Holy Hail!!!- An Independence Day Trip Report

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh I'm so glad I found this!! So nice to see another report from you and it's always a heart smile to see photos (and videos) of home My sister is out there now and up in Estes today, I'm so jealous! Trail Ridge Road was always a hard one for me - even as a toddler, it would make me sick. The car ride alone was bad, but then add in not being able to breathe up there, I would always be laid out in the back seat with the doors opened when we hit the Alpine Center and parked. Everyone else would be walking and taking pictures, and I'd be in the car doing my best to not throw up. I couldn't watch your vides of up there as it made me queasy even seeing it in a video. Brilliant that you got to see a moose and with a baby to boot!

Thanks!!! I'm also jealous of your sister! I guess more people have issues with Trail Ridge than I previously thought. Most of the people I've encountered fear that their car will go tumbling down the edge. The breathing up there definitely becomes a problem if we try to do too much. I'm always amazed at the cyclists I see pedaling their way into Alpine. While I have more videos to come, I think those are the only ones of that kind, so you should be video safe going forward The moose and her baby was one of the biggest highlights for me of the trip.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Kendall and I made it back to the fields just as the first game was ending. I know there were a lot of frustrations, so it wasn’t the greatest vibe. I did sit down for a bit as they did field maintenance. It was in the 90s outside this day and getting that little bit of spray from the sprinklers was pretty darn refreshing.



More clouds were also moving in.





If memory serves correctly, Sam only was a runner in the second game, so K and I decided to step back a bit from the crowd. There was a small reservoir that backed on the fields with a lot of birds, so we just hung out back there for a bit. There was also a fenced in area off to the side that was attracting quite a number of bunnies. At one point, we counted over 10, but in this moment you can only see four.



What’s really funny is the live picture results. I forgot that I was in live mode at the time, but when I reviewed it afterwards in live, it looked like some joke reel where the bunnies just keep repopulating. So, I played it on a loop and got this…



The second game did not go well. It was a team that we’d played when we were in Tennessee back in May, but that was the spring ball version of them that was missing all of their high school kids. With the high school kids back in the lineup, it was a much different team. The one positive part of the day…team building activities had been set. Unfortunately, nobody could agree on just one thing. So, half the team was going ziplining while the other half would be whitewater rafting. We had two really early games the next day, so there would be plenty of time for a fun activity in the afternoon. My family wanted to raft, so that’s what we signed up for. I didn’t bring my contacts and am too thunderstorm phobic to risk going in bad weather, so I opted to sit out and be the parent to hold everything. With plans set for the upcoming day, we went to dinner. We hit up an Old Chicago just down the road for some pizza. They were having staffing issues, but were able to handle us for dinner. Sam clearly didn’t want to share her dessert.


*side note…my subpar laundry skills would like to thank the State of Colorado for not having red clay dirt fields. Sam’s level of filth actually looks manageable!

The rest of us shared the pizza cookie.



Towards the end of our meal, it got really loud. We then realized it was raining. Actually, it was loud because it was rain and hail. By the time we went out in it, it was still pouring but the hail was gone. I guess at least we missed the hail again…although, that would not be the case in the near future. There was a lot of lightning still, so I was ready to just get back to the hotel. We were only a couple of miles away, but the rain had pretty much passed by the time we arrived. This kind of rain could rain us out or delay us at home, so we were waiting to see what the outcome would be for play the next day.

We did also have some evening drama with Sam freaking out about her hoodie. She thought she left it with her friend or possibly in the car, but she couldn’t find it anywhere. So here we were…on round 2 of a kid losing something in plain sight. After a night and early morning of freaking out, I’d find it smooshed between the seats in the collapsed third row. Kids!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Chapter 4: June 29th-Seriously, HOLY HAIL!!!... Part 1

I believe we had an 8am game today, so another day where we had to be at the fields by 7. My wheezing and breathing issues were even worse this morning. It would still be another day before the "why" was discovered. Either way, I was dragging and was now bad enough that I resorted to allergy meds. People noticed when I arrived at the fields, but everyone was having some sort of allergy issues, so it was more of a misery loves company. At least the previous night’s rain did nothing to the fields. This would become a theme. I guess the dirt in the area mixed with less humidity = less likely to rain out.

