I'm such a good traveler that my Dad always said "I'd take Cookie all the way to California." And when I was 5 years old they finally did it. We packed a tent and coolers and dogfood and turned west. After we spent a day with my grandpa in Wisconsin we headed west through Minnesota into South Dakota. There is lots of fun stuff in South Dakota. Mom & Dad visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
The first night we camped out was pretty scary and I got all tangled up, but I got the hang of it quickly. Notice how flat the land is here.
The next morning, very early, we visted the Badlands. Dogs (on leash) are allowed on the trails. We got there early in the morning so it wouldn't be too hot so I got to explore with Mom and Dad and decided "we're not in Michigan anymore."
There are other dogs out here called prairie dogs. They don't look like dogs but they are pretty interesting to watch.
Click on the pictures to see them in full size.
Then we went to the Black Hills and found a great place to camp at Custer State Park.
Can you find me in the picture? Can you find Dad inside his sleeping bag? Looks like lazy Dad is not going for an early morning hike with us.
Mom and I got up early every day to take a hike. Usually we didn't see any other people. By the time we would return to camp, Dad had most of the stuff already packed in the van. Everywhere people were up and about. A lot of them were cooking bacon but I always got dog food for breakfast.
Can you recognize the faces on
Mt. Rushmore? They are all famous American presidents. My favorite is Teddy Roosevelt because he had all kinds of pets in the White House and created the national parks. My kind of guy.
Do you believe these bandits? They stop the cars to beg for treats! One of them even stuck his head inside the car to see if we had any goodies (The burros, not the bison.) Wish I could do that.
Here I am at historic Ft. Laramie (Wyoming) and I am the ONLY dog touring the fort. The parade ground is really big. Imagine how much fun it would be if the horses and soldiers were still here. I'd especially like to see the horses.
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