In the (time) zone

Garry and I finally landed in Rapid City, South Dakota. It's taken four flights, across eight time zones to get here. Our "day" began with a 7:05am flight to Brisbane where we caught our trans-Pacific leg to Los Angeles. From here we flew to Denver, stopping for a few hours to enjoy lunch at the airport, before finally catching our transfer to Rapid City.

It's been a long and weary day. However, Garry and I have devised a clever way to combat jet lag. Over the years we've developed quite a tradition with our USA road trips. We start our journey with a trip to the local Walmart Superstore to stock up on picnic supplies. These stores are a cross between an enormous supermarket and a variety discount store; all conveniently rolled into one giant building.

This evening we spent almost two hours buying a dirt cheap esky and filling it with cold drinks, sliced meats, salad, and fruit. We also grabbed a cheap picnic set, a travel rug, and a few other knick-knacks at ridiculously low prices. Several years ago we worked out that for the price of a couple of decent meals, we could stock up with everything we'd need for a fortnight of picnic adventures.

Tomorrow we're off to explore the Black Hills of Dakota, including the famous presidential facade of Mount Rushmore. Temperatures are predicted to be in the mid-20s with a late afternoon thunderstorm. It should be perfect weather for a day out enjoying the great outdoors.  Hertz has also come to the party. We've been upgraded to an enormous, leather-clad SUV which should make light work of the 1500kms ahead

Stay tuned for more updates in the days ahead.

Posted from my iPhone.
Rapid City, South Dakota, USA

UPDATE:  

You follow our travel adventures in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Yellowstone starting with this post. Click through our journey as it unfolded by selecting the New Post link at the bottom of each post.