Days 9 and 10: The Black Hills!

Day 9 started off successful. Maryanne doesn’t have a winter jacket, so we went to a random consignment shop and were able to find a warm, glorious purple and black Columbia one for $25! (It served its job well today!)

Then we were to replace the third and last rotting wheel on her car. This was beyond aggravating because she had a courtesy inspection done before the road trip, but VW did a terrible job. When the rotted tires were pointed out, even MARYANNE could tell they were bad. Anyway, since she bought the car used she didn’t realize there were special rims and therefore impossible to find (unless ordered) tires. After five stores, this annoying task was complete!

Just as we were leaving the last tire dealership, it started to sprinkle snow! We drove through the wilderness and discovered Mt. Rushmore. It was neat, but definitely not something you should travel solely to see.

It was now 3pm, and the one sister who actually feels hunger, was STARVING. Poor Maryanne was forced to adapt to Helen’s never eating schedule. Eventually she was able to coerce Helen into stopping to create food. This involved breaking in the camp stove that had been purchased for this road trip and going far into the woods to have a picnic.

The outdoor adventure continued to Sylvan Lake. This was so picturesque that it didn’t even look real. The rocks of the Black Hills jotted out inside the water. As we were hiking the trail around the lake, we found the Sunday Gulch trail the looped off of it. It was only 3.8 miles, so we decided to hike it. It was a very strenuous hike, with rails in place to save you from dying otherwise.

(Note: Please look at the temperature, not at Maryanne's driving face.)

It started to become dark, and since the area is extremely rural (and has mountain lions, buffalo and deer) we started to move very fast. THEN we heard it. A noise. It was like no sound we’d heard before. Maybe Bigfoot had wandered in the Black Hills? Whatever it was, it was loud and nearby. We got out our knives and moved as fast as possible, jogging and sprinting to get out of the woods ASAP.

WE SURVIVDED! After escaping our possible deaths, we finished our walk around the lake. It was now nightfall and as Maryanne drove, very slowly and cautiously, we saw deer! Not one or two, but over 50!! We saw bucks and doe and fawns….we saw more deer in 10 minutes than an entire year in Jersey. We kept passing signs warning not to approach buffalo, and were getting excited we might see one!

Then it happened! Helen saw a monster shadow in the woods. Throwing caution to the other tourists, we reversed the car to see it. Upon looking at it, from 20 feet away, it suddenly started to RUN TOWARD THE CAR! Maryanne has never used the turbo engine on her car with such haste and urgency.

Both sisters were a little scared and just started to record what had happened, WHEN! (Listen to the best video EVER!)

Whew. We are survivors. Bigfoot and rampaging buffalo.

We got back to our couch surfing hosts, and told them about our adventure. They laughed.

Al, a friend of our host, told us he was going to go on a convert apple mission. He was intending to save apples from community trees that would otherwise go to waste. Anything that has the world convert in it and includes headlamps has us in! Also, the risks of stealing apples compared to bear mauling are also miniscule. We hopped onto bikes and explored the apple trees of Rapid City at night. Although Maryanne can no longer bear children, it was fun.

The next morning, the weather was fierce. Snow, cold, sleet, misery, etc. We decided to go caving! Jewel cave is the second longest cave in the world, and it is our favorite! We climbed over 40 stories through this cave and got to see all sorts of unique formations, especially the CAVE BACON!

Upon leaving, there was a snowstorm. We are heading south IMMEDITATLY!

That night, we were staying with the parents of a friend of Helen’s from college. It was like Christmas Day in terms of couch surfing accommodations. Fireplaces! Separate bedrooms! Homemade banana bread for breakfast! TV! Delicious coffee!

This isn’t to mention how wonderful Barb and John were! They took us out to a local eatery, The Firehouse Brewing Company!

We are so lucky and comfortable to be here!

Also, this is personally voted our best video yet!