Great Faces, Great Places...

We were up and at ‘em Monday morning. After a restful evening at a real campground, we were ready to see the Badlands. The peaks, gullies, buttes and prairies of this land mass are breathtaking. We are hoping to get some early morning light on the rock formations. We were on the road by 6:50 AM. We planned to take Route 240 which is an estimated 60 minute drive through the National Park. Three hours later, we finally exited. It seemed every direction you looked, you saw a completely different landscape. In one direction you might see eroded land with “chia pet” buttes; look another direction and you would see glorious peaks; look another and you would observe a prairie as far as the eye could see.
There were delicate flowers blowing in the wind with a massive rock formation in the background. There were sheep along the road and lots and lots of prairie dogs. Some bikers saw a rattlesnake sunning itself right next to a sign that shouted, “DANGER: poisonous snakes”. It was as if the snake was taunting visitors. The park is well designed to make for easy access. Visitors were very friendly and would strike up a conversation at the drop of a hat.
We stopped at a historical prairie homestead and Dennis paid the $7 to enter. We visited one 22 years ago but don’t remember quite where it was. Homesteaders began to inhabit this God forsaken land in 1907 after the Milwaukee Railroad ran tracks. These people with probably more guts than brains, learned that farming or even existing was an arduous task in the Badlands. After a few short years, most homesteads were abandoned.
At the end of the loop we were reconnected with I-90 and drove the highway back to our starting point. So, it took three hours in the park and twenty minutes to get back to our starting point via the interstate.
We came upon what appeared to be a horrible motorcycle accident along I-90. A bike with an attached small trailer was overturned, its belongings (including a helmet…not required in South Dakota) strewn over the road and shoulder. Paramedics were feverishly working on the Sturgis bound victim and a helicopter was preparing to take the person to the hospital. We hope they made it.
Our next stop? Mt. Rushmore.
As we approach Rapid City, we take a southerly route towards the “Presidents”. There are tons of advertisements, many playing on the presidential theme that Mt. Rushmore suggests. There is the “First Lady Inn” and the “Presidential Library” (wax, of course). As we get closer and closer to Mt. Rushmore it becomes even more commercialized. This is not the Mt. Rushmore we remember. Now, we remember the requisite gift shops, wood sided motels, rustic type campgrounds and a few diners. Now? It is a whole new world. It looks like Branson Missouri or Pigeon Forge Tennessee or Kissimmee Florida. Unreal. Of course, all of the streets and parking lots are once again lined with the Sturgis bound motorcycles. Timing is everything and we will never forget to check the calendar again when we plan a big trip. We were thinking what a boon something like this is to a town. Imagine if Port Huron could come up with a gimmick like this…maybe a camper rally or a boat rally …it could change the economy…and become another Woodstock. Okay, I like to dream.
We sat in the motorhome and ate lunch while we waited for the weather to clear. The weather in this region is ever changing. Sure enough, after 45 minutes or so, the sun came out and it wasn’t long before it was accompanied by a blue sky. The visitors’ area and the approach to Mt. Rushmore is significantly different than our last visit. It is easily accessible by the handicapped. It still boasts the line of state flags along the walkway, but the design of the walkway is much more sophisticated. Visiting places like this makes you proud to be an American. It is a national treasure and we are blessed to be able to see it for a second time.
Tonight we will stay in a Walmart parking lot and in the early AM we head to Sturgis to see the real bike rally. We are sure that the last couple days have simply been a prelude to what we will see tomorrow. We read that last year, there were over 500,000 motorcycles counted by the South Dakota DOT. That doesn't include gawkers like us. Gulp.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Who are the four Presidents on Mt. Rushmore? Answer tomorrow.

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