Bing Blog: South Dakota

25 July 2009

I'm a little behind on blogging, but we went on a little road trip last week. Here are some of the highlights:

We left our house on Thursday afternoon and headed to Casper, Wyoming. We stayed the next 2 nights in Custer, South Dakota. We returned on Sunday in one long day, traveling through South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah.

We stopped at Mormon Handcart Historic Site at Martin's Cove and Devil's Gate. The visitor center and everything was closed, but we could still walk and drive around. It was a neat experience to see where the Martin handcart company suffered so much during one winter. I don't know that I could have done it. I don't know that I could have been a pioneer at all. I may have had to just say, "forget it." I do have a few pioneer ancestors, but I also have some "not-quite-so-pioneer" ancestors who were lucky enough to wait until after 1869 and the railroad to come to Utah.

The next stop was Devils Tower, Wyoming. People actually climb Devils Tower and we watched them do it. As we walked up the little paved trail towards the base of the tower, two people were coming down the trail with climbing equipment and ropes hanging on their shoulders. I asked if they really made it to the top or if they were just carrying that stuff around to look cool. They laughed at me and said, "Yes, we made it clear to the top. It took us about 4 or 5 hours."

At this point and throughout the day Friday, we started seeing tons and tons of Corvettes. We finally asked someone what the deal was and they told us there is a Corvette rally similar to the Sturgis Harley rally. During that weekend in July, if you own a Corvette, you drive it across South Dakota, from Sioux Falls to Spearfish (and then continue on to Devils Tower apparently). That was interesting. There were a few really old-style ones.

We at dinner at the Powder House Restaurant. James decided to try one of the specials - apple glazed pheasant. He said it was really good. I tried a piece and thought it tasted like greasy turkey. I had the other special which was chicken cordon bleu with a twice baked potato. I know that sounds really boring next to pheasant, but it was tasty.

We visited Mt. Rushmore Friday night and then again Saturday morning. On Friday night, we got there at dusk, just before the lighting ceremony program they do each night. During the program, they show a little patriotic movie, light up the heads on the mountain, and then recognize any service members in the audience. It was fun! When we went back Saturday morning we took some better pictures and walked around a little bit more than the night before.

The only not-so-interesting part of our trip was Badlands National Park. I think this may be this most boring national park I have ever been to. If you are planning a trip to the Black Hills area of South Dakota, I would suggest skipping it. Plus, there are killer grasshoppers here that will attack you!! Beware!

We traveled through Custer State Park. Custer State Park is probably the most interesting and pretty-scenaried section of the Black Hills. We drove through a herd of probably 200 bison. They were large and very close to the car. I had to roll up the window for fear of being sneezed on by the large creatures. There are some fun, narrow, windy roads to take you to "the Needles." This is the location where a South Dakota senator originally wanted Mt. Rushmore to be. It's really pretty with a lake and tunnels and big pointy rocks.

On Saturday night we went to the Crazy Horse Monument. At night, they do a laser show on the mountain. Crazy Horse is interesting for several reasons. One, it is dedicated to American Indians and not to dead white men. Two, it is interesting because it is entirely funded by private donations and has never accepted any federal or state funds to continue it's work. Three, it is interesting because it is HUGE. The four heads of Mt. Rushmore would fit into just Crazy Horse's head, let alone his body or his horse. Four, it is interesting because the man who began carving it reminded me of Bob Anderson. Interesting indeed!

On Sunday, we headed for home after stopping again at the Baker's Bakery in Custer for breakfast. We had a giant cinnamon roll. Nummy! Sunday was a long day. We left Custer around 10:00 a.m. and pulled into our driveway around 11:15 p.m. Our bums were tired of sitting in the car and the car was tired of eating bugs.