We played our games and then hit up Chuy’s for some lunch.



It was right near the fields and hotel, so it was an easy lunch option. We were hoping it would be ok since it’s usually a safe option at home. It’s not that it was awful, but we’ve found that Chuy’s outside of Texas just isn’t the same. Oh well, at least we had food. Afterwards, we rested up for a bit before heading to rafting.

As we were leaving the hotel, I could see ominous clouds and hear some rumbles of thunder. It wasn’t too bad until we got on I70 and were approaching the foothills. That’s when the heavens opened up. After about 5 minutes of torrential rain and slower driving speeds things got loud! Yup, this would be our first time truly getting caught in hail this trip. Thankfully, we drove out of it as we got a ways into the foothills. Still, this is what was on the radar.



We’d later see on the news that parts of Denver had flooded from this storm and there were rivers of hail in some spots.

We at least arrived at the rafting place with some time to spare.



The skies up here were already clearing up (for now).





Once our full group arrived, everyone headed inside to change into wetsuits. So, I stayed out and took a look around.



As people got finished up, they’d come to me with their stuff. Last time we rafted, I was super nervous about locking stuff up, so I know it was nice to have someone to just watch everything.

Eventually, they all filed in for their safety and instructional tutorial.









Time to start loading up the bus!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

One by one, they all entered the bus and were soon off on their rafting adventure!







I spent most of my time trying to find a good spot to sit, enjoy the sounds of the rushing water (and highway traffic) with the lovely scenery. It also looked like prime bighorn sheep territory, so I was keeping my eyes peeled.





No sheep, but this hummingbird spent a little time in my general area.



At some point, the clouds built back in and the rain started up.



At first, I was content to just stand along the bank and tough it out, but it got heavy enough that I decided to seek shelter.



It happened pretty much simultaneously, but I started hearing thunder as well as the sound of hail. It was just light hail, but hail nonetheless.





It was funny to see hail when the weather didn’t seem all that serious, but apparently it forms more easily in higher altitudes.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The rain and hail let up a bit so I ventured out from my shelter to get a better look. I knew our group would be rafting right by me, but I had no idea on the timing. I started to hear laughter and shrieking, so I got into the best spot I found for pics. I looked for familiar faces in each passing raft, but this wasn’t our group. I got some smiles and waves along with a few “who the heck is that?!?” At least the mom that had temporarily joined me had family in those rafts.

There was at least 15-20 minutes between buses (maybe more), so I decided it was safe to run to the bathroom. I didn’t want to miss my group, but nature called! When I got back to my spot, I heard the sounds of laughter again, but I didn’t have time to set up in the prime spot and had to sprint in the pebbles to get to the secondary spot. At least I got them!





Unlike the place I booked for our 2019 trip, this place included complimentary pictures. This is a sample of everything we got from their time in the rapids.





















I hung out for a little bit after our group passed. I met yet another mom waiting on family. They were in a different group that actually finished up right next to us vs. continuing on down the creek.

I was feeling wet and cold, so I decided to grab my chair and head back to the car to finish my wait. As I was heading over, the rain started to pick back up and the weather had sounds of being more serious. Even though these places are rain or shine and it’s considered safe to be rafting in these conditions, I was getting nervous.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The hail started pretty shortly after I got into the car. At first, it was kind of novel…



It just wasn’t letting up this time.







I even opened the door for a bit to get a better view of the lot.



I was texting back and forth with my parents because I knew this would interest my dad, but the signal was pretty weak, so it was taking forever for messages to go through.

I was also growing concerned about our group. I kept telling myself that this is all pretty normal (which apparently, it is), but it was concerning to me. My excessive fear of thunderstorms also wasn’t helping.

