When I departed my aunt and uncle’s house in Annandale, Minnesota late on Friday, October 13 it began a stretch of solo travel posted up in dog-friendly hotels and AirBnBs across the mid- and Northwest. I stopped first in Sioux Falls and then in Rapid City, South Dakota with stops in the Badlands and various places in the Black Hills (to include Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument, though I only did the paid-entry option for the latter). As I neared Wyoming I saw signs for a Jewel Cave trail and thought that sounded interesting so we pulled over to check it out. I saw only one kind of nondescript cave so I’m not sure if I made it all the way to the Jewel Cave but it was a worthwhile detour.

For South Dakota lapses click here and/or here.