Three Days of Travel

This post is more of a travel journal for me for our days of travel between The Badlands in South Dakota to Lexington in Kentucky on Our Land That We Love Tour. Tomorrow I’ll share the photos from the cemetery we visited in Louisville.

Friday September 24th our route to Omaha, Nebraska took us through more of Iowa than Nebraska. We traveled I-90 from the Badlands to Interstate 29 south through Iowa to Omaha. These photos are proof positive that taking photos from a moving car isn’t the best way to do it.

Sapp Brothers headquartered in Nebraska. Because we were in Omaha we thought eating steak would be appropriate. We found Gorat’s Steakhouse and were able to get an early table and meal. Gorat’s where the food was good but the ambiance could be described as ‘faded glory’. The service was good and the food was good and we’ll leave it at that. We paid about the same for steak here that we did in Wyoming $67.00 for two steak dinners.

After dinner we found a Costco to fill our tank up with gas. We paid $2.739 per gallon. Then we checked into our hotel for the night. We tried Aloft a new offering from Marriott properties. It was a modern, trendy property with minimalist interiors. No free breakfast. Our AAA rate was $125.00 and with taxes the total was $147.71. This new modern concept was not pleasing to us or comfortable for us.

On this day Friday September 24th we drove 469 miles and it took approximately 6-1/2 hours.

Our drive to St. Louis on Saturday September 25th took us south through Missouri. The miles we would drive were 431 and it took approximately 6-1/2 hours. We filled up with gas from Costco again in Independence, Missouri at $2.579 per gallon.

Our hotel in the burbs of St. Louis was a Residence Inn and we enjoyed the extra space. Our AAA rate was $137.00 for the night with the total after taxes $157.43. We also topped off our gas tank at another Costco closer to our hotel at $2.699 and did a little shopping while there. We found a Mexican Restaurant for Linner.

Early Sunday morning the 26th of September we tried to travel on Interstate 64 to Kentucky. What a sad photo of the St. Louis Arch. We ended up on the wrong highway when google was over zealous in making sure we would miss road closures in Louisville, Kentucky 250 miles away! They wanted us to go north to Indianapolis so my vantage point for getting a clear and good shot was lost. We got off that route pronto and reconfigured to go our original route with plans to deal with the closures when we got closer to Kentucky. Back on Interstate 64 we traveled through parts of Illinois and Indiana before we crossed into Kentucky.

When we made it around the detour to get into Louisville we took a short side trip to Cave Hill Cemetery. We had a little time before we needed to carry on to a scheduled tour of Bulleit Distillery in Shelbeyville at 3:30, which we enjoyed.

It was a good day of travel after our early morning google maps mess up. While we were at the Bulleit Distillery we asked the staff for a recommendation for dinner. One of the recommendations was for the best barbecue in Kentucky which we decided would be our choice. Red State Barbecue on Georgetown Road in Lexington did not disappoint.

Delicious! We both got the brisket. This was a self serve type of arrangement where you go up and order at the front counter and pay, you are given a number and you wait to hear your number when your food is ready. There was a constant stream of people coming and going picking up orders or ordering in and eating. I didn’t keep the receipt and we paid cash so I don’t remember the total but it was very reasonable. This was one of our favorite meals on our trip.

Our hotel for this night was in Georgetown at the Lexington Georgetown Fairfield Inn. Our AAA rate was $129.60 and with taxes $142.88. This property was rundown and not a favorite. The staff was friendly. Our total miles this day were approximately 337 miles with driving time at 5 hours.

We were in for an amazing experience on Monday September 27th with a short drive north of Georgetown. That post or more likely posts will be for another day or days. But first, Cave Hill Cemetery tomorrow.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

The Badlands Continued

Continuing our drive through the Badlands on our Land That We Love Tour. It was a windy cold day and we were happy for our layers.

This was a couple we kept bumping into at each of the turnouts. They were from California and they had no fear of walking out on the rocks.

I was more comfortable on walkways.

Goodbye Badlands. We are so glad we came and made the loop.

