Badlands & Black Hills 2006

21 May 2006 - Since Nick and I had a free week before starting our jobs (my full-time, his summer), we decided to take a road trip. We decided on South Dakota, where neither of us had been, and a trip that would be relatively inexpensive. Our trip started in Rapids, because we were there to celebrate my dad's birthday the day before. We left at 7 am, and had a pretty clear drive. I took the first leg, driving to somewhere in Minnesota (Austin, I think). Nick took over next. We listed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on CD, and I knitted a sock when not driving. I switched back off with Nick in Kennebec, SD. After that, the geography and topography started to get interesting. We finally got in to our hotel south of Rapid City. We stayed at Rushmore Inn & Suites (only $39/night) - clean but worth the price. We got dinner at a nearby grocery store, and headed back to the room to eat dinner and watch TV (Family Guy). Oh, and we stopped at Wall Drug, too. Got a shot glass, bumper stickers and a chocolate malt.

View from our hotel

22 May - We got up early and after partaking of the continental breakfast, we headed out to Badlands National Park. Nick did the driving on the way there, taking hwy 44. Beautiful views as we got close to the park. Almost ran over a snake, though (big snake!). We finally got there about 9 am. We first stopped at the visitor's center. Then drove up the amazing windy road past spires, to a parking lot. We first tackled Notch Trail, which took us through a valley and up along a ledge to a great overlook. Next, we walked the easy Window Trail, which had an amazing view of all sizes and shapes of an "intricately eroded canyon." It was getting pretty warm (it was mostly sunny out, with a projected high of 89°F. So, we found some shade (very rare at this park) and ate lunch. Next, we decided to take the Castle Trail from the parking lot, walk the Saddle Pass Trail and return via the Medicine Root Trail and first leg of the Castle Trail. We started off through the prairie and walked into a canyon. The formations were so odd. They seemed man-made, from gravel and mud. But no, mostly erosion at work. Though there was a nice, strong breeze, the sun was really beating down on us. We walked through prairies, past fantastic canyons, but we were plodding by the time we made it to Saddle Pass. We slowly shuffled our way down, sliding on loose pebbles and over ridges. We through maybe we'd walk the loop road back to the car, but the prospect was painful. I explained our situation to a couple from Georgia, and they graciously agreed to give us a lift. Thank goodness - we were running low on water and heat stroke seemed very possible. After arriving at the car, I ditched my shoes and we stopped back at the visitor's center to replenish our water. I also bought a walking stick as a souvenir. We continued on the loop road to the interstate, passing amazing and colorful canyons. We definitely recognized why they are called the Badlands. The drive back to the hotel was pretty easy. Got in ~3:30. Took much-needed showers and found all the places we missed when putting on sunscreen earlier. Relaxed and watched ESPN before dinner. We drove into Rapid City and went to the Firehouse Brewing Co. for food. I tried their red (okay), while Nick had their pale ale. I got a veggie burger for dinner, while Nick got prime rib. Pretty good. We were both pretty exhausted, so we read and watched some South Park. We learned watching the local news that there was a record high temp today of 91°F. Wow.

View from the Notch

Window Trail

Castle Trail

Bad lands indeed.

23 May - Nick and I decided to scratch Devil's Tower form our agenda when we found out it was going to be raining and it would have taken us 4 hours to get there and back. Instead, we tackled the Black Hills. Early this morning, with Nick driving, we took off toward Mount Rushmore. Very twisty, climbing and falling roads. We were content with seeing the monument from a distance, so we took hwy 16A. Beautiful views of the hills and area. It was also very windy - maybe 20-25 mph speeds. We drove south after that through Custer State Park. Awesome scenery - it would have been nice to stop, but we were on our way to Wind Cave. we had to be content with viewing burros, deer, and buffalo as well as the hillsides recovering from a fire in 1988, from the car. We got to Wind cave in time for the 10:30 tour. Our group was pretty large, and unfortunately, there was a whining/crying/just unhappy toddler on the tour as well. We got to see all sorts of boxwork formations (calcite lattices left over after the limestone was dissolved). The tour lasted ~75 minutes and it was definitely lunch time when we came up to the surface. After eating PB&J sandwiches, we drove towards Custer past prairie dog towns (we also trailed a prairie dog running across a bridge on our way to the cave). We then drove through the Black Hills and some rain. Nick & I switched drivers in Deadwood, and then I drove back to Rapid City through Sturgis. We stopped on the way at a grocery store to pick up a few beverages for tomorrow's drive home. relaxed with a little TV. We ordered pizza and watched more South Park. The wind was really howling out. We were pretty exhausted, so we went to be shortly after the 9 pm news.

