Hi Friends.
Of all of the weeks of our van life journey, this week was the one we did the most driving in. It wasn’t too much of a surprise to us. At least when it came to the Dakotas, we knew we wanted to head to the side furthest from Minnesota. We had quite a journey throughout the midwest. It was better than I thought it would be, despite a few things that were challenging along the way.
We started off in a small town of Virginia, Minnesota. We were told one of the things we should do if we were passing through is to head Canelakes. It’s an old school candy store. A cute place in the middle of this downtown area, which unfortunately wasn’t too bustling. For a Sunday, I expected more people out and about. We were one of only a few cars in the downtown area. It seems as if the town itself is just a shell of what it used to be. Also, it seems as if the pandemic unfortunately did a number on it.
The candy store itself seemed to be thriving and had a few visitors pop in while we there. They are known for their homemade candies, specifically “Hot Air”. We never heard of it. Essentially, it’s a crispy sponge-like toffee covered in chocolate. We had to try it, both in dark and milk chocolate. It wasn’t bad, though dark chocolate remains superior in any chocolate dessert. My favorite candy that we tried was very simple, just dark chocolate with a raspberry filling. Everything we had of theirs was delicious and it’s worth a stop in if you’re passing through the area.
Virginia was a small stop on the way to International Falls, a town right outside of Voyageurs National Park. We had fun in the little town, playing basketball at a park and otherwise just hanging out. We were really excited to check out this national park, but we didn’t do our research much ahead of time. Dogs aren’t allowed, besides on one path that traces the entrance road to a visitor’s center.
It was a bit of a bummer to find out we couldn’t do much because we had our dog with us. Additionally, it is more of a park surrounding water. This means you should be on a boat, rent a house boat, or go kayaking. We decided that while it was a bummer we couldn’t do much while we were there, we were going to make a trip to come back here with more of a plan in the future.
When we left Voyageurs, we were on our way to Fargo, North Dakota. Along the way, we were hit with a random tornado warning. It was showing both to the north and south of us along our route. We were planning on driving through unless a problem occurred as it wasn’t too windy, and wasn’t raining. That quickly changed within 10 minutes of the initial warnings. Rain and hail started to come down and we knew we needed to get somewhere safe.
Luckily, we were approaching a town that had a hotel. We drove two miles down the road, jumped out of our van and into the hotel lobby. We were met with some initial resistance from the hotel manager simply because we had PepperJack with us. Travis stuck up for us and they didn’t give us a hard time after that. After about a half hour of waiting, everything stopped and we felt safe to get on the road again.
Fargo, North Dakota was a quick stop on our way to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The drive was actually pretty beautiful. The rolling hills had made it a little more interesting than it being completely flat. There were also plenty of farms around. One of my favorite parts about the drive was seeing the sunflower fields, which just brightened up everything.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park was stunning. We worked the day from the visitor center, before driving through the park. Our hope was to be able to see some wildlife in the park and we certainly got lucky. Not only did we get to see plenty of prairie dogs; we saw a wild horse, two different kinds of deer, and several bison herds. They were all amazing to witness, but I was most surprised by how many bison we saw. In certain areas along the road, they blocked the path, walking to the other side of the grasslands for what I assume was dinner. This national park was a way better experience than I thought it would be and I’m so happy we did it.
After North Dakota, we made our way straight south to Rapid City, South Dakota. The city itself was a welcome site, as we needed a part replaced on our stove. We made the repair and stayed overnight, with our sights set on hitting the many attractions in the area. When we woke up, unfortunately smoke from wildfires in Canada covered the once clear area. Everything was hazy and the air quality was in the unhealthy zone. It’s something that we never really had to think about or process when living in the east. We still decided to check out a few places, but had the expectation that it would be a bit hazy and potentially difficult to see.
The first day in the area, we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is currently still being constructed. It honors Crazy Horse, a hero among the Lakota people. It’s nestled in their sacred Black Hills, which was requested by one of the leaders of the Lakota people when they first started this project. It is set to be the largest memorial that is carved out of a mountain. Hopefully it will be finished in our lifetime. I would love to see the finished project, but odds are, it likely won’t. Though both Travis and I decided we will be coming back later in life. We want the progress that has been made. At the memorial, we learned a lot about the Lakota tribe. A current member shares some history that you would not learn in a textbook.
We learned about how children were forcibly taken from their parents and sent to boarding schools. These schools were meant to strip them of their culture and integrate them back into society without it. Unfortunately a lot of children did not make it back home. All of them likely were subject to all kinds of abuse. She mentioned several mass graves of children that were found in Canada in recent months. There are likely similar spots throughout the United States, but nobody is currently looking for them. The last boarding school for indigenous children was closed in 1996. This isn’t history from long ago that can be easy to disassociate from. This happened in our generation and is very recent. It’s absolutely tragic.
Additionally, we learned about how the Lakota people and the colonists had a peace treaty in the late 1860s, until the colonists learned that gold was found in the sacred Black Hills. That’s when things got ugly. The colonists broke the treaty and forced the Lakota people on reservations. The host of the program, Jessie Rencountre, told us how it’s important to educate the current population that they know the truth of what happened. She has hope that in future generations our world will better, though we currently seem divided more than ever before. Jessie, along with her daughter, also shared some dances with us, in both traditional and more contemporary styles.
It was super powerful hearing her stories and learning about what happened to their people. Nearby is also Mount Rushmore, which we saw, but didn’t linger. It’s a weird feeling. We are amazed at the memorial, but there is a lot of controversy around this memorial. It’s not only built on the indigenous people’s sacred land, without their permission, but designed by someone who has ties to the KKK. That doesn’t sit right with me at all.
About an hour away from these sculptures lies both Wind Cave National Park and Badlands National Park. Similarly to Voyageurs, we didn’t really do research ahead of time of Wind Cave. We didn’t realize that in order to get a tour of the cave, you would need to get there first thing in the morning.
We were still able to walk around a bit. One section where you can feel the steady flow of wind flowing out of a hole. It was incredible and about 20 degrees cooler than the air outside of the cave. It’s also important to acknowledge that Wind Cave is another sacred place to the indigenous people. They are sad that it’s a tourist attraction.
Badlands National Park was absolutely incredible to see. I thought it may be a similar experience to the badlands we saw in North Dakota, but I was wrong. While we didn’t see any wild animals in the park, the views were outstanding. I can only imagine how beautiful it would be without the haze. Additionally, one of the things that I’m fascinated by are all of the different colors and layers that are within the rock. So many fossils are found within the park.
Overall, we definitely want to hit South Dakota again, when it’s less smoky. Unfortunately since the air quality was so bad, my asthma was starting to act up. We stayed in a hotel to get a break from the unhealthy air. This also drastically altered our plans for week 13. Originally, we were planning on going through Wyoming and heading up to Montana. However, the air quality is just as bad if not worse in a lot of areas we were planning on going. One of the best things about van life is the ability to pivot if necessary. We decided to head to Colorado, which we will likely be for the next month.
Let’s Discuss! Comment Below:
Does wildfire smoke regularly effect you where you live?
Have you ever been to the Dakotas?
What’s your favorite local spot in town?
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