Day 18: Mount Rushmore
Howdy partners! Today was day 18. We were fortunate enough to sleep in ‘til a rare 7:15, a whole extra hour! We packed up from Ponderosa, as Will and Sanders climbed trees, and started our journey to the beautifully uninteresting South Dakota. However, the journey to the lower Dakota took us through more of the beautiful state of Wyoming. Throughout the morning, we saw countless waterfalls, beautiful yellow and red cliffs under beautiful skies, and trees and grass; a refreshing sight after miles of desert. For breakfast, we munched on “big muffins” and bananas for some much needed vitamins after the days’ countless carbs. The day was filled with plenty of driving, but it seemed to go quicker than most days, with amazing conversation between friends. We also got to stop at an amazing truck stop that might as well have been a free ice cream bar (free samples), general store, and restaurant all in one. Many people got coffee and took advantage of the delicious pizza selection to the annoyance of our counselors and bus driver. After this stop, we had a lunch of King’s Hawaiian rolls with ham, turkey and cheese, along with chips and cookies. We drove on for another couple hours before reaching one of the biggest Walmarts we had been to. The girls really had to use the restroom, but it was in the middle of being cleaned, so they forced the employee to take his break to use it. Leah also fell on her way to the bathroom, tired from the 102 degree parking lot, oops. From here, it was not a long drive to Custer State Park where we began practicing for a dance competition to the song, “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd while our cooks made a nostalgic meal of chicken nuggets, watermelon and lots of mac n’ cheese. Zac got a little roughed up when Ethan was trying to vault over him and Braydon, pushing his head down to the pavement. Don’t worry, he’s alright! After a delicious dinner, we went to Mount Rushmore, an undeniably important landmark to American history and determination. As we gazed upon the Heads of Tom, Georgie, Ted and Abe, we ate overpriced ice cream and bought overpriced souvenirs. Then, we went to our sleeping accommodation for the night, a YMCA gym that doubled as the world’s largest freestanding log cabin according to the kind, lifeguard who managed it. We then held our dancing competition. It was a tough battle with lots of effort from all groups, but in the end Sneezys pulled through and managed to win. After the day’s excitement, we finally bedded down and headed to sleep.