Mt Rushmore barely visible behind us

Coming back from a 1988 fire

Wind Cave boxwork

Another view in Wind Cave

24 May - Up at 6 this morning, back on the road ~7. We switched off drivers more often, and with a strong wind at our back, we had excellent gas mileage (36 mpg last full tank). We got into Madison shortly after a strong storm dumped over 1" of rain there. It was a fun trip, but it was nice to finally be out of the car.

{Nick and I also had a fight that lasted for several hours on the way home. I honestly can't remember what about.}
{transcribed 1/27/2020}

2006 Capital One Bowl

31 Dec 2005 - The Badgers were invited to play in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida (Barry Alvarez's last game as head coach). A group of us (my boyfriend Nick, Cassie, her boyfriend Braden, his roommate James and his girlfriend Lori) decided to get out of the cold and make the trip down to Florida. I have to ask - why do all these bowl games we go to have to start so inauspiciously for me? Nick and I got up at 4, me the others at Memorial Union to take the Van Galder bus to O'Hare at 5 am. We got down there about 3 hours before our flight left, but as I was attempting to check in automatically, I realized my walled (with the credit card I charged the entire trip on) was missing. After a few panicked phone calls to the cab and bus companies, my wallet was found on the bus. {which was then returned to me when the bus returned.} We were able to check-in and then setting in for a wait at the airport. We flew United ("Ted") direct to Orlando (uneventful flight) and stepped into the Floridian warmth (mid-70s). After an unexpected experience at the car rental place (we reserved two small cars, but somehow managed to get a Taurus and a mini-van, and then the ordeal of dropping the Taurus because everyone fit in the van - Argh!), we found our hotel and settled in. Everybody threw on their suits and headed to the pool. Almost like bathwater. Because it was New Year's Eve, the place was a bit more crowded than usual. Cassie and I took a drive to find a place to buy some beer. First we stopped at one of the scariest super Wal-Marts on the planet (everyone there had carts full of absolutely random stuff), before finding a grocery store. We ordered pizza for dinner, and hung out until a bit after midnight, when the number of hours we'd been up started to catch up with us.

James, Lori, Cassie, Braden, Nick, me

1 Jan 2006 - Got ready and got some breakfast before heading back down to the pool in the morning. After swimming, we went to International Blvd to find lunch and something to do. We found a place called Bahama Breeze that was pretty good. I got a chicken quesadilla, salad and a mojito. After lunch, we walked to a nearby adventure golf place. We had a coupon for half off, so we mini-golfed 36 holes for $8/person. That took a good 3 hours. I got a hole-in-one once. :) After all the mini-golfing, we decided to meet up with Mom and Dad who also came down for the game. We got our suits and headed to their hotel. There were (it felt like) a million preteen cheerleaders staying there, and all of them were in the swimming pool. We carved out a little niche for ourselves and swam a bit. We relaxed a bit after that, then headed out for some dinner. We stumbled upon an authentic English Pub (the Cricketers Arms in the Mercado), judging by the waitstaff and clientele. I had fish and chips, complemented nicely by a pint of Strongbow. We stayed for a while playing darts and talking to other Badger and Auburn Tigers fans. Mom & Dad left to go back to their hotel, and we went to Howl and the Moon, a dueling piano bar. It was a bit less exciting for me as the designated driver, while everyone else got louder and drunker. I had a headache, caffeine tummy ache and a short temper by the time we finally came back and turned off the lights.

