Day 18: Custer, South Dakota and Mt. Rushmore
Howdy y’all! Today we were awoken to an “fortunate” serenade by Dallas herself. Good thing is, it was at 7 a.m. We rolled out of bed, quite literally, and hopped on our trusty vehicles to kickstart our journey to the one and only, drumroll please... South Dakota!
We enjoyed sleeping in, and luckily got to continue our beauty slumber on the vehicles. Throughout the day, we made a couple of pit stops that did not disappoint. From breathtaking landscapes to spontaneous sing-alongs (you should have heard Carolina Girl belt out some classic Bruno Mars on their van), every moment was an adventure waititing to happen!
Its official, Gracen is a morning person!
Trying to figure out if we should wear our cowboy hats the rest of the trip
yogurt for breakfast!
We hit up a Walmart bright and early, and boy, did we turn that place upside down! Our cooks went wild in the Great Value aisles, stocking up on everything we needed for the next couple of days. Meanwhile, the rest of us grabbed enough patriotic gear to outfit a parade float (since this is our last Wally World until the big day).
After a whirlwind shopping spree, we hit the road again and made a pit stop at the legendary Common Cents gas station. Now this place was a game-changer. The DIY froyo stations, personalized coffee makers, and a "hot bar" that had everything from chicken tenders to breakfast burritos. Let’s just say, it was so good that we even heard a few bold souls declare it beats Buccee’s!
As we cruised through Wyoming’s charming small towns, like Shell Canyon, we added our own flavor to the local scene—doubling the population just by passing through! And amidst the stunning views, Dallas took charge of the AUX cord, blessing our ears with some road trip anthems that had us singing along at the top of our lungs!
Froyo at Common Cents!
So many toppings choices!
Jack interviewing people on the vans!
Wal-mart fans!
Clara wasn't able to reach the South Dakota sticker, thanks Dallas for your help!
As soon as we rolled into town, we wasted no time getting our creative juices flowing. Our dwarf teams got together and prepared for the"hoedown showdown," and before you know it, we’re choreographing a show-stopping musical number for tomorrow night's big event! Spoiler alert: we’re totally gonna steal the show! With stellar teamwork and a yearning to dance, we boot scooted and boogied it down for about an hour and a half awaiting our dinner!
Just when we thought things couldn’t get any more lively, enter stage left: the friendliest, furriest little surprise—a puppy named "Bus" (thanks to Caleb’s creative genius) came to the park. Now, let me tell ya, Dallas wasn’t quite sure about our fluffy new friend, but the rest of us were over the moon!
George and Jack trying out some dance moves
Dallas decided to try to
serious coordination happening here
Protect the cowboy hat!
The Sleepy's, our resident culinary masters, whipped up a Mexican feast that is commonly known in the Spanish culture as nachos! It was so delicioso, we could've eaten our weight in that cheesy, crunchy dorito/taco salad combo! They did an amazing job and it was yummy in our tummies!
Once we'd licked our plates clean (literally, not figuratively—no nacho crumb left behind!), we loaded up the wagons and set off on a quest to meet four famous dudes chilling on a mountain. Yes, you guessed it, Mount Rushmore! (Shh but some of us still don’t know their names). Despite Bree's wild theory about them inventing the lightbulb (gotta love her enthusiasm), we admired those colossal faces carved into the rock with awe and wonder. History lesson or not, it was a sight to behold!
After some candid moments in front of the faces, we hit the gift shop and snagged some ice cream for the road. Truman loved the original vanilla recipe from Thomas Jefferson (a flavor so tasty even the founding fathers approve of).
Thank you Scarlett and Blair!
Team work!
MC sorting the food!
perfecting the rice!
Queso was a treat!!
thumbs up from Chef Evan!
All smiles for delicious nachos
Sometimes we have to get creative with our dishwashing
Ks and Garrett using super strength
Mount Rushmore
Ice cream at Mount Rushmore!
Callee says she didn't mean to get such a large ice cream!
Who knew we loved ice cream so much!
Mount Rushmore postcards!
Nailed it! pt 1
Nailed it! pt 2
Nailed it! pt 3
Nailed it! pt 4
Nailed it! pt 5
Nailed it! pt 6
so cozy in the log cabin!
We are bedding down at the Custer, YMCA in Custer, South Dakota. Time to play a basketball for a few minutes and raid Miss Mary's phone with selfies :)
Happy's are signing off for the night!!
XOXO the HAPPYS!!
We are bedding down at the Custer, YMCA in Custer, South Dakota. We are going to shoot some hoops and raid Miss Mary's phone with selfies now!
Happy's are signing off for the night!!
