South Dakota

Day 237 – June 22

On the road again after 4 weeks of prep!
We headed off at 10am after a great Uff Da breakfast at the Swedish Inn. We drove and drove, finally getting to South Dakota.


Helen & I outside the South Dakota visitor center just after we crossed the border from Minnesota

Driving through South Dakota is interesting – because of the billboards! Before you even cross the border you start to see signs advertising the Wall Drug store and how far it is from where you are. We also saw some interesting...... (odd) anti-animal activist billboards.

Wow it’s great to have an i-pod again. Murray was exhausted from all the days and nights of preparation, so he rode with Helen for a few hours and I got to drive Dolph with the ipod blasting – good times.

We made a quick stop in Mitchell to get gas (petrol) and to see….


The Corn Palace!!


The theme this year is ‘Everyday Heroes 2008’


The murals decorating the building are redone annually


With over 275,000 ears of corn!




They call it the Taj Mahal of Agriculture


I insisted that we stop – it’s one of those odd things you just have to see!


Murray & I outside the Corn Palace




Cruising along on the freeway at 70mph we were shocked to see people not only without leathers to protect their bodies – but also NO helmets!!


The typical driving situation in South Dakota – long, flat and straight. I always say I think of South Dakota driving as ‘look – there’s a tree!’And funnily enough that did get said many a time!


Murray got a quick shot as we sped down the highway of the land that my Grandpa Don grew up on near Draper (we knew exactly where it was based on the mile marker signs).

When we got to Murdo, we stopped by the local café for dinner. My Dad had told me to ask for Phyllis Ann when we got there – so I did. She wasn’t working, but the waitress called her up, and she came up to the restaurant to meet us.


Phyllis Ann, her husband Chip, Murray, Helen & Me

Phyllis is my Grandpa’s cousin, and we had a great chat getting to know her and her husband over dinner.


After dinner we went right next door to the ‘Pioneer Auto Show and Prairie Town’


Ah, this crazy three wheeler was built in Minnesota – of COURSE! All good things come from there


They even had one of the original General Lee’s from Dukes of Hazard. The last of 17 that the show used.


Pretty cool lookin’


Helen & I posing by a funny looking little car


A car made entirely out of wood – how odd is that?


Beautifully done


Even the steering wheel is fancy


And LOTS of gorgeous old cars


And some quite unique cars, I think this Octo-Rod was built in Minnesota too, Red Wing maybe?


But my favorite was Elvis Presley’s personal motorcycle


In the ‘Pioneer Town’ out back Murray filled up with some petrol


We also looked especially for this gorgeous little 50’s corvette


Me buying a commemorative plate from Helen in the shop


And a cute bunny we saw hop by


They also had classic tractors


Very old and interesting to look at


Ohhhh made by Porsche!


Not only is the front of this car gorgeous, we also liked the flag display


Big fancy grills did used to be VERY popular


The garages of old, well preserved cars seemed endless - SO many


Such an array of weird cars




This is the new official theme of our trip! HA!


They also had a collection of antiques, but poor Donald looks a bit worse for wear. Don't look too long at him, otherwise he takes on this EVIL look. YOu're looking again right, it's kinda spooky in a Chucky way right? No? Just me then.


They had recreated an entire pioneer town – including a school


How realistic does this look? Creepy!


But interesting!


Yes Sir!


These are TOO funny. We especially love that women are banned from wearing ‘Skirts slit to expose ankles.’


Quite an old book collection


The official diner sign – it was a great stop!




Wow now you KNOW this is old. Check out the phone number – only 3 digits!

Eventually we had to leave the Car Museum – it was great though! We drove on and got to our campground in Wall at 10pm and pretty much went straight to bed because we were all SO exhausted!


Me climbing out with my pj's in hand - in our Night Number One photo!

Day 238 – June 23

We had MASSIVE storms on our first night – thunder, lightening and rain. But I am pleased to report that the truck and the queen size bed is extremely comfy – hooray!

We spent most of the morning checking out the Wall Drug store because the weather was so overcast. It is a can’t miss tourist trap – still serving 5 cent coffees and free ice water. Back in the days of the depression the wife of the drug store owner had the great idea to offer free ice water to passing travelers – and wow did it draw them in! The Wall Drug store is scarcely more than an ‘Olde West’ facade and a block-long souvenir shop selling Western wear, rocks, fudge and Black Hills gold. But we loved it.


