Driving on 90 West in SD is fun, partly because it's really very pretty with the rolling hills and ranches and farms, but also because there are so many billboards advertising all kinds of places to stop. Wall Drug has at least 1,000 signs, but there are also other places like 1800 Town (We were suckered into stopping but did not pay the nearly $50 to walk around what is apparently an old movie set.) There is also the Corn Palace. Will said no to that one, but I think it would have been kind of neat. The whole outside is decorated with corn in mural fashion, and it changes yearly. Plus, it's free! One stop I was sad we couldn't make was to Laura Engalls Wilder's home. I saw a few signs for it, but it was a full hour north of 90, which seemed a bit too far, even though Little House on the Prairie is a big favorite of mine.
One stop we did make was at the Minuteman Missile Historic Site. We just went to the visitor's center, which is essentially a museum devoted to the story of when there was a vast supply of nuclear misses, hidden in underground silos across the Great Plains. You can tour one of the silos, but we didn't have time. We looked around the museum, though, and the kids were actually somewhat interested. We talked to them about duck and cover drills and how Grandpa Jeff was in a submarine during the Cold War. I told Will we should at least be able to write off our mileage from today since he can talk about this stop in class. :)
The Minuteman stop was just north of where we turned off 90 to do the scenic route through Badlands NP. The loop basically does a half circle south of 90, and you end up back at 90, at Wall. It's 37 miles, winding through the northern part of the park. The badlands are pretty cool. We visited some badlands in Canada last summer, during our unexpected stay in Calgary. But these in SD are much more vast than anything we saw in Drumheller. The rock formations just go on and on, and they really make for some amazing vistas.
Of course, both kids love climbing all over these formations, giving Will and I much anxiety (well, mostly Will). We did one trail but the heat made Will and Eleanor turn back fairly quickly. Ethan wanted to keep going and we came upon part of the trail where you had to go up a huge ladder built in the rocks with logs of wood and rope. People were coming down very slowly, and I didn't want to wait, but he said, "Mom, I HAVE to see what is at the top of that ladder. I can't leave until I see it." So up we went. We actually walked up a steep section next to the ladder. At the top, there were more rock formations. We had to go down via the ladder, which was a bit scary, but also pretty cool. We'd watched several others (including some grandparent types) come down, so I felt confident we could do it. I probably lost a pound of sweat on that hike, though, as did Ethan, so we went back to the car and drove to the visitor's center to cool off.
At the center, we bought the National Park Badland's patch (we have a collection going), and Ethan bought a pin for his own collection. We also watched a movie about the area. (Typical story: white man wants something, so white man takes it. The Lakota Indians used to live all over the area, traveling with bison herds. Then homesteaders came, over-hunted the bison, took Indian land with help from government treaties that somehow kept taking more and more, etc. Indians forced into reservations and have to give up the way of live they had since long before the white man came. You know, the ugly kind of history we ignore. I digress...) From the visitor's center, we kept driving, stopping several times along the way to take in the sights. Ethan was mad when we wouldn't let him get too close to the edge of things - we're mean like that - and would have probably stayed climbing all day.
Once out of the park, you hit a wall: Wall, SD, that is! See what I did there? I'm crazy tired and slap happy. Wall is home to the world famous Wall Drug, which apparently is simply famous because everyone who goes there gets one of these green Wall Drug bumper stickers. It's essentially a big indoor mall with different stalls with things like art, jewelry, books, etc. There is even a small chapel. And it's full of kitschy stuff everywhere. It's been in the same family for generations, though, and the story of how they have stayed in business basically from offering free ice water and five cent coffee. We took a couple pictures, walked around, and headed out. We drove another 40 minutes to Rapid City, where we found a nice little family restaurant for dinner. 3 of the 4 of us got breakfast while Will, who is the only person I know who doesn't love breakfast for dinner, opted for a burger. Then we hit the Target for a few odds and ends before driving on to Rockerville to our motel.
We are here for two nights. It's a tiny room, reminiscent of our Banff Ave hotel, but it's clean. We broke out the air mattress tonight because the beds are doubles and I got beat up a bit by Eleanor sharing a queen last night. We had to rearrange some furniture to fit it, but Ethan is sawing logs to my right as I type. It was almost 9 here, which is like 10 to us, when we turned off the light. After a whole lot of hiking around in the heat today, both kids were exhausted and easily went to sleep. And now it's my turn.
Tomorrow we will see Rushmore and explore the Black Hills, which we are essentially in right now. And if we are still bored, we can always visit one of the dozen other MUST SEE sights we've seen advertised. Caves, monument adventure parks, Reptile Gardens, and even a drive-thru wildlife park. This area reminds us a bit like Gatlinburg in the Smokies. So much extra junk around a beautiful area. I'm sure the tourist money is so helpful, but it makes me sad that people can't just enjoy the natural fun.
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Have fun!
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