{At the pub, we talked to a guy and his wife at the bar. He owned car dealerships in Miami and she had an enormous ring (causing us to recount this part of the tale by not being able to lift our hand from the table). They had Rapids connections. It was on this trip that it started to sink in that Rapids is the Center of the Universe...}

Mini-golfing

Cassie's drink

2 Jan - Owing to the previous night's experiences and the roughly five hours of sleep I got the night before, I wasn't the happiest camper when I woke up this morning. Because the 1st fell on a Sunday (NFL day), all traditionally New Year's Day bowl games were to be played on the 2nd.  As game time approached, my mood improved dramatically. We met up with Mom & Dada at a grocery store, then caravaned up to our parking lot. We got there about 3 1/2 hours before the game. Everyone else was pretty occupied trying to overcome their hangovers. I tried to get a bit of sleep. We met Jerry Fluno (as in the Fluno Center in Madison) and his son Brian. Jerry was originally from Rapids and knew the Dalys. {He invited to pay for us to go to the Alumni tailgate, but my hungover group couldn't be bothered. Still irked about that...} Just another one of those small-world coincidences. We ate some lunch, played Uno, then made our way in to the stadium. We (the 6 of us) were seated in the "student section" and mom & Dad were two sections over. Considering Auburn was ranked in the Top 10 and we have had no luck against SEC teams, I though this game would be a loss. Most of the sportswriters seemed to think likewise. What an extremely pleasant surprise it was when we caused two turnovers and scored 17 points to Auburn's 0 in the first half. {Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played the halftime show, along with way too many cheerleaders.} We had pretty good seats - I'd say they were equivalent to section P row 40 at Camp Randall. We students were loud and obnoxious as usual. I still couldn't believe it when the final score came down to Wisconsin 24, Auburn 10. I'm pretty sure all of us were pretty hoarse. Great 5th Quarter. We tailgated a bit afterward, then bid Mom & Dad adieu as we headed back to our hotel. We tried to find a place to watch the other bowl games, but it was too crowded. Ended up getting subs and heading back to the hotel. A little R&R in the hot tub and having a quiet rest of the evening.

Our view

Badger Fans!

 3 Jan - We slept in a bit more than we intended, but we were all ready in time to catch the early shuttle to  Universal Studios, if we had caught the shuttle, which we didn't. We ended up driving instead. It rained as we got to the park, but soon stopped. We went to Islands of Adventure. It was really nice - the weather ended up being sunny and about 80, and the park wasn't crowded at all. We went on the main roller coaster first (the Hulk) which had a really short line. Over the course of the day, we went on the Spiderman ride, Dueling Dragons twice, the Cat in the Hat ride, and saw the 8th Voyage of Sinbad stunt show. We also went on a Popeye-themed ride, which got us soaking wet. We spent the next few hours drying off. Nick and I bought Thing 1 and Thing 2 (me and him, respectively) t-shirts as souvenirs. We ate dinner at Margartiaville, just outside the park. I had yummy blackened tilapia. We had a little difficulty finding our way back home, but we eventually made it. I opted not to go down to take one last hot tub dip. I got enough water on me today. Nick & I talked a bit, then everyone else came up to watch part of the Penn State-FSU game and pack, because w were leaving the next day.

All wet after a water ride

Cassie and me doing our best Blue Steel.

Having some fun at Universal Studios

4 Jan - We woke up at 4 am, took the rental car back and just caught the airport shuttle that was about to leave. There were Penn State fans (victorious and exhausted) and Ohio State fans on the shuttle as well. We were delayed by ticket lines and baggage problems, but we eventually made it to O'Hare, where we had to wait for the next bus to Madison. I tried to sleep as much as I could on the bus. Finally pulled in around 2, and my roommate Kyle was nice enough to pick us up.

{transcribed 1/27/2020}