And now we were off to Omaha, Nebraska for the night. My camera got a good rest as we drove to Omaha.

The Badlands at Dawn

On Friday September 24th we were up before dawn for our 39 mile tour of the Badlands. This would be day 4 on our Land That We Love Tour. On this day besides taking in the Badlands our drive would be a total of 469 miles and approximately 6-1/2 hours to our destination for the night in Omaha, Nebraska.

We saw some Big Horned Sheep at our first stop and along the way.

The 39 mile loop is easy to access off of Interstate 90. We started on the west end of the loop and returned to Interstate 90 on the eastern entrance. The loop has convenient parking areas along the way to stop and enjoy the vistas. We took advantage of each one. Several of the parking areas also have restrooms.

That little black smudge in this photo is a buffalo. I zoomed in as far as I could to get this shot.

We were so thrilled to have started our tour before it got light and we would recommend dawn in the Badlands. Sunset would probably be another lovely time of day to be here, too.

Our first stop along the way and we were already blown away by the amazing landscape. I will be posting several days worth of photos from the Badlands.

We found ourselves reciting part of Psalm 19 and praising the Creator of it all as we began our day here…

The Law of the Lord is Perfect

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
²Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
³There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
⁴Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
⁵    which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
⁶Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
⁸the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
⁹the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
¹¹Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

¹²Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
¹³Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Rapid City and Wall, North Dakota

George Washington

We parked in downtown Rapid City with intentions of eating ‘Linner’ at one of the restaurants there. Note: this downtown area is a pay for parking area. You can use coins or credit card to park. The Italian restaurant we were interested in was not going to open until 5pm. We tried another restaurant but it was not good for us after a busy day of traveling and sight seeing (too loud and noisy and fried). Downtown Rapid City has a unique tourist feature with the Presidents of the United States memorialized on every corner. We were only able to photograph a few of them. This would be an amazing teaching moment for your homeschooled students or any students.

John Quincy Adams

James Monroe

William Howard Taft

Harry S. Truman

Lyndon B. Johnson

Ronald Reagon

George Bush

We said our adieus to Rapid City and got on to I-90 heading to Wall, South Dakota where we would have dinner at the Red Rock in Wall and spend the night. It was a down home restaurant with down home service and menu. We made it there in time to enjoy a seat next to a couple of gals who were traveling home from Pennsylvania to Oregon and who were originally from Southern California as are Dear and Me! A wonderful serendipitous meeting with enjoyable conversation.

All along the road to Wall you’ll see these signs every few miles reminding or enticing you to stop in Wall!

We stayed the night in a cabin in Wall at Frontier Cabins.

We filled up with gasoline at a Shell station just off of I-90 at $3.159 a gallon. Our lodging at the cabin with tax cost us $119.90.

We were ready to leave the following morning before dawn to discover and enjoy the Badlands. These cabins were on the highway that leads you to the west entrance to the Badlands loop.

It was a full and draining day but good. South Dakota has a lot to offer and we could have spent more than one night to enjoy all the area has to offer.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

On Thursday September 23, 2021 we drove from Sheridan Wyoming and entered South Dakota on our Land That We Love Tour. We approached the Memorial on the south side through Custer City on Highway 16. As we wound our way up the road to get to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial we started to see many interesting rock formations on the mountain sides.

We entered the Memorial and found a parking spot and walked up some steps to the main entrance.

No fee to walk in and the only fee we paid was $5.00 for our parking spot since we are seniors, $10.00 if you aren’t a senior.

Getting closer to the main attraction.

All the states are represented with their state flag and a plaque with the year they were admitted into the Union.

To prove I was there.

We found different vantage spots to zoom in for a closer view.

To read the history of the making of this monument click HERE.

This last shot was on our way out and down to Rapid City, South Dakota to look for a spot to enjoy some Linner (Linner is the meal we have that combines lunch and dinner later in the afternoon). On this route you go through Keystone which looked like a fun spot to explore but we had reached our limit so we just kept driving the 40 minutes to get to downtown Rapid City. More about Rapid City and where we ended up eating in a future post.

