Back to Missouri Day 2 (aka The day we got lost and I ended up acting like a 3 year old)

My mom and I got up early and headed east because on this day of our trip we were going to Badlands National Park. We had a fabulous first day and were both really excited about the badlands.  We stopped to take pictures of the scenery on the way and were thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

Since we had gotten up early we thought we would get to the park around 9 am. What we were obviously not aware of was how confusing the badlands are...GPS and the badlands are not compatible. The GPS was telling us to go one way, then turn around and go the other way.  The signs were contradicting the GPS and each other. We drove back and forth several times following signs that were not helpful and eventually decided to follow the GPS.  By that time the car was not terribly low on gas, but low enough that I wanted to stop at the next place we found.  Here's the problem, there was no gas station to be found.  The only one we saw on the route was closed. 

We kept going though and eventually discovered that the destination that the GPS was taking us was to a ranger station. Yay! Except for the part where the ranger station was deserted because it was the weekend. The map outside the ranger station helped us determine that we were at the remotest ranger station in the park and the main park entrance was still a long way away. At this point, I was a bit distressed. That untrusty GPS now said that the closest gas station was 90 miles back the way we'd come...the car said it had 98 miles til empty. Not very reassuring. I admit, I was ranting a bit at this point and yelling at the GPS voice that it was stupid and I hated it and this was all its fault. Not my finest moment. 

Then my mom suggested that since we had seen a few other cars going on past the ranger station, maybe we should keep going that way. I did not take that suggestion very well (sorry Mom). Then, when she said that God would provide, I'm pretty sure I said something about doubting that He was going to build a gas station in the middle of South Dakota right that minute. My mother is a good lady.  She was very patient with my hysterics and did not say anything when I started going on about how I didn't even want to go to the stupid badlands anyway (I'm not proud of my actions, but have included these parts of the story because, well...they're the truth).  

We just turned around and started heading toward that gas station 90 miles away, and you know what? She was right, God did provide.  The gas station we had passed that had been closed half an hour before was open. With a full tank of gas and a paper map, I was in much better spirits and we drove on. The rest of the trip was without incident. From now on I'm only using paper maps (Ok, probably not really).

When we did finally arrive and saw this, the distressing morning seemed to melt away. I guess it's easier to see how small problems really are when you're faced with something so amazing.

 We checked out a few of the trails and most definitely enjoyed the drive.

We also had some funny times when I tried to get my mom to use my camera. Here I think I'm trying to give instructions on how to switch from the screen to the viewfinder since it was so bright and she kept saying she couldn't seem me..I'm sure the other tourists appreciated our conversation.

These are the moments we will cherish forever.

In all seriousness, this trip, in spite of getting lost and going slightly crazy, did create memories that I will be able to cherish forever.  I'm so glad I got to see all these beautiful sights with my mom!