Black Hills, Badlands, and Mt Rushmore

We have landed safely in Nebraska! But first, let's Tarantino it.


So, upon waking, we headed out from Murdo, crossed the into the Mountain Time Zone, and hit up Wall Drug. There was really no question whether to visit or not. There are signs EVERYWHERE for it. Old-timey, particle board signs ALL OVER I-90. There was also an amusing sign (which, alas, I didn't get a shot of) on the highway that ardently 'rejected' animal activists because hunting, fishing and fur trapping was vital to their economy. Apparently South Dakota thinks its 1804. But anyway, Wall Drug. It was fine, I guess. I got a key chain and lip balm made from bison tallow. Mickey made a friend.

From there, we took a right turn and headed south into the Badlands. The trip sort of went something like...
Me: OMG. South Dakota is so flat and boring.
Mickey: Agreed.
Me: Boringest place ever.
Mickey: Yup.
*An interesting piece of topography catches our eyes to the left*
Mickey and Me: WHAAAAAAHAHAAAAT?
*BADLANDS*


I've got to say that I think this was my most favorite part of our May Trip. The Badlands were incredible and I truly urge people to visit because it's a cheap vacation and the scenery is spectacular.
Apart from their name being a buzz word in my 5th grade Social Studies class and Badlands Tacos in Oradell, NJ, I didn't know much about them. Apparently, they were formed when the prairies eroded. The view from the Park was absolutely amazing. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

The Badlands (which is a National Park) was filled with wildlife. It was the site of our first encounter with BISON. We also saw Prairie Dogs!!! They were everywhere. You can't tell from the pictures but the main road through the park was the dividing point between 'Badland' and prairie. So on our left for a lot of the drive we had these eroded, lunar mounds and, on the other side, there was a peaceful, green prairie filled with grazing bison and burrowing prairie dogs. It was surreal.
Because we had been such early birds (and we gained an hour jumping time zones), it was only about 10 o'clock when we headed further west. As the Badlands gave away to more rolling prairie, black, Mordor-esque crags of rock filled the horizon. The Black Hills. This place was a sacred area to the Lakota and other surrounding tribes (and I'm just pulling this from Nat. Amer History II class) and it was where they believed all of life began. It's interesting that we plopped one our our most recognizable American landmarks right in the middle of it.

Around one o'clock we got to Mt Rushmore. (So named after...a ....lawyer.) It was a cool place and a little bit smaller than we had expected. (But hey, doesn't everyone say that about the Statue of Liberty?) The tour guide was probably the best tour guide I've ever had and he really knew his stuff. From there, we found our little camp site and set up our tent. Maybe this night would be better than our last experience?

We needed matches to light a fire so we drove up to Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park (which we spuriously entered) and found a little general store. From there, we got LOST. Mandy, our GPS, was at a loss. But we found our way back and had a freezing night in the Black Hills!


The next day, Mother's Day, we had a nice South Dakotan breakfast and called our mothers. From there, we headed south to Nebraska!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!