Black Hills and Mount Rushmore, SD

After groceries, gas and propane in Custer, SD (Custer Gas had a propane cylinder the size of a 737 but no one who knew how to fill a tank but Custer Gulch RV Park could do it), we pulled up to the entrance of Custer State Park and mentioned that we were thinking of camping at the Game Lodge Campground since they had a dump station and it was getting late. He said we could go check it out, but that he'd been sending a lot of people there. It was amazing, he continued, that people would just show up here not knowing that all sites required reservations. Uh, what?
Actually, they require reservations but they can be made on the same day (or same hour or same minute). In fact, no one at any of the campgrounds can even sell a site to you; They have these "black box" phones you can use to reach a call center who knows where who can assign you a site. As it turned out, the voice on the line assigned us the last site available for two nights, and we backed in just in time to put Mae down for her afternoon nap.
Unfortunately, Mae refused to give up the toy phone with sound effects Grandma had given her for her birthday and which had been entertaining her through the end of the car ride. We managed to switch off the sounds but warily left her lying on her back in the portacrib holding her phone above her with two hands. After a few minutes of playful giggling, we heard a thin plastic thud. She started crying immediately. Honestly, I feel like doing the same when I drop my phone on my face in bed. #airstream #airstreamwithkids #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #custerstatepark #southdakota #walkincrocs

It's been 5 years since she said "I do." I honestly don't remember the question, but looking back, it must have been something like "Do you want to sleep in a roof top tent in Mexico, monitor swelling from fire ant bites, get bitten by a monkey, give a pedicure to a pig, monitor swelling from a yellow jacket attack, ride a motorcycle through the Alps, drive an ATV towing a trailer filled with hay while wearing a Baby Bjorn, try to put two kids to bed with 23 hours of daylight, and, of course, live in a trailer?" Whatever the question, I'm just glad @advodna_ann said yes. #anniversary #teotihuacan #overland #panamericanhighway

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions of what to see in Custer State Park. We made it up to Sylvan Lake this afternoon to climb the rocks and take In the view. #custerstatepark #kidsinahole #southdakota

Unfortunately, the Needles Highway was mostly closed for construction, starting today of course. Since a few of the six or so tunnels on the road are only 8' 4" wide, this is a strictly no-trailer route. It also meant that they couldn't get big paving equipment in there and were essentially using a smaller version meant for sidewalks. They stopped traffic just before this first tunnel but let people walk through and take pics. #custerstatepark #southdakota #needleshighway

Everything was going great on the Wildlife Loop until some jackass decided to stick his head in the window and scared Mae. 😉 #childhoodunplugged #travelwithkids #roadschool #familytravel #traumaticexperiencesofchildhood

Iron Mountain Road is 17 miles of steep, narrow, twisty road with 3 one way tunnels only 12' wide by 12' tall. It took me a lot of searching through forums with posts warning people not to take trailers on it to find one that said it would probably be okay. I chose to believe that one post, and despite a few pulse quickening moments, I'm glad I did! These "pigtail bridges" were designed so the roadway could gain or lose elevation quickly and were pretty fun to drive (though maybe not for everyone so use your own judgement!). #shortestwaytomtrushmore #ironmountainroad #pigtailbridges #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife

'Merica #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #mtrushmore

Old guys and works of art. I'll let you decide which is which. #mtrushmore #findyourpark #southdakota #familytravel #fulltimefamilies #travelwithkids #advodnaxmascard