Thursday, July 16

There are two words that can be used to describe today: ordinary, and extraordinary. Yes, I know that you're all thinking, "Huh? Aren't those words completely different?" They are indeed! I use them to describe today because today's drive went through those two stages. We got up rather early, anxious to get on the road because of the sights we would be seeing. The sun rose over the cornfield and gave us a nice sight; we packed up and got on the road where we spent all the time from then until about 10:00 passing by mostly green plains. Pretty much like the day before, except that it changed . . . and became stunning. The green plains gave way to rolling amber prairie, which you could see stretching out for miles upon miles. We even passed a few buffaloe! About 30 miles away from where we would camp for the night, the Badlands just came out of nowhere. All of the sudden, there were canyons, gorges, mesas, mountains, and cliffs! The Badlands really are incredible; the biggest part of its splendor is the fact that it is so spontaneous. We're staying here in South Dakota for three nights. We'll have two full days of fun ahead of us, so I hope you'll enjoy hearing from us about our adventures! Now, Mrs. Nolan requested that I do tonight's farewell in Dutch. Naturally, I obliged. Here it is - Vaarwel en goede nacht. In English, it translates to "Goodbye and good night."