This place is a Zoo!!

From our overnight stop in Sioux Falls, we were headed south and soon passed through Iowa and into Nebraska.

With the addition of Nebraska to our map,

we’ve now camped in 26 states!  This was our last addition to the map for a while, though, since our next few stops are in states we’ve already been to – Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and of course, Michigan!  Hopefully next year we’ll get another group of states filled in!

We found our way to the Walnut Creek Recreation Area, just outside Omaha, and were lucky enough to get the last 50 amp site.

This was a really nice little campground, run by the city of Papillion.  The sites are all long and paved, with a paved patio.  They only have electric hookup (some 50 amp, some 30 amp), but still a great deal at $16/night.  There are several water hydrants for filling your fresh water tank, and a dump station on the way out.  We were only staying for 3 nights, so we had plenty of room in our tanks.

We came to Omaha because Bryce had seen the Henry Doorly Zoo on “Only in America”, so we made plans to head into Omaha on Saturday . . . probably not the best plan . . . we should have gone on Friday!  As we approached the freeway exit, traffic backed up and we crawled off the exit and up to the zoo parking lot.  Apparently, everyone else in Omaha had the same idea! 

We finally got our tickets and entered the zoo.  Once inside, we tried to go in a different direction from everybody else.  The first few exhibits were small, and I was thinking that we weren’t going to be too impressed,

 

but then we arrived at Bear Canyon,

where the bears were outside and moving around, and the Gorilla Valley, where we were shocked at how many gorillas they have here!

These 2 gorillas were in one enclosure, and they made sure to stay at opposite sides of their space – when one would get too close, the other would run away!  This guy here (above) was really aggressive – he kept bellowing and pounding on his chest, and a couple times he slammed into the window where the people inside were standing!  He scared one little boy half to death!!

These were only a couple of the gorillas in residence – I think they had about 15 altogether! 

 

They were really fun to watch, even this guy when he decided to moon us!! LOL

Actually, I think he was getting drink from the pool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The monkeys were eating lunch, 

making us realize that we were hungry too, so while we were still close to the entrance gate, Nicolas and Bryce went out to the car and got our lunch.

 

 

 

After lunch, we made out way to the back of the zoo, and trudged our way up Pachyderm Hill.

 

Along the way, we saw some more prairie dogs . . . including these guys who were taking a nap,

 

and this little guy who just wanted to play in the street!  The docent was keeping a close eye on him, and eventually got him back into the grass!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could have ridden the train up to the top of the hill,

or even ridden the Skyfari,

but the lines were REALLY long, so we decided to walk!  Nicolas and Bryce studied the white rhinos (albino rhinos!),

and we got a good look at them when they came around the corner and walked right towards us!

Walking back through the safari, we saw monkey island

surrounded by thousands of Koi fish,

 

and we saw several other unusual animals --

the ostrich and the bongo,

as well as the giraffe and her new baby!

 

 

 

The guys studied the map to see where we needed to go next,

and we made our way toward the Aquarium.  Ugh!  This was the worst part of the day!!  It was SO crowded in there – bumper to bumper – and with all the strollers and wagons, it was even worse.  There were several points when we couldn’t even move!!

Despite the crowds, we managed to see some cool animals . . . like the pompano (Bryce caught one of these in Florida, but couldn’t keep it!),

and the penguins,

and several species of jellies (NOT jellyfish – we learned at Lovers Key that they are no longer classified as fish!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked through the Desert Dome,

 

and saw plenty of animals that we were glad we didn’t run into when we were in the REAL desert!!

Our next stop was the Lied Jungle,

which was pretty cool, and full of exotic animals and plants!

 

We were getting pretty tired by this time, and we weren’t the only ones!  Walking through the Cat Complex, it appeared to be naptime!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even the babies were sleeping!!

I guess it was these guys’ turn to stand guard!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Cat Complex, we thought about going back to see the gorillas some more, but we were just too tired, and ready to go back to the RV!

It was a nice day, and the Henry Doorly Zoo turned out to be a really good zoo . . . we were glad Larry the Cableguy introduced us to it!

Badlands National Park and a couple Tourist Traps

We left Rapid City on Tuesday and drove the short distance to Wall, South Dakota.  After getting the RV set up in Sleepy Hollow Campground and a quick lunch, we headed out for a drive through the Badlands.

We stopped at the Big Badlands overlook for our first look at the unusual formations that just seem to rise out of nowhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Grandma was here back in 1957, and it’s hard to find the differences in the landscape, although we learned that the rocks are shrinking in height about 1 inch per year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at the Visitor Center to watch the video about the park, and then headed out on the Loop Road through the park.

These rock formations remind me of the sand castles we used to build on the beach!

