Last Day: Oacoma, South Dakota

Sorry to people who have been trying to post responses and having trouble. If it makes you feel any better, the entire post I wrote from Custer State Park got lost. The Blogger site has only been so-so reliable. We've covered a lot of ground since last writing, and with a big push tomorrow we should be back in Cedar Falls.

DEVIL'S TOWER
We made it to Devil's Tower and Nic and Julie hiked the base and climbed boulders. I picked up a Close Encounters of the Third Kind DVD, but within half an hour of starting it, Nic deemed it too boring. Oh well. At least everyone liked the Prairie Dog Town on the way up to the Visitor's Center.

Yes, giant Jim has a head as big as Devil's Tower

CUSTER STATE PARK
Nic, Julie and Devin went horseback riding today, which we'd been holding out in front of them like a carrot for most of the trip. We also stayed in a big cabin, which had been held out in front of Julie like a carrot. Fortunately all the horses they had were well behaved, unlike the poor girl on the trail ride who had a horse that kept trying to knock her off. Last night, we drove the Wildlife Loop and it worked: buffalo, longhorn deer, prairie dogs and semi-wild burrows that stuck their heads in the car to get fed.

Sure, Julie's comfortable with that

Pronghorn Deer

We also got to take a couple of hikes in the park, following a horse trail to a river crossing where we decided to throw rocks then turn back. Nic, Devin and Jim climbed to the top of a gorgeous bluff near the cabin we stayed in (getting down was a little trickier).

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
Finally, on our way out of Custer today, we got to stop for awhile in the Badlands. It's actually not that far from Cedar Falls, so we were scoping it out for a potential future visit, but when we drove by one of the mini-canyon outcropping you can climb, we had to stop and give it a shot.

That brings us to Oacoma (which only sounds like the Beach Boys song). It's in the middle of South Dakota, but with an early start we should be able to make it back tomorrow. And then we'll download our video and really overwhelm you with stuff to check out.