It eventually let up enough that I was able to get out survey what looked like a light snowfall in some spots. Well, minus the steam from the ice against the much warmer air/ground. I’m just going to spam you with s few posts of pics.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

 

[HouCuseChickie]

In all of this, everyone came back and everyone was fine. In fact, they had an absolute blast. My family felt this was even better than what we did back in 2019 in Buena Vista. Everyone was freezing though. One girl was moved to a hot shower just to help warm up. While waiting on everyone to change and clean up, I encountered some other nervous moms (other teams) whose kids were still out there. I noted why they should be ok and a rafting guide passing by said that I was spot on. Still not sure I buy into all of it, but I just wanted to help ease their minds. Oh, and one of their guides confirmed that bighorn sheep are pretty common to see while rafting, but her scariest rafting encounter was a moose. Oh well…my hummingbird was the most exciting wildlife any of us would see today.

After buying K a souvenir, we started our drive back to the hotel. We even drove through some more hail on the way back. Dinner was an instant replay of meatball night, so nothing exciting there. I do wonder if good options were limited due to the construction. Oh well… we had late games the next day, so could relax a bit before bed.

 

[MinnieM123]

@HouCuseChickie -- Did you ever feel like your raft would tip over when going down the rapids? (I've never been rafting, but know there are various designations of difficulty. I'm assuming your group was probably in a safer rapids area, but I could still see from the pictures that people were still getting tossed around a bit.)

 

[HouCuseChickie]

@HouCuseChickie -- Did you ever feel like your raft would tip over when going down the rapids? (I've never been rafting, but know there are various designations of difficulty. I'm assuming your group was probably in a safer rapids area, but I could still see from the pictures that people were still getting tossed around a bit.)

When I went, we all remained in the raft. I think they had a couple of close calls this trip but no flips or people overboard. Like our 2019 trip, River and creek levels were really high. On one hand, it makes for more intense rapids, but it also is supposed to reduce your risk of getting banged up on rocks. Some people in our group went last year in much lower water conditions and they had issues being thrown, flipping, and getting banged up. Some I think is also quality in different operators. Due to the ages of the younger kids, we were also only doing class I-III. Although, in these conditions, some IIIs were more like IVs.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Chapter 5: June 30th- Could We Forget Anything Else?

Another day…another round of waking to wheezing and congestion along with itchy swollen eyes… a sure sign of allergies. I’d never had these problems before in CO, so I was really perplexed. We had late games, so at least we could ease into our day. I went down for breakfast and caffeine. As I was eating, it occurred to me that in addition to my feeling cruddy, my dreams had been crazy. When David came down, he asked the magic question. “Have you checked the pillows?”

I am one of the many who are allergic to down. We’ve stayed at Drury’s before and I never remember down pillows. I can’t believe I hadn’t even considered this could be the issue. Wild dreams usually accompany such a reaction so it was starting to make sense. Either way, I’d have to check the pillows as soon as we headed back upstairs.

During breakfast, I also got a cranky text from Sam about the whereabouts of her wet rafting clothes. They did a pretty thorough search of the room and my car… no clothes. Ugh. I’m going to need to start gluing things on to people! I placed a call to the rafting place and sure enough, they had Sam’s clothes. It was still early and we had lots of time until warm up, so we got dressed, went by an ATM since David forgot to tip the raft guides (accomplishing two things with this drive), and headed back to Idaho Springs.

The previous day’s storms had really cooled things off. It was obviously even cooler as we headed up into the hills and mountains. There was a lot of nasty early morning weather (yes, more hail) in this part of the range, but we were only getting light rain when we arrived. We got Sam’s clothes, covered the tips, so now what? Drive deeper into the mountains, of course! Yeah, I got this crazy idea to drive to the Breckinridge area. I was getting readings of temps in the mid 40s as we approached the Eisenhower-Johnson tunnel.



