Day 6 Rapid City, Mount Rushmore

Now the gang gets bigger, Satheesh, Vivek and Naren landed around 1' O clock and we didn't waste any time and started driving towards Omaha. They all were hungry and wanted to have their dinner and almost all smart phones were searching for places to eat. It was almost 4 am when we stopped at a restaurant and it looked like where all the truckers would eat. We ordered  food and when it arrived to the table it looked like 10 persons meal. It's not that we ordered more, it's the quantity that they gave us was huge. V & N has introduced me to the app (app allows you to check-in the places that you have been and credit points for that) and then the fun part starts. Literally I was checking in every exit along the highway and I reached 100 points in no time. On the way we stopped to take few pictures of sunrise and it was one the memorable sunrises I have seen recently. Mists covering the corn fields and as soon as the lights started coming up the mists were moving was a beautiful scene to watch.

After we entered into SD we stopped at a rest area and the west coast guys were surprised by the way it was constructed including the dog playing area. Still Tennessee beats all of them. We started driving at I-90 west and the was so beautiful. All the ranches and Hay bales along the road was pleasing to watch ( some of the windows screen savers might have been take from here) . We stopped at a restaurant for food at 11ish and had a good meal. Everyone was watching our table since we were little louder but most likely the reason they were watching us was we looked like aliens in that area. V is a vegetarian and wherever he asked something in vegetarian all looked like Really??? But he always manages to find something to eat no matter where we go.

While enjoying the ride on I-90 we reached Rapid City 2 hour earlier than we had planned. We reached RC around 2ish and went to our Friend Senthil's home and met his Family. In our car we had more luggage's than free places to sit, so we decided to take his SUV and go to Mount Rushmore. It was a familiar place for me, but this time the weather is good and we got more time to take a hike around that area and able to get some close shots of the presidents. We also took the tour that the ranger has offered and we were getting more history lessons. On the way back we were able to witness Senthi's skillful driving and also found a place to camp that night. Though we know about Senthi's hospitality we didn't expected so much food that they have prepared for us. Chicken, Deer, Biriyani and also marinated chicken for BBQ. Completely overwhelmed and for Vivek it's was just a sub from Subway  and few corn's.

We had so much of fun at the camp site like talking about lot of old stories. While enjoying good food and no one has felt any tiredness though we were driving for the whole day. We know we had to leave early to reach Yellowstone next day but that didn't stop us having fun till mid night. The weather was pretty cold but it was not bad enough to stop of our sleep.

I only took few photo's this day and here are those few,

Next day towards Yellow stone and everyone has a biggggg expectation for that place.

Day 5 Kansas City

It's tough to remember all the things which happened few days back. I should have at least wrote the post in my mobile and posted it later. Anyways I didn't do that and let's test my memory now.

We checked out the hotel and picked a coffee at the lobby in star bucks. Problem with star hotel is you are not allowed to any work and expected to give tip everywhere. The previous night the self-garage parking was full and we had to use valet parking and we spent few minutes to search for change to give it to the guy who took the car to the front. The guy even asked us whether we need a change and It turns out he didn't have for $100 bill. Anyways we were able to find some change and hit the road earlier. We stopped at Waffle House for breakfast and the place was interesting. Though the food was good, we did see a person who keeps smoking one after another till he leaves the place. So in Midwest you are allowed to smoke or the law was not imposed properly. 

We are on the road again and I was booking a camp at yellow stone thru phone and no need to explain, how hard it would be to spell my name and address. This time though it's not just the name, it's about the dimension of our Tent and Vehicle (and they needed the exact measurement) and it took few minutes to figure out all and book the camp site.

We reached Kansas city around 3pm and went straight to the world war I Memorial and this place was something unique. If somebody wants to know the history and weapons used in WWI then this is the place you should be. The memorial also has a tower which offers a good view of Kansas City Sky Line and I don't think there is another place which offers a better view than this.

After the memorial visit we went to Toys R US to buy toys for our friends kid who will be visiting the next day. When we came out of the store there was a Mongolian Fired dish restaurant which welcomed us without the welcome board. Almost all of them were there for dinner and we were there for lunch. As per plan we will take a nap till midnight so that we can keep continue driving as soon as others join us. We decided to park our car at WWI Memorial since it offered a good view for photography and forced him to go there and take a nap. At 9 pm the ranger has asked us to take the car out since he had to close the door. We went to Wal-Mart and bought a cover for Roof Rack and loaded some of our luggage's to the top after making some space for the guys who will be joining us that night. They reached around 1 and we picked them up and the fun continues.

Some of the photos taken during Day 5.