There were a few areas where you could walk and climb on the rocks, but it was pretty hot and we weren’t feeling very energetic.

Besides, with these signs at every stop, we weren’t too anxious to go wandering around on the rocks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe that this area had been settled at one time . . . but not difficult to see that it would have been a very harsh place to live!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The landscape is amazing and beautiful . . . but not very inviting!

Where do we go from here??!!

As we continued west on the Loop road, the colors in the landscape became more varied and prominent . . . especially the reds and yellows!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could see some storm clouds moving in, and rain falling in the distance!

We headed back into Wall, though, and the rain stayed south and never reached us . . .

After dinner back at the RV, we walked over to Wall Drug to see what all the hoopla was about.

We walked through all the shops, which mostly had all the same touristy stuff, and had some ice cream for dessert.

We saw the T-Rex in the “Backyard”, and Tom found a friend, too! 

 

I even got the boys to agree to pose on the Jack-a-lope!!

 

 

We had our fill of the tourist trap, so we headed back to the RV for the night.  We were going to get their homemade donuts for breakfast, but at $18/dozen we decided to pass on those!!

On Wednesday, we continued east on I-90 and stopped in Mitchell to visit the “one & only” Corn Palace.

The 2013 murals are still in place, although they have already removed all the borders and are starting to replace them with new grain.

These guys were working on the new borders around the murals.

the 2013 theme was Celebrations, and the murals depicted holiday celebrations (Halloween, Christmas, 4th of July),

as well as sporting events.

We went inside to watch the video on the history of the Corn Palace, and took the 5 minute tour.  The building has a “korn”session stand and gift shop, where we picked up a couple packs of Corn Palace microwave popcorn (haven’t tried them yet!). 

There are corn murals inside also, depicting the history of South Dakota,

and since these are protected from the elements, they only get changed about once per decade, rather than annually.

It’s really quite a’maze’ing how they create these murals from corn . . . like a giant paint by number!

We took a few “corny” pictures,

 

 

and then, since it was still fairly early, we decided to continue east and put a few more miles behind us before we stopped for the night. 

We made it to Sioux Falls, and spent the night in the Sam’s Club parking lot . . . much quieter than Walmart!

Campus Visit

Last fall, when Nicolas was taking a College and Career Planning class, he researched a bunch of engineering programs, and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology ended up in his Top 3.

I had forgotten about it being in Rapid City until last weekend, so when I remembered, we decided to stay an extra day and requested a campus visit for Monday.  We filled out the online request form, but weren’t sure if we were going to get an appointment.  We didn’t hear anything on Monday morning, but decided to go on over there and see if they could fit us in.

As we arrived on campus, we felt like we were back at home – they use the same M for their logo as the University of Michigan!

We walked into the admissions office, and Nicolas’ name was on a list of prospective students being welcomed to campus . . . so I guess they got our request!

We talked to the Admissions Secretary and she clarified which departments Nicolas was interested in visiting.  While she made the arrangements, we walked through the Geology Museum.

In addition to Engineering, the school has a very strong Science program, including geology and paleontology.  Much of the fossils in the Badlands have been discovered by students from the School of Mines.

Some of the discoveries are not as glamorous as others!

We were still in the Museum when one of the girls from the Admissions Office came to get us for Nicolas’ first appointment.  He had appointments with Professors from Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, the University Provost, and a campus tour.

Everyone we met with was very nice, and the atmosphere of the small university was really apparent.  Both of the professors were very generous with their time, showing us around and answering everybody’s questions.  It was very clear that they want the incoming students to be confident in the college they choose, and they want every student to be successful.

We toured the campus with a Student Ambassador and two other families.

We saw the dorms, the Student Center, the cafeteria and Snack Shop, and the fitness center and pool.  The school has been around for over 125 years, but most of the buildings, especially the student buildings, are all new.

One unique aspect of this school is something they call CAMP – Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Production.  This is an extracurricular activity that all students are encouraged to join (at no cost to the student) beginning right in the Freshman year.

There are multiple teams – including Formula I, Baja, Aero, High Mileage Vehicle, Electric Snowmobile, and several others – each team works as a Corporation and includes students from all areas of the University.

They work on their project vehicle all year, and at the end of the year they compete against other colleges from around the country.  Several of their teams have done quite well in these competitions, proving to themselves and others that this small school from South Dakota can go up against any major engineering school and at least hold their own, or even win!

In fact, they are particularly proud of the times they have out-performed the University of Michigan!

We ended up spending over 4 hours on our campus visit, and we were all really comfortable with the campus and impressed with the school.  I think a small school like this would be a really good choice for Nicolas, and he likes the Black Hills area!  It’s definitely one he’ll keep on the list!