By the time we got to Breck, it was nearly lunchtime. Unfortunately, nothing was really fitting the lunch in the mountains vibe I was looking for. We made a quick stop to fill up and use the restroom. I took a few pics while I waited for everyone to come out.









I think this was the stop where I accidentally used the men’s room! Ha! Oh well. When I got out, we all agreed to drive back to Frisco since there might be something along the water. Dillon Reservoir is just so picturesque that it seemed like there had to be something. David saw a sign for some kind of grill, so we decided to try it. The rooftop seating with views of Frisco Bay is exactly the vibe that I wanted.









Funny, but it had a self serve water station.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

As time went by, the skies over us cleared quite a bit, but I noticed storms forming that looked more Denver area.







I wasn’t wrong. We started receiving notifications of lightning delays at the fields. We started wondering if we’d even get to play. It did at least provide us a little more time to relax and enjoy our lunch. I think this was sun dried tomato hummus and grilled mushroom tacos.







During our meal, a very interesting looking hummingbird made a visit. I didn’t want to scare him, so we just sat still. I did find out after the fact that it was a black chinned hummingbird.



Our paid parking allowance was almost up and it was starting to get a bit warm while sitting in direct sun, so it was time to leave. When we headed to the bathroom, we found this mural that cracked me up. Check out all of the saltwater marine life in this mountain lake!



And a couple of parting pictures before heading back to Westminster/Broomfield.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Before leaving Frisco, I noticed that they were able to leave out potted flowers. We’ve seen deer and elk often make this impossible in the mountains.



We drove back into some rain and more news of delays. Game times would be reduced from 90 to 75 minutes, but everything passed in time to get in all games. I’m just shocked to be able to play when there’s been so much rain.

We still had lots of time, so I got in some laundry. We have five uniforms and were hitting a point where we’d be rewearing a couple. The hotel has a laundry room, but one washer and dryer for seven floors of rooms seems pretty insufficient… especially when over 95% of the rooms are filled with kids playing softball for an entire week. I at least timed it well and only had to wait 10 minutes for the washer. I didn’t do my home laundry routine, but I did travel with my bar of Zote laundry soap and a cheese grater to shred soap into the mix. I waited with the laundry until it was ready for the dryer. A non-softball guy came by during my wait and made the mistake of saying he’d try a little later. I had a line of softball moms from behind me.

I believe we just grabbed some easy snacks for dinner since we had to get to the fields. We wound up parking at the aquatic center tonight because things were so parked up. At least sunset was nice at the fields.





If only she got to play in such pretty scenery all the time.



She was having a good night and game 1 went well, but the second game was a nail biter due to some costly runs given up and some bad calls. We ended game 2 of the evening in a tie, but Sam got a rally started that could have been it. Unfortunately, our game streaming wasn’t working that night, so we only have my cruddy video. Sam hit one at the end of regulation that nearly went out. It got her to second and another batter helped move her to third. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get her in, so we ended in a tie.



Of course they turned off the field lights, so we got to navigate our way back to the aquatic parking up a hill and some landscaping in the dark.

When we got back to the hotel, I stopped by the front desk to ask for hypoallergenic pillows (since the ones in the room were definitely down). I guess the construction and capacity crowds had the front desk in a constant state of chaos. They had no idea if they had any pillow alternatives. So I said…how about a couple of blankets that I could roll up. They couldn’t find any right away, but said they’d call up to us with an eta. Yeah…that call never happened. So I rolled up some bulkier clean clothes. It was hardly ideal, but we’d see if it made a difference in the morning. We at least had some leftovers from previous meals for a secondary snack before bed. Early games again in the morning.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

So my husband is leading a youth mission trip for church right now to Denver and I just got done reading your post mentioning Idaho Springs and he texted less than 30 seconds later telling me that they had just stopped for lunch in Idaho Springs. They are exploring today, but it was kind of freaky to just read about it and then have someone text me that they were there when I've never heard of the place today.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So my husband is leading a youth mission trip for church right now to Denver and I just got done reading your post mentioning Idaho Springs and he texted less than 30 seconds later telling me that they had just stopped for lunch in Idaho Springs. They are exploring today, but it was kind of freaky to just read about it and then have someone text me that they were there when I've never heard of the place today.