XOXO the HAPPYS!! :)
Howdy y’all! Today we were awoken to an “fortunate” serenade by Dallas herself. Good thing is, it was at 7 a.m.
We enjoyed sleeping in, and luckily got to continue our beauty slumber on the vehicles. Throughout the day, we made a couple of pit stops that did not disappoint. From breathtaking landscapes to spontaneous sing-alongs (you should have heard Carolina Girl belt out some classic Bruno Mars on their van), every moment was an adventure waititing to happen!
 |
| Its official, Gracen is a morning person! |
 |
| Trying to figure out if we should wear our cowboy hats the rest of the trip |
 |
| yogurt for breakfast! |
We hit up a Walmart bright and early, and boy, did we turn that place upside down! Our cooks went wild in the Great Value aisles, stocking up on everything we needed for the next couple of days. Meanwhile, the rest of us grabbed enough patriotic gear to outfit a parade float (since this is our last Wally World until the big day).
After a whirlwind shopping spree, we hit the road again and made a pit stop at the legendary Common Cents gas station. Now this place was a game-changer. The DIY froyo stations, personalized coffee makers, and a "hot bar" that had everything from chicken tenders to breakfast burritos. Let’s just say, it was so good that we even heard a few bold souls declare it beats Buccee’s!
As we cruised through Wyoming’s charming small towns, like Shell Canyon, we added our own flavor to the local scene—doubling the population just by passing through! And amidst the stunning views, Dallas took charge of the AUX cord, blessing our ears with some road trip anthems that had us singing along at the top of our lungs!
 |
| Froyo at Common Cents! |
 |
| So many toppings choices! |
 |
| Jack interviewing people on the vans! |
 |
| Wal-mart fans! |
 |
| Clara wasn't able to reach the South Dakota sticker, thanks Dallas for your help! |
As soon as we rolled into town, we wasted no time getting our creative juices flowing. Our dwarf teams got together and prepared for the"hoedown showdown," and before you know it, we’re choreographing a show-stopping musical number for tomorrow night's big event! Spoiler alert: we’re totally gonna steal the show! With stellar teamwork and a yearning to dance, we boot scooted and boogied it down for about an hour and a half awaiting our dinner!
Just when we thought things couldn’t get any more lively, enter stage left: the friendliest, furriest little surprise—a puppy named "Bus" (thanks to Caleb’s creative genius) came to the park. Now, let me tell ya, Dallas wasn’t quite sure about our fluffy new friend, but the rest of us were over the moon!
 |
| George and Jack trying out some dance moves |
 |
| Dallas decided to try to |
 |
| serious coordination happening here |
 |
| Protect the cowboy hat! |
The Sleepy's, our resident culinary masters, whipped up a Mexican feast that is commonly known in the Spanish culture as nachos! It was so delicioso, we could've eaten our weight in that cheesy, crunchy dorito/taco salad combo! They did an amazing job and it was yummy in our tummies!
Once we'd licked our plates clean (literally, not figuratively—no nacho crumb left behind!), we loaded up the wagons and set off on a quest to meet four famous dudes chilling on a mountain. Yes, you guessed it, Mount Rushmore! (Shh but some of us still don’t know their names). Despite Bree's wild theory about them inventing the lightbulb (gotta love her enthusiasm), we admired those colossal faces carved into the rock with awe and wonder. History lesson or not, it was a sight to behold!
After some candid moments in front of the faces, we hit the gift shop and snagged some ice cream for the road. Truman loved the original vanilla recipe from Thomas Jefferson (a flavor so tasty even the founding fathers approve of).
 |
| Thank you Scarlett and Blair! |
 |
| Team work! |
 |
| MC sorting the food! |
 |
| perfecting the rice! |
 |
| Queso was a treat!! |
 |
| thumbs up from Chef Evan! |
 |
| All smiles for delicious nachos |
 |
| Sometimes we have to get creative with our dishwashing |
 |
| Ks and Garrett using super strength |
 |
| Mount Rushmore |
 |
| Ice cream at Mount Rushmore! |
 |
| Callee says she didn't mean to get such a large ice cream! |
 |
| Who knew we loved ice cream so much! |
 |
| Mount Rushmore postcards! |
 |
| Nailed it! pt 1 |
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| so cozy in the log cabin! |
We are bedding down at the Custer, YMCA in Custer, South Dakota. Time to play a basketball for a few minutes and raid Miss Mary's phone with selfies :)
Happy's are signing off for the night!!
XOXO the HAPPYS!!
We are bedding down at the Custer, YMCA in Custer, South Dakota. We are going to shoot some hoops and raid Miss Mary's phone with selfies now!
Happy's are signing off for the night!!
XOXO the HAPPYS!! :)
