After a very nice complimentary breakfast, we loaded up the car and drove to the nearby jeep dealership, Dellen Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep, for an oil change and tire rotation. We are asking a lot of our vehicle so we want to keep her in top shape. They were able to get us right in so we were soon back on the road. We appreciated the professional, friendly service and comfortable waiting area.

According to the GPS, we were 15 hours from our destination of Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Still a long way to go, but it was good to see the numbers dropping. We drove through Indiana and Illinois and eventually crossed into Iowa. The landscape did not change much and I can clearly say that we grow a lot of corn in this country. It was pretty cool to see all the windmills being used for energy. Renewable versus non-renewable energy and environmental concerns is something I spent a lot of time teaching my GED students so it was interesting to see it up close. A new Star Wars based audiobook helped pass the time.

We stopped at Iowa 80 truck stop for coffee. According to their sign, it is the world’s largest truck stop. I am not sure if that is true but it was huge. It even offers church services on Sundays.

We spent the night at Wildcat Den State Park in Iowa. We were the only campers in the park that night although there were a lot of spots reserved for the upcoming weekend. $9 was not a bad price for a campground all to ourselves with running water and an outhouse. The park itself was very pretty but rain was threatening so we did not have time to explore much. We made a quick dinner and jumped in the truck for the night.