That’s so funny and a little spooky! We had driven through a couple of times in 2019, but didn’t learn the name until last year. It’s popular for rafting since it’s so close to Denver. There’s also a ropes course, zip lining, old mill/mine tours, and lots of hiking options. It’s all right along I70, so it really stands out when you’re driving through.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Chapter 6: July 1- Are You Feeling Lucky?

It’s another day of early games, but the big victory was waking up without wheezing, congestion, and itching. So, my misery was from the pillows. They never got me different pillows or blankets to roll up. I thought about going to the Target across the street, but this was our last night at the hotel. Sure, we'd be staying at a couple of other hotels where it could be an issue, but I just didn't see the need to buy a new pillow at this stage of the trip.

Today was the beginning of bracket play, so this is when things really count (pools help seed). This tournament was single elimination, so it was win or go home. Sam was playing and still hitting really well, so it was much more exciting for us to watch. We wound up switching dugouts before the second game, so we'd have more shade. We also had a new mascot...Lucky the Ladybug!



Lucky would be with us ALL day! It probably wasn't the kindest thing for the ladybug, but the younger siblings in the mix had fun trying to use cups and containers to create a habitat.

Sam also played and did really well in their second game. They pulled out another win, but the big excitement was in the sky. It's a short video, so keep your eyes focused on the upper left corner of the screen.



Nothing like some real-life natural fireworks to kick off the start to July. If you blinked or looked down for a split second, you would have missed it. Still, enough of us saw it that it warranted a closer look on the game livestream. I even texted my parents (since my dad loves this stuff) to see if they saw it. My dad had seen that a Reddit post was already exploding with accounts of this all over eastern Colorado, but nobody had video. As far as I know, we were the only ones to capture video. It was suggested that I share it with the local news since so many saw it...so I did...and they published it!

WATCH: Meteor makes an appearance during Broomfield little league game

A rare daytime meteor was caught on camera during a little league game in Broomfield Saturday afternoon.

www.denver7.com

They got a few things wrong, like the time and calling this "Little League," but I think it shocked everyone on the team to see our team video on the Denver news. K and Sam were all caught up in the number of views it was racking up in such a short timeframe. It would be over 10K before the end of the day. I just thought it was cool that we captured it and they picked up the story.

After this, everyone wanted to do a team lunch. I really love that this group is so strong on team bonding. Unfortunately, David was kind of crabby about the location of the selected restaurant...which led to a bit of drama. We were the first ones there. There was a line out the door and no immediate signs of available parking, so David decided we didn't have enough time for this and needed to drive off. We literally passed the entire team on our way out. We made it all the way back to some Mexican restaurant closer to the fields when Sam got really upset. We had been seated already and she was in tears because she was the only kid that wasn't at the other place. I told him we needed to go back and I'd drop them off. He wasn't pleased, but we should have kept looking when we first got there...since clearly everyone else found parking. So, we rushed back and sure enough, there was a spot right up front. We opted to sit outside and they got food right to Sam to make sure she had something in her before we headed back to the fields. It had an area for cornhole and some other games, so it was fun for all of the kids.



The food was just OK, but it was nice to sit down and relax. Several parents have family that live in the area, so it was great getting to chat with these people during our meal. We got to extend our time there as well since the coaches opted to take the kids back to the fields. While there doesn't seem to be any issues between the girls, there are some obvious cliques. So, they split up the kids by cliques just to encourage some fun time with different girls.

