We had to view Mount Rushmore in shifts so we wouldn't have to leave the pets in a super hot minivan. The temperatures were near record highs close to 100.


After Mount Rushmore, Tess and Donald went down the alpine slide in Keystone, SD.




We drove to Sturgis and Deadwood and then ended up at the base of Devil's Tower in Wyoming at a KOA for the night.

Today we drove from WY to Butte, Montana. We're at a nice Best Western. We just ordered in room service from the attached Perkins restaurant. Now we're all stuffed and we have lots of leftover food... Hmmmm. Our gastrointestinal health could be better on this trip. Generally we eat a meal and then sit in the van for a long time. Not the best digestive scenario....

We did get word today (after persistent telephone hounding) that we have a stateroom on the 3-day ferry. So that's a load off my mind. After this long of a road trip, I really wasn't looking forward to living on a deck in a tent with 3 kids....

Also, I never mentioned it before, but we did get that rental we were hoping to get up in Peter's Creek, AK. So now we have a house to go to when we get up there...