Back to the present we find ourselves in the last week of October 2021. We’ve had some powerful winds and leaves are falling and blowing around to find a resting spot. Hope all is well in your corner.

On Our Way to South Dakota

Heading East on our Land That We Love Tour we left Sheridan and traveled I-90 planning on taking the back way to Mount Rushmore via Highway 16. Before we got to Highway 16 we pulled off at Buffalo to mail some postcards and enjoyed the historic downtown main drag which I seem to have forgotten to take photos of. After Buffalo we stopped in Gillette, Wyoming to fill the tank with gas at $3.339.

The welcome to South Dakota sign seems to have been filled with bullet holes.

The rock formations started getting interesting as we came into Custer, South Dakota.

We saw the Crazy Horse Monument from the highway.

Next post will be an overload photo post of Mount Rushmore.

On Thursday September 23rd the miles driven were about 312 with a long stop at Rushmore. We were still in Mountain Time. We hit Mountain Time in Missoula, Montana. Wyoming is also in Mountain Time as is most of South Dakota.

Land That We Love Tour ~ Sheridan, Wyoming

Yee-Haw!

Wednesday September 22nd we arrived to Sheridan, Wyoming on our Land That We Love Tour. We drove 370 miles which took us approximately 5-1/2 hours. We stopped in Billings, Montana on the way to Sheridan to top off our gas at Costco. We paid $3.049 per gallon. When we arrived in Sheridan we did a little shopping along the main drag before we checked into our hotel and found a spot for dinner.

We ended up taking a recommendation to eat at the Wyoming Rib & Chop House. We paid more here, $63.77, than the service we received but it was the sign of the times with establishments not being able to keep full staffing. This is also a chain of restaurants in Montana and Wyoming and other states. We tried to stay away from chains when we could.

Watch out, Dear!

Our son has traveled to Sheridan for a Rodeo in the past. Some historical information can be found here.

We stayed at a Fairfield by Marriott at the AAA rate of $156. With the added taxes the total came to $176.28.

In the morning on day three of our trip before we moved along to South Dakota we shopped at Shipton’s Big R Sheridan and found boots for Dear and little JJ.

Montana Back Roads

On our Land That We Love Tour Day Two we left Helena, Montana on a back road connecting us to I-90.

These are statues.

We got to I-90 and before I could yell stop we passed Wheat Montana. We circled back because I was intrigued.

So happy we did. They had so many great products.

We were happy to find these mugs to use instead of the paper coffee cups that hotels are putting out these days. They were only $4.95. We patted ourselves on the back when we didn’t see any other mugs at the souvenir shops for under $12.00.

And did we mention the baked goods that they sell. Cinnamon rolls, bear claws, muffins, pastry twists, etc. They also sell sandwiches and other savories. The cinnamon roll was so good and it fueled us all the way to Wyoming for our next stop.

Before we left Helena we purchased gas at Costco for $3.199

Inside Cathedral of St. Helena

Continuing on our Land That We Love Tour here are the photos I took inside the Cathedral of St. Helena. This is a photo intensive post. Couldn’t leave out any of the photos I took. Dear and I had the cathedral to ourselves on this Tuesday afternoon.

The Cathedral of St. Helena was constructed at the turn of the century during the episcopate of Bishop John Carroll. It is an outstanding example of Geometric Gothic architecture, patterned after the Votive Church of the Sacred Heart in Vienna, Austria. Stained glass windows, white marble altars, statues carved of the purest Carrara marble, and genuine gold leaf decorates the sanctuary. The pews and woodwork are all done in hand carved oak. The magnificent lighting fixtures are of hand-forged bronze with a special lacquer finish. Outside, majestic twin spires rise 230 feet above the street.

In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Genesis 22:18

Abraham and Isaac

He is risen.

Jesus said to him: Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. John 21:15

All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth.

Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5

To read about some of the history of St. Helena Cathedral click here.

Cathedral of St. Helena

Before we left on our Land That We Love Tour I noticed there was a cathedral in Helena, Montana. After we toured the Capitol and had our meal in downtown Helena we used our phone google map to find the cathedral.