We’ve made it to Chamberlain, South Dakota. We didn’t know if we would. At 5:15 a.m. we were loaded and ready to go. Unfortunately the car wasn’t. It would start. Just a clicking noise when Doug turned the key. And we had the car into the shop for a check-up last week. Doug thought it was the battery, so he took the battery out of the truck, the battery out of the van, and tried to switch them. Guess what? The truck battery doesn’t fit into the van. So he put the van battery back in, jumped it with the truck battery, put the truck battery off. No one who had a battery for us was opened. We waited for Wal-Mart to open. Our battery was out of stock. We decided to go for it. Each time we’ve stopped, the car has started again. Pray that it does in the morning. There is nothing out here!

The kids, as always, were great on this long car ride. I even slept, which is highly unusual for me. We have a nice hotel here and the staff is great. The kids have gone for a swim. I think I’ll walk on the treadmill for a while, soak in the hot tub, and then go to bed.

The man at the front desk suggested a small local cafe for us for dinner. We went and Doug & I had buffalo burgers. They were good. Didn’t taste much different than hamburger. But at least I can say I had buffalo on this trip!

If you’ve ever read the Little House books, you might remember Laura’s impressions of South Dakota. She mentioned the sky and how big it was, how it surrounded you. She loved it. She’s right – the sky here is huge and swallows you up. It makes me feel small and lost and vulnerable.

Tomorrow we hit the mountains. I hate heights – as in PETRIFIED. Please pray that I will be able to remain calm and enjoy God’s beautiful creation.

Here are some pictures from the car.