Badlands or Bust

We saw a pretty heavy overhang of clouds when we woke up in the Pierre SD Walmart parking lot. We had a peaceful night in the asphalt arena, after an “exciting” shopping adventure in the store last night. We want to photograph the capitol building this morning, along with the governor’s mansion and the nation's first World War II Memorial. The memorial is comprised of six World War II uniform clad figures saluting the American flag.




We took some pictures last evening, but late in the day the images have an extremely yellow cast to them. If the weather clears up, we will reshoot some of the same pictures in hopes of improving our catch.
We closed everything up in the motorhome and headed to the nearby McDonald’s for a breakfast and a bit of internet surfing. While eating our breakfast, a nearby table of farmers struck up a conversation with us. Dennis asked them about the elusive sunflowers and they didn’t give us much hope. They said the weather was very wet this spring and that the crops had a late planting. We also asked them about all the sand bags we saw packed around downtown Pierre businesses and homes. They explained that the Army Corps of Engineers was trying to regulate the water in their nearby recreation areas and made a mess out of things. They hadn’t had a flood since 1952, and according to them there shouldn’t have been a reason to worry if the Corps had left things alone. The farmers were very proud of the capitol building and encouraged us to go inside before we left town. While they weren’t much for politicians, they did express respect for their beloved state capitol. Nice. If you’re ever in a location and need to know some information, an early morning visit to a local McDonald’s will generally serve you well. Tucked into a corner somewhere in the restaurant is a group of locals who are loaded with knowledge.
We checked the internet with McDonald’s free wi-fi and by then the skies had cleared. Once we photographed the capitol and the sandbagged downtown area, we headed west towards Wall Drug.
Eureka! About ten miles west of Pierre, we come upon a glorious golden field of sunflowers!


















Not only is it breathtaking, the sky is cooperating, providing a beautiful blue backdrop with little puffy clouds and lots of sunshine. We both climbed atop the motorhome to get some pictures from a high vantage point. We both walked deep into the fields to get close-ups and images full of bee loving flowers. This is happiness. After a few miles we came upon a yellow tinged field, filled with rolled bales of hay. Again, Dennis climbed onto the roof of our rig to get “the shot”. Mission accomplished.
After each snapping over 100 pictures, we climbed back into the westward pointed rig. Next stop, a gas station and then Wall Drug, here we come.
We arrive in Wall and found the streets covered with motorcycles. All the cyclists headed to Sturgis must have decided to stop in the town of Wall for a phosphate or soda. Okay, maybe a beer. The last time we were here it was a sleepy little town. This time it is "wall to wall" people. We peruse the shops a bit and then decide to find a campground. No kidding, the name of the campground is “Sleepy Hollow”. For $26 out the door we have free wi-fi, water, sewer, electric and beautiful showers. We hope to clean up this evening, rest and get ready for the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore.

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