South Dakota

So Drama didn’t take long to make his mark today. While at Mount Rushmore he was in charge of looking after the tripod for our expensive camera which he subsequently lost (only for a half hour it turns out). It’s weird but his absent-minded ways have become a little endearing. Scary as hell, but endearing.

So we did see Rushmore and we all enjoyed it. I especially liked the way George Washington’s eyes glow red when you shout his name loud enough (Lincoln does nothing).

two dignified, four others, not so

The actual monument is a bit of a site to behold. I was wondering if not being an American would factor into the enjoyment level and it really didn’t. After seeing the sculpture you realize how much of a marvel it, considering its scope, aim and factoring in the old school tools and techniques that would have been used. I suppose the most amazing thing for me was in viewing some of the videos that explain the site and realizing how many people would have stepped on the ground I also walked on. It’s a pretty impressive list.

Following that we had some major driving to do to make it a decent effort to Couer D’Alene for Wednesday. We ended up knocking down 950 km which got us into Butte (sounds like “flute”) Montana. Although the pictures might not do it justice the road from South Dakota to Wyoming to Montana was mighty impressive.

Wyoming - big country

Wyoming is seriously big country with expansive ranches and cattle so far from the homestead they must camp out on their return to the barn.

Montana (angled)

Golf-wise we’ve been a little shy lately since we want to get to Idaho, then play some Canadian courses on our return to Ontario. It is a long drive back (that was a lame golf-related joke for those keeping score).

We were up and on the road fairly early today. Lots of travel before Couer D’Alene.

We endured a night of karaoke at the hotel’s bar, watching other people (a) massacre songs and (b) look hopelessly desperate doing so.

The one element that keeps happening in this is the way we’re gaining an hour every day we travel. Tonight we’re camping at a place called Rapid City, South Dakota which is dangerously close to Mount Rushmore. While I’m sure it will be an interesting thing to see I’m not exactly as sold on it as my companions are (simply because it kind of seems like an overdone kitchsy sort of thing and, with me not being American, I’m not sure the significance will hit me too severely). Of course, things can change.

Today’s journey up through eastern Nebraska, then western Iowa and then pretty much the entire state of South Dakota was fairly uneventful for the most part - at least until we started to hit the middle part of the lower Dakota state. Eastern South Dakota is pretty much Iowa and Illinois, in that there are farms and LOTS of them but the mid part of South Dakota announced itself rather boldly at Al’s Oasis in Oacona SD.

Never did find Al..

What made Al’s especially intriguing is the body of water you have to cross to get to it (a bridge reminiscent of something over the Mississippi) and the surrounding rough Badlands terrain. After filming some video of the establishment we continued on till stopping for photo ops at a “scenic lookout” which turned out to be more lookout than scenic. Still, we felt obliged to fire a couple of drives into the surrounding vast grasslands.

1245 yards, Par 11. Watch for the cattle

Beyond Al’s there’s a lot of nothing; not “nothing” in the sense of nothing to see but “nothing” in the sense of nothing to stop at. Aside from some pretty grand terrain there is nothing to really keep you occupied, other than watching the many billboards. What made that intriguing is the myriad ways the authors of these things sold their wares. Some would just plead for you to stop in while others would threaten you in vacation-y sort of way (”Gas up now or gas can later”).

Most intriguing however, was this little place which must honestly have 400 road signs on Interstate 90. the town itself is Wall, South Dakota and what makes it so special (evidently) is the Wall Drug Mart (seriously). Rumor has it that Wall would promise things like free ice water and great deals on whatever they feel could attract visitors drained by South Dakota’s arduous roads. Check out these “enticing” signs:

1 of 485?

1 of ah, whatever..

another.

Eventually this place turned into this:

We made it.

like Branson, only smaller