South Dakota Road Trip - The Journey Home

Well, all good things must come to an end, so it was on this day that we had to pack up and start for home.  We planned to drive back to Salina, KS, albeit via a different route from the way we came, then drive home the following morning.

We had breakfast, then sandwiches were made for the road and put with a couple of bottles of frozen water in the small collapsable cooler we brought.  Todd loaded up the car and we we were off...almost.  We made a short stop down at Sylvan Lake for one last look before driving to the lodge to check out.

Goodbye you gorgeous place

After checking out at Sylvan Lake Lodge, we were truly on our way...well, almost.  Our route took us south past Wildlife Loop Road and as we passed through, lo and behold:  buffalo!

Hello sir

Nice day for it

Yep, we've got be heading along too

On the road to Salina.  The endless, never-ending, you-think-you're-almost-somewhere-but-you're-not, road to Salina.

The rest stop at Ogallala had nice grounds and well-maintained picnic tables.  We stopped there to eat our lunch.

Nearing Salina as the setting sun lights up the sky like fire

Nearing Salina as fire lights up the field like fire

A little ways outside town we passed a burning field.  Not sure what happened, but there were hot spots in several places and men on tractors out there working to put them out.

We got to the hotel finally and checked in, then met back in the lounge and ate the last of the sandwiches.  After a night's rest we breakfasted at the hotel and then had a long but uneventful drive home.  It had been a fantastic trip!

I'll wrap up by saying how amazing that part of the country is.  If you're looking for a getaway there's nothing like it.  I've re-posted some links below - please check them out and enjoy your trip!

South Dakota Tourism:  https://www.travelsouthdakota.com
Rapid City, SD:  http://www.visitrapidcity.com
Hotel Alex Johnson:  http://www.alexjohnson.com
Custer, SD:  http://www.visitcuster.com
Custer State Park:  https://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/
Custer Resorts (lodges and cabins):  http://custerresorts.com
Badlands National Park:  https://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm
Black Hills National Forest:  http://www.fs.usda.gov/blackhills
Mount Rushmore National Memorial:  https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm
Wind Cave National Park:  https://www.nps.gov/wica/index.htm
Crazy Horse Memorial:  https://crazyhorsememorial.org
Wall Drug Store:  http://www.walldrug.com

Your National Park Service:  https://www.nps.gov/index.htm
Celebrating 100 years of stewardship in 2016 - get out there and Find Your Park!

And, although we didn't go this time (visited in 2013, photo below), Devil's Tower National Monument is 2 hours away in Wyoming, and makes a great day trip.
https://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm

Devil's Tower (as seen in Close Encounters of the Third Kind)

Thanks for reading.  Come back soon and I'll tell you about our trip to Las Vegas!