Stargazer Update Told by Stargazer: Wow, what a trip! Neither rain, hail, snow nor winds has delayed our trip. With Melinda or Greg at the wheel and Otto on lookout, our team has done an amazing job and visited many new and incredible locations. I am averaging 16 miles per gallon and will end up covering 12,000 road miles. Most nights we have rested at incredible state parks, and I enjoy listening to Melinda and Greg brag about my performance.

Otto Update Told by Otto: While George Costanza enjoyed “The Summer of George,” I am reveling in “The Spring of Otto!” There have been a world of new smells and some incredible walking and hiking trails. Mostly I have enjoyed bonding with some small dogs (prairie dogs) and large dogs (bison). I want to send a shout out to Uncles Yogi, Eric and Jay and Aunts Tracy, Susan and Sandy for the incredible treats they snuck me while you know who was not looking!

We arrived at Mount Rushmore just as it started to hail, the winds picked up, and the temperatures dropped 15 degrees. Although Mount Rushmore lacks diversity, it is quite majestic (this is my third visit). We liked that Mount Rushmore commemorates founding, growth, preservation, and development and we believe that all four Presidents, each with their own weaknesses, would have been “woke” if they lived today and ashamed of the progress-delaying smokescreens and injustices at the heart of the Republican Party, and may we add, the Supreme Court. We are confident George, Thomas, Teddy and Abe would be pleased with President Joe’s efforts and would be chanting “Go, Joe Go!”

As we travelled from Mount Rushmore to our Angostura State Recreation Area campground, a bison was standing in the road. I received very detailed directions on how to photograph a bison close up to ensure a) the bison was looking at the camera and b) the bison was smiling. I did my best as cars backed up behind us frustrated by the New Hampshire tourists.

Wind Cave National Park was a very pleasant surprise. We learned about the Lakota Emergence Story demonstrated by a wind cave hole, and then walked through the wind cave going deep underground. It was fun learning about 17 year-old Alvin McDonald who was the first person to proactively explore the caves, but sadly passed away at the age of 21. After visiting the Wind Cave we drove through Custer State Park and saw pronghorn antelopes, bison calves, and a fox. Sadly we saw the destruction caused by bark beetles.

Today we visited Badlands National Park and viewed the Park’s desolate beauty. From BNP we drove almost 300 miles to the Sioux City area and the winds were howling. We now understand why the highway sometimes is shut down as Stargazer shook and rattled all day long. Tomorrow we are off to Minneapolis for a few days not in Stargazer to rest up for the final leg of our trip.