Checking in.
Posted by Jessica in Travels
I have really good reasons why I broke my promise and didn't post the other night. I lost my camera which has my memory card which I use to plug into my computer to upload pictures (found it the next morning). Then, I haven't had internet access until I got to Sundance, Wyoming, but when I tried to access Blogger, it wouldn't let me. This is the first time I've had internet access since Sundance (which is awesome, by the way).
Here's the update. I drove across Wyoming and finally got into Yellowstone the morning of the 5th!!! I spent the night before sleeping in my car in Cody, Wyoming, which was awesome, surprisingly.
I lived so close to Yellowstone for so long but never went. It was worth the wait. I'll devote a post or two to the Yellowstone portion eventually. I saw Mt. Rushmore and it was awesome! I wasn't expecting South Dakota to be such a beautiful state. Yes, a lot of it is pretty flat land, or rolling hills, but it has very beautiful parts and the history there is amazing!
So, when you go to Mt. Rushmore, you have to get off I-90 and take a smaller road to get there. I am so dumb and just assumed Mt. Rushmore was surrounded by a lot of nothing. NO. It's surrounded by forests and moutains. It is totally gorgeous. I would love to spend some time in Keystone and other parts of western South Dakota.
I did skip North Dakota, just to save time. I don't regret that decision. Up until tonight, I have car camped or tent camped every night (I have a remarkable ability to sleep anywhere and I managed to sleep in the fetal position for a few hours in my front seat).
Get ready to be grossed out by this, but since friday, I've only been able to shower once. My campground in Yellowstone didn't have showers. sigh. I was still able to wash my face, and clean a lot of my body with a wash cloth and soap, but no shower since Wisconsin. So my hair is basically nasty, but everything has is relatively clean. You get so dirty camping, that you have to wash your legs and arms multiple times a day.
I have bug bites all over my legs and arms. They itched so bad and I scratched so hard, most of the bites are scabs. I bought all the stuff at the store that helps alleviate the itchiness, but it wasn't helping. I finally found some more natural tea tree stuff in Wall, South Dakota that helped, but I still scratch. If you want to know what it is, let me know. It worked the best out of everything I bought.
I'll try to devote at least a post about the more significant parts of my trip like Badlands, South Dakota, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, then the remaining parts.
This has been an amazing trip, the ultimate road trip. I thought it would quench my thirst to see as much of our country as possible, but it only made me more thirsty. Our country is beautiful and I weep for people who haven't seen very much of it.
I feel incredibly blessed that I have had this opportunity and I hope that my adventure inspires you to have your own adventure. 