I must say though – the pie would have been 500 times better if they served it HOT! Murray was like - COLD PIE!!??? WHAT!!??


The famous South Dakotan Flying Jackalope

Murray cozying up to another woman – the scandal! (some guy walked by as we were taking this saying 'ahhhhh the boob shot' lol)


Next we drove to the Badlands National Park because miraculously the weather had cleared up!


And we had a nice little tailgating picnic in the parking lot at the visitor’s center because all of the picnic tables were taken.


Awesome view, and awesome bikes in the back of the truck! Very creative


A gorgeous flower Murray spotted


The Ben Reifel Visitors Center had some great displays


This 244,000 acre landscape is both barren and beautiful


Ahhh a Rattle snake! Me on the fossil trail – which was not very good… We heard lots of rattles but could never spot them! Murray was extremely frustrated as he was trying to get a pic of one.


We love wildflowers


Helen & Me on the fossil trail. NO, we are not the fossils, yet.


We never did see a rattlesnake! Just heard them. We did see a lot of these signs though


Wind and erosion have created an eerie moonscape of…


deep gorges and jagged sawtooth ridges with rock layers painted in subtle hues of sand, rose, gold and green.


Murray & I at one of the stunning overlook stops


The area was named mako sica (badland) by Native Americans


Look – a muz on a rock!


This land was once home to the indigenous residents, the great Sioux Nation


About 65 million years ago, weather patterns shifted …


and the area now called the Badlands was lifted and transformed by geological forces


Some say seeing the Badlands is like seeing an ocean someone burned all the water out of


Later we drove down Sage Creek Road in the Northwest of the Park to do some animal spotting – our first Bison (Buffalo) – how exciting!


Pronghorns & Bison!! No less from this wildlife spotting crew.


Pronghorn, often referred to as antelope, can cruise (when threatened) up to 60mph. BUT has been clocked at 84mph in a sprint, making this the fastest land mammal. All hail the Prong!


Helen waiting patiently as Murray takes animal photos (she drove us all around the park)


I love this picture in picture photo. A handy blind spot mirror - just not for trees ;-)


We drove by ‘Roberts Prairie Dog Town’ and wow did we ever see a LOT of prairie dogs!


Gosh they are cute

Hey, are you looking at me?

Cause I don't see anyone else,....

SO you must be looking at me!


Well come on then. You're gettin, no closer to my house then THAT! I don't care if you're creeping at glacier speed with a cramp in your thigh, that's it!


Good, you get the message. Besides, I haven't picked up around the house.....you know...its been a long day sunning myself and squeaking at everyone.

Wait, I wasn't being rude.....

Hey where are you going? Come back?! I have some nuts roasting below?


What a lovely twilight with buffalo


Such gorgeous landscape




The American Bison (or Buffalo) is the larges animal on the prairie. Growing up to six feet tall and weighing as much as a ton


Wait a minute! Hey, how YOU doing?


This will just take a second.......or two.


Arrrgh!! Straight back to grass, no post cuddle???


Bison are powerful and agile animals, they can quickly outdistance humans on the run!


Pronghorns


This guy is shedding his winter coat. We were taking a landscpae shot and he came walking right up to the side of the road. This one was MASSIVE. To give you an idea - that bird is a NORMAL sized bird. Not a small bird.

All in all a great day. We got to see so many animals up close – it was just amazing. We headed back to the campground in Wall for tuna salad, showers and bed!

Day 239 – June 24


In the morning we did some admin with wifi at a little café, and went off to explore the Wall Drug Store one more time (yes there really IS that much to see)!


Helen & I liked these coonskin hats

Ah yes – and of course the flying jackalope again


And me RIDING a Jackalope in the Wall Drug ‘backyard’


Wall Drug store signs are all over the world – saying how far you’d have to travel!




Cute setup – three wheeled bike and trailer (but really, wouldn’t a car just be easier if you aren’t gonna ride a REAL 2 wheeled motorbike?)

We had a yummy sandwich in the local park, then headed off to the Badlands again. On the way we stopped off at the Minuteman Missile site.


But this new Corvette was MUCH more appealing


The hot vet, and handsome Dolph in the parking lot. A combo lifestyle.


