Day 3: Amazing Creation

From: Chamberlain, SD

To: Custer State Park, SD

We slept well last night at a Howard Johnson, had a lovely full breakfast, and got on the road…later than planned (no surprises there). 
SD landscape became much better after Chamberlain, before which was just more corn farms. Chamberlain sits on the Missouri River and crossing the river is like crossing into a whole new place. There were bulging hills and moo-cows spotting the country side.

We found a good ol’ truck stop with a machine shop and got Jayne a much needed oil change. SD is very windy. So windy, in fact, that it wrecked our gas mileage creating tons of extra drag. When I mentioned the wind to a gas station attendant, she looked out side and said, “It’s not windy. Heck, the trees ain’t even moving.”

We must note that part of the scenery included dozens of billboard advertisements for Wall Drug—a store to satisfy all your needs. Every few miles there was a sign advertising something else that Wall Drug could provide. From homemade donuts and cherry pie, to free ice water, a pharmacy, .5 cent coffee, a museum, a reptile exhibit and the moon, Wall Drug had it all…supposedly. But, we’ll never know, because though we drove by we never went in. (Anti-climactic, I know.)

Following a solid tip from our old Michigan-born neighbors we made plans to stop at some place called the Badlands. We’d heard of them before, but had no idea what they were. Turns out, this was one of the most amazing places we’ve ever been. SD is flat. The Badlands are the antithesis of flat. They’re not, strictly speaking, mountains or hills.

But then again, they are. They are jagged edged cliffs that are hilly and mountain-like. They divide an upper and lower plain. It looks like half of SD sunk hundreds of feet. This ridged, craggy, cliffy, prickly, bulbous, spiky terrain is the result. We drove through them for about 20 miles. There are lookouts and places to pull over to ogle at the scenery all along the way. There are a number of hiking trails and campgrounds. We got to enjoy some wildlife: some kind of horned mountain sheep, dozens of prairie dogs, some kind of cousin to the deer, and a chipmunk thang. The Badlands were, by far, Nathan’s favorite part of the day.

Onward, we drove, wishing we had more time, to the next big scene in our adventure: Mount Rushmore. As we expected, Mt. Rushmore was incredible. Though we’ve scene the great carvings in pictures and films dozens of times, the sight is a completely different experience first hand. At one point, we both confessed and chuckled that it was smaller than we’d imagined (butter). Walking the Presidents’ Trail (where I think a scene from National Treasure 2 was filmed) was fun. Heather even got a little choked up for the old stars and stripes, over the gravity of what these four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln) stood for and accomplished in our country's history. We spent about 2 hours, which is about all the time you could spend there unless you love ice cream and gift shops. (Don’t get me wrong…we both love ice cream). 

Seeing so much of God’s creation and such impressive works of a stone sculptor was awe inspiring and moving. This was almost too much to take in for one day.

After the glorious mountain, we drove along the coolest road to Custer State Park. Winding like a good old NC mountain road, this one three times took us through single-lane tunnels carved out of solid boulders. This 12-mile trek lasted about 40 minutes. We set up camp at the first campground we came to and tried not too freeze. This was the first time the weather became cold. The camp host said it was in the low 30s which I’d believe, because we had to bundle up to stay warm.

Check back for the next post when Lola almost got in a fight with a wild turkey, and Jayne stood toe-to-tire with a buffalo!