was a child. Mommy thought I looked adorable in my bonnet and apron :)). All the girls had to wear them and the boys had to wear hats. To get to the school house, we all rode in a covered wagon. There were ten kids on the wagon, not mentioning parents, and we all got to steer the horses. The horses were huge!!! 
This is the school house. See the bell on the top? Well, everyday after Laura was done with school, the teacher would pull on a string inside of the school and that would dismiss all of the students. Children's parents were also able to hear the bell so that they would know when their children were on there way home. On the way out of the school, all the kids got a chance ringing the bell. It was fun!!! (You can see the string in the first picture at the doorway.) 
Here is mommy and me in an old stage couch. We are in the upstairs part of an old barn where they keep the horses and ponies. They have several exhibits up here to look at!
This a picture of the welcome sign to the homestead.The homestead is the original 160 acres that Pa claimed in 1880.
The sunset last night.
Laura's travel exhibit is in this building. It shows her books along with the name of the town where the book took place. "Little House on the Prairie" was actually in Independence, KS. "By the Shores of Silver Lake" starts her life in De Smet, SD. See the seesaw on the left of it? Again, the beautiful sunset is in the background. :))
The prairie with the horse barn that was mentioned earlier. The first tiny building to the left is Ma's house that Pa built.
The prairie in the early morning. It is so beautiful!
Here I am with a guide at Ma's house. I am experiencing how people had to wash clothes at the time of the Ingalls.
After the wash, I got to clip the sheets to the clothesline. It was much different than the washing machines we have today!
This is mommy at Ma's garden. Last night I met the young women who tends it. I helped her pick veggies and in return, she gave me three tomatoes and a cucumber. We ate them with dinner and they were yummy! I met her dad this morning and he gave me fresh chicken eggs from the barn. The barn also has a cow and 7 cats. One of which is a baby kitten!! I played with all the cats for hours last night. They were so cute and they followed me everywhere!
Had to throw this in the blog! It's Jen now. I was driving and suddenly heard a rattling, scraping sound. As good fortune would have it, we were two miles from a rest stop so I pulled over. Two hanger straps broke on the muffler and it was dragging on the ground. Probably loosened them up from all those dirt roads at the Ingalls! Anyway, some wire cutters, two coat hangers and 20 minutes later, we were on the road again! :))
On our last evening at Custer State Park we drove the wildlife loop. We finally saw a mountain goat and she had her baby nearby! There were many pronghorn grazing- our best views of those on the trip too. Several bison were munching on grasses near the road. They were the only animals close enough to get a good iPad pic :) But we shot a few photos nonetheless :)
And we thought the corn capital of the US was Nebraska! Apparently not! It's Mitchell SD. This is Corn Palace built in 1892. Every year it's exterior is decorated with the year's bounty in agricultural products, such as rye bushels, oak heads, sour dock and of course corn. 275 thousands ears are sawed in half lengthwise and nailed to the building. Whatever floats your boat!
The mighty Missouri! We crossed it into Central time this afternoon :))
Our last National Park! I can hardly believe it. The Badlands was a perfect last park because you feel like you can see to forever from its vistas. The prairie just goes on and on until sky meets horizon. 
From a distance it looks like the land formations would erode to the touch, but they're rock solid.
Mark and Bridget part way up the long cliff climb.
Jen, four rungs from the top. I'm great, as long as I don't look down! Of course we still had to climb back down.....
It's fun to explore the crevices, chasms and little canyons. 
Bridget psyched that she made it to the end! Was there any doubt?? We were very fortunate to have an overcast day- probably marred the views a bit, but kept the sun from beating down on us!
The view at trails end. The badlands is a special park...you never know what's around the next corner; color, landforms, wildlife, its a place of beauty and mystery. It can be inhospitable and unforgiving as late 19th century homesteaders found out, yet has supported native humans for more than 11,000 years. You can almost feel their spirits still roaming the prairie.
Wind Cave National Park is like two parks in one. The far reaching gentle prairie above ground, and the dark unknown below the surface. Even though 140 miles of cave have been discovered and mapped, it is anticipated there are another 1,000 to go. And it's all in One Square Mile of above ground surface area! Above I am kneeling in front of the natural entrance. This is where the cave's existence was first discovered- at least by white Europeans- I'm sure Native Americans had known of it for centuries. It felt like an air conditioner. It was blowing out at 6 mph. Some days it sucks in like a vacuum- it depends on where the pressure is higher. 