Me walking by – we both LOVE corvettes!! Looks like I'm leaving Dolph for the vette, mmm tempting, but how could I do that to old faithful Dolph


Unfortunately the tours were done with for the day – but we did watch an interesting video. This site was developed in the 1960s.


Ha ha – but really, quite scary


The missiles were stored in silos and during the Cold War they were used as a defense strategy of deterrence – maintained at a constant state of readiness.


Then we drove on into the Badlands again. The ranger remembered us – saying she doesn’t see many Australian drivers licenses!


Such an unusual landscape

We checked into the Cedar Creek campsite (inside the park) by filling out a form and sticking our cash into a deposit box to claim our site.


Just making sure the truck is level so we aren’t sleeping on a slant!


Unpacking a bit in order to prep the camera for sunset


While Murray prepped his gear, Helen and I explored the shop and she bought us some gorgeous cookie ice cream sandwiches – lovely – but hard to eat when the weather is BOILING!


Finally Murray was ready – so we drove to the spot he had chose the day before – and setup.


Beautiful light on the mountains as the sun started to go down


All the layers are amazing






Murray spotted these mountain goat skirting a precarious steep mountain edge




Gorgeous

While he was busy with his cameras, Helen and I drove further up the road and managed to spot Bison ON THE ROAD with their babies and some other mountain goats super up close! Very exciting.

We got back to the only restaurant in the park JUST in time for last orders


We tried the local specialty – a Sioux Indian Taco. It had a fried bread base (sort of like a taco doughnut) with buffalo mince, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and salsa. It was FANTASTIC!

Day 240 – June 25

Our first REALLY big storm was last night. We saw it coming in before we crawled into our vehicles to sleep. Because there is so much flat land, you could see the lightening a long distance away, we thought it wouldn’t reach us for ages. But at about 1am the rain starting to hammer down, lightening was all around us, and the wind was insane and there was even hail! Our truck was rocking from the wind, and we were nervous peeking out our little curtains. Then – Murray felt a drop of water. Our topper was leaking!!! The previous owner had driven under something not quite high enough and had scraped a layer off of the middle of the topper a little bit. Apparently JUST enough so that it leaked when it rained hard. We managed to find a few tupperwears, and set them up to catch the leaks. Eventually we got back to sleep, squished up on one side like sardines.


Murray saw our poor neighbor’s tent get blown over – everything they had got soaked!



It was a BIT of a disaster zone


Gosh were we glad we were NOT in tents! So we had a bowl of cereal and then headed back on the road again

We went out for a few more photos of the Badlands…

And then we drove on to Keystone to see


Mount Rushmore!


George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln


The walk of flags – a flag for each state in the USA


The heads are about 60 feet tall – the average size of a six-story building


Helen & I peeping over the wall after having our lovely Subway sandwiches with this amazing view


Murray posing the famous spoof shot every does, yawn.


George Washington was the nation’s first president and is remembered for helping the nation achieve its independence from England and for ensuring that Americans have a representative form of government.


He is considered the ‘father of our country’


Washington’s nose is 21 feet high (the rest are approximately 20 feet). The eyes are about 11 feet wide and the mouths are approximately 18 feet wide.


Abraham Lincoln taught himself law and through wit, wisdom and a series of historic debates – won the admiration of the American people. He oversaw one of the most pivotal periods in American history, the Civil War.


Murray and I posing for THE planned additions to the mountain


We found the Sculptors Studio to be very interesting. The sculptor Gutzon Borglum created a model of the four presidents on a 1-to-1-inch scale, meaning an inch on the model represented a foot on the cliff.


As this poster states – Borglum had also started work on a giant vault he called the Hall of Records directly behind Mount Rushmore in the canyon wall.


Borglum never finished the vault (which was to house records of the memorial, of Western civilization, and of individual liberty and freedom). The National Parks Service completed a scaled down version in 1998 (but it isn’t open to the public – bummer).


We thought the model was amazing. They actually were not able to recreate the entire thing once they began work on the mountain – notice how the coats and hands are not present on Mount Rushmore.


A zoom in of all the rubble around the base of Mouth Rushmore – you can still see the spaced holes that were drilled to shape the mountain, a process called ‘honeycombing.’


The amphitheater facing Mount Rushmore where they hold nightly programs.


