Day 12

Well we are in glorious Minnesota! It was a long driving day but we are slowly but surely getting there. We had a really great start in the Badlands, Mike and I both got to run and then we did a geology walk at the upper prairie:

Our kids were having none of it and Heath opted to sleep in but we did get to see some more amazing views and learn something about how the structures came about. I am sorry for so many photos but I really cannot get over the beauty of this place:

Badlands National Park is also the last open hike National Park in the United States, as in it never closes and you can go anywhere anytime in it. They have a ton of Ranger programs; the night sky and fossil programs they did last night were pretty spectacular, after which we sat outside our cabin and stargazed. I love this place.

We started our drive mid-morning and crossed the Missouri River:

We then took a stop in Mitchell, South Dakota to see the Corn Palace. I'd like to think of the Badlands as the thing I was most excited about on this trip and it far exceeded my expectations, and the Corn Palace was not even on my agenda except people kept saying "Oh you must see the Corn Palace." To those people I say "YOU OWE ME AN HOUR OF MY LIFE BACK!"

Here it is in all its splendor (the construction did not help):

Heidi and Andrew are still wondering why there was no princess if it was meant to be a palace.

After eating the worst corn on the cob at the corn palace, we had lunch across the road, which given its proximity to this tourist trap was actually pretty good. As you can we are all on the beige-only diet:

Here are the kids on Day 12! Look, Andrew is still smiling! How is that even possible?:

This is our entry into Minnesota (OK OK, this is our second entry into Minnesota, I totally messed up the first but even I am not perfect):

This is what Minnesota looks like so far:

We took a detour into Iowa because two people in the car whose names rhyme with Rike and Teath had never been and insisted we stop in that state. Here is our entry into Iowa:

This is what Iowa looks like: Totally worth it.

We played a lot of Mad Libs on this drive. The use of bathroom words and private parts was prolific but also hysterical. We have spent way too much time together.

Tonight Heath and I went out for pizza while Mike and and the kids did this:

Tomorrow we have a much shorter drive to Wisconsin Dells so we can spend the afternoon at the water park and wear the kids out for our planned mammoth drive on Tuesday.