We got back up to the fields but decided to spend this game sitting out in left field. Part was because it can be more fun out there, but part was because Sam wasn't playing again. It's a good lesson for her future in travel ball, especially showcase ball, since kids will get pulled in and out more frequently depending on college coaches in attendance. Still, it's frustrating when you're in a win or go home spot and the team is struggling. The girls came up short this time, so no championship Sunday for us. I guess Lucky the Ladybug's luck was running out. We were invited to one of the houses to hang out for the evening, so at least the day still had some fun in store.

We drove out to their VRBO in Arvada, brought some drinks and food, and spent the rest of the evening chit chatting about all of our annoyances, frustrations, and the good stuff as well. The girls had a blast in the home's basement/entertainment area, so all was good. It was pretty warm without functioning A/C and the dripping from the ceiling was crazy, but it was so much better than just spending the night in our hotel room. I also got to do a bunch of laundry (for free!!!) for the next phases of our journey. Shocking, but Lucky the Ladybug was also back at the house. Lucky was still alive, but not exactly doing too well. Before the night was over, Lucky would be released into the yard to do ladybug things.

When we got back, we even got to watch some fireworks from the hotel parking lot before heading upstairs to start packing up.






(Stunning…I know )

We didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn or anything, but we had about a 5.5-6 hour drive to Rapid City, SD ahead of us the next day. So, we didn't want to be sleeping in too much either. At least this would be my last night sleeping with bundled up sweatshirts.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

So crazy about that daytime meteor. Cool that you got it on video.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Chapter 7: July 2nd - Nope!

It was time for one last breakfast at the Drury. The food was predictable at this location, but it was enough to fill us up without having to spend any extra money. I also said good-bye to the food service staff before heading up for a final assessment of the bags and packing situation. It wouldn't be long before I'd pulled the car around, loaded things up, and hit the road...well, after getting all turned around in the adjacent traffic circle one more time while stopping for gas.

After this, it was a straight shot up I25 through Cheyenne, WY. We even saw a number of pronghorn and prairie dogs along the way. David had wanted me to stop for a bathroom break on the other side of Cheyenne, but he failed to consider how tiny the city is and how it's not going to have the suburban areas stretching much past the city center. We turned off on route 85 and there was just a whole lotta nothing. At some point, as we hit the stretch heading directly north, we hit an area with really stunning rock formations. I believe they were all buttes. This isn't my picture, but this was the scenery for a lot of the drive. I pulled this from Google Maps from a view point tied directly to the stretch of road we were driving. There was just too much winding on the single lane road for me to take any pics...and you know nobody else was helping.



We did eventually find a place to stop and everyone was able to get snacks, a potty break, and I filled up the gas tank. It took a little bit of trying. We had routed ourselves to a gas station, but when we got there, there really wasn't much to it. Thankfully, we found another place about a mile up the highway that fit our needs. It was funny because I was sharing pumps with people filling up their tractors and riding mowers. Hey...they need gas too! I just wasn't expecting to be sharing the highway with them at certain points.

Speaking of...Kendall was begging to drive, but she has never done the whole single lane highway thing. I know she has to learn at some point, but with the number of people who don't properly time passing slower traffic and the quick reactions you need to make when they unwillingly put you into a game of chicken had me too nervous to allow her to drive anything like this at this point. David and K disagreed, but it's my car.

We may have overdone it on the snacks and drinks. We all wound up needing a stop. Thankfully, there was a rest stop (Mule Creek Junction) right where we needed to turn off to get onto Rte 18 (which would take us into SD).



Not really much here, but there were some interesting tidbits about the area. I know @Songbird76 recommended a multitude of places to stop, but we were on day 8 of this trip and everyone was just ready to get to our next stop. I had given Fort Laramie some serious consideration when we passed the turnoff, but everything I was getting was to keep going. So, I went! LOL

As we made our way into western South Dakota, we saw this cloud...




(I cannot begin to tell you how hard it was for me to get anyone to take this pic! Drama!)

