Across from Wall Drug

We started the day heading toward the Badlands, wondering just what it was that made them so bad. However, on the way, we were waylaid by intriguing signs for a mythical place called Wall Drug. At this mythical place, according to the signs, you could get free ice cold water, coffee for 5 cents, free donuts and coffee (if you were a honeymooner or veteran - leading us to wonder if honeymooning veterans could get 2 donuts for free), see giant dinosaurs (presumably models), visit a shooting range, shop for home decorations, shop for western wear, and I can't even remember what else. These signs started about 50 miles from Wall Drug, and were scattered with several per mile. We also saw a sign for an enterprising business that advertised itself as being "across from Wall Drug." After seeing all these signs, we felt compelled to stop. I was a little worried we'd see a shack, or something along the lines of the largest souvenir shop in Idaho. However, Wall Drug lived up to its reputation built up from signs. We also weren't the only ones intrigued enough to stop. Apparently plastering the roadway with signs is a great way to drum up business. We saw about the number of tourists at Yellowstone, crammed into the many buildings that make up Wall Drug, and the "Backyard of Wall Drug" that it needed to expand into.



After that side trip, we were ready to continue on our way to the Badlands. Once we got there, we discovered that the Badlands were most likely named the Badlands because they'd be a miserable place to live. They have rattle snakes, don't seem to have good farmable land (although I'm not a farmer, so it's hard to say for sure), and they're hot. Quite very hot. The first time that I thought "holy crap, it's hot out" on the trip. We ended up deciding to leave the rest of the Badlands till tomorrow. Check in again for the actual photos of the park.

Instead, we headed over to Mount Rushmore. We spotted Washington and the rest from the side of the road, and drove on closer to the park, figuring we'd get a better view. Last year on our trip to the Southwest, we'd made what turned out to be an excellent investment in a national parks pass. We figured that, with this pass, we'd be able to get into Mount Rushmore for free (well, for the cost of the park pass divided by the number of parks that we've seen so far with it). However, Mount Rushmorians are a tricky lot. They decreed that entrance to the monument is free, but parking is $10. We promptly decided to tell the person taking money we just wanted to turn around, and head back to the road for some free pictures. Several other people seemed to have the same idea, and we had a group of fellow drive a bit, park on a pull out and take a picture people.

Driving from Rapid City, SD to see Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse required us to go through South Dakota's Black Hills National Forest. While a National Forest is no National Park according to Michele, who has it in her head that she must visit all of the national parks in the U.S., we were pleasantly surprised by the Black Hills. Although we still are unsure as to why they are black (ok, well, they might look a little black from a distance with all of the evergreens), we still found them quite pretty and well worth the taking of a few snapshots from Nancy's spiffy camera.

After the mountain of presidents, we headed for the soon to be mountain of an indian - Crazy Horse. Soon to be, here, though, is probably a bit of a stretch. The mountain has been a work in progress since somewhere in the 1940s. Again, we went the cheap route (although at least the Crazy Horse people didn't do the "the fee is for parking" scam), and took a shot by the side of the road (accompanied by some other frugal travelers).

Deciding that was enough for the day, we headed for the big city of Rapid City. Along the way, we serendipitiously encountered a couple of muffler men, who you can see in the pictures.