I don't know how many of you saw the movie "Nope," but that was the vibe of this cloud. We only took these two pics, but I swear, this thing followed us for miles. By the time we got onto Rte 79, which took us into Rapid City, it was this monster over the Black Hills. We never got much in the way of weather alerts, but we later saw on the news that it had dropped some serious hail. This was my big fear with this portion of the trip. Colorado storms are one thing, but the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma (all in our plans at some point) were seeing nasty storms on a regular basis. Being in places prone to large hail and tornadic activity makes me nervous. I guess at least the Nope cloud never came for us like it did in the movie.

I initially mapped us to Custer State Park. I bought a weeklong pass and July 2nd was the first day. Nobody was really feeling that today either, so I just remapped us to the hotel. I think everyone just wanted to get everything out of the vehicle and get comfortable for a bit. When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by something that was trying to give White House vibes. I guess that's what you get when you're near Mount Rushmore.



Inside, it kind of reminded me of a place we stayed in Billings, MT. It's like they were trying to give winter lodge vibes with what they had. It was welcoming enough, so no complaints.



The place was deserted when we got there, so I really wasn't sure how to feel about it. I had seen some signage about longer stay rates (like do people live here?), so that was a bit concerning. I saw nothing about that online. Still, it seemed OK. We went up to our room and put all of our bags in, but it was ridiculously hot. I think they leave the thermostats off if nobody is staying in the room. We turned it down as low as it would go and decided to head out to wait for it to cool down.

This visit to Rapid City, which was truly the vacation part of the trip, was all about unfinished business. We only spent a day here when we visited in 2018, and we missed a lot. So, it was time to start knocking out some goals. First goal...Wall Drug! Yeah...I've heard it's cheesy. Yeah...I've heard it's a tourist trap. Still, I know lots of people that love it and feel it's a must. We skipped it last time (even though David was ravenously hungry) because something in it didn't look appealing to him. And after about a 45 minute drive, we had arrived.



We started on the far end of the stores and just started working our way forward. My main goal was getting a Badlands NP ornament. I did not get one on my last visit and I need one for my tree. I was finding all kinds of fun stuff, including a multitude of fun jackalope goodies...but no good ornaments. K already had her main souvenir for the trip, but Sam was on the hunt. So, lots of shopping for us.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

If you look at those lovely jackalopes above, you should see a sign off to the right that instructs you to pay for merch before leaving a department. I completely missed this and was just walking around holding some things from a few different rooms. I clearly was not the person depicted in this decal the girls handed me!



I'll share my haul later, but I had to go room by room to pay for what I was holding. The bigger challenge was remembering which room I was in when I found each thing! After that, we pretty much wandered to check out the rest of the goods.













When we went back in from this point, we found some amazing scented candles. Sam has a great lamp for these things, but I just couldn’t justify the cost. There was also a great jackalope hat (they had a similar bison version), but I'd never wear it, so it had to stay in Wall. LOL

Kendall made a creepy friend!



Before I forget, this is what I bought. I'm quite fond of that shirt! I never found a good ornament, so I'm repurposing a keychain.



Everyone was still in a bit of a mood, but we had been here a while and we needed to make a decision about dinner and plans for the rest of the remaining daylight. We eventually agreed to just eat here. I think I was the most successful with what I ordered. Sam and David each got a buffalo burger basket. David always seems to forget that it's really lean meat and not a juicy greasy burger like he prefers. Kendall got chicken tenders basket, which she said were actually pretty good. I got a tuna sandwich (it was a special) along with some onion rings, as well as a slice of pie. The pie was meh, but my food was actually the best of the group. All in all, I’m really happy we gave Wall Drug a try.



It was now around 7pm, but sunset wasn't until something like 8:45pm. I got the wild and crazy idea to drive into Badlands NP. I mean, we were just down the road from the main entrance, so why not?

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So crazy about that daytime meteor. Cool that you got it on video.

I've seen a couple in my life, but never this vibrant. The video muted the colors a bit, but still cool that we randomly captured the moment.