John Dee Dee at Mount Rushmore. (a sock monkey lovingly made by our friend Eva and named by our godchild Abby). John is working on getting a photo from many of the places we go for Abby.


Murray and I went up to an animal world drive through park – but we decided NOT to enter after finding out you couldn’t open your windows – and the high entrance price (how are you supposed to get good photos then)? So we just snapped this bull Elk on the way out (we could see him from the road).


Gosh those antlers are amazing


Back in Keystone – we admired all the motorcycles


Now THAT is a beard!


Too funny


We even managed to see an old west ‘gun fight’ in the street (this guy was at least 7 feet tall!)


HUGE guy!


Bikes everywhere


Quite a collection of stickers on this guy’s helmet


We also stopped by the saltwater taffy store – they were making it right in front of us. I insisted Helen & Murray try their first bite of taffy, and they loved it SO much that we went back and each bought a bag with a great selection of flavors – yumm!


Once we had finished exploring Keystone, we got back on the road and caught one more amazing view of Washington.


On the road we saw this group of old cars who were road tripping – SO cute!


We also drove by Crazy Horse - a monument in the making - took a picture, and then continued on.

After getting some groceries, we checked into our first KOA (Kampgrounds of America) in Custer.


Helen posing by the tent – the FIRST time we set it up all by ourselves! Only took Helen and I a half an hour – which I didn’t think was TOO bad for our first time.


Luckily Murray set up the BBQ while we were setting up the tent, because just as he was finishing cooking up steak and onions for our dinner – a storm came. So we moved inside, and had our dinner in the shelter of the tent!


Helen & Murray – happy to be out of the stormy rain


The BBQ – ohhhh it is GOOD!

The storm ended up getting SO bad that we ended up each standing in one corner to hold it down so it wouldn’t blow over. That’s when Murray realized that Helen and I had neglected to tie down the rain cover with tent pegs – ummmm we didn’t know we had to do that! So he went out into the rain in just shorts, and got it sorted out – thank goodness!

Day 241 – June 26

Today we woke up to pollen EVERYWHERE – on our truck, all over the tent – gross. Like yellow powder had been sprinkled all over.

We left the campground early and drove to Wind Cave National Park and drove around looking for wildlife.


A gorgeous male pronghorn


A female Pronghorn.


A huge Bison with cute little birds on his back

Sleepy time


You think you’re going to photograph me? Well there – I’ll stick my tongue out at you!


Or – up my nose. Look mum, no hands, or rather no fingers.




We did a one mile hike up to Rankin Ridge Lookout


which gave us some gorgeous views of the valley


The roads were amazing for spotting wildlife.


Isn’t it cute how the baby Bison are born a lighter color?


Bison are huge animals


They can grow to 6 feet tall, and weight more than 2000 pounds



They are considered the largest native terrestrial mammal of North America


There were once millions of Bison, but by 1900 it is estimated that fewer than 1,000 remained on the entire continent.


Hey – that’s my hunk of hide – get off!




I LOVE This photo – amazing


Even thistle!




An amazing picture of an ant on some kind of thistle flower, dining away..


I VANT to SUCK your BLOOD


Another great classic car we spotted in the parking lot

Helen and I also did a cave tour. We went on the 1 ¼ hour tour of the ‘Natural Cave’ – which is the forth largest cave in the world. However, only about 5% of the cave has been explored/discovered it’s massive! We went down 350 steps and saw some interesting boxwork and popcorn formations. The freakiest part was when our guide turned off her flashlight to show us JUST how dark it is down there – you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face! Your eyes just don’t adjust to that deep blackness.

We loved the story of how the caves were discovered. Apparently an 18 year old boy was wondering by and heard whistling. He followed the noise and found the narrow entrance to the cave. He stuck his head down closer to the hole to have a look, and the pressure was just right to blow his hat right off of his head! He was so impressed by this that he brought back his friends the next day to show them, and funnily enough his hat got suck INTO the cave this time – the pressure had switched!

It took nine years top make the path that we walked down into the cave. Concrete was brought down using intertubes cut in half, filled up with heavy concrete, and then hauled in by men. Four intertubes full equaled ONE step!

After the tour, we headed out of the park and back to camp. We made some fabulous BBQ chicken, and then Murray and Helen headed back to park to look for Elk (who like the dawn and dusk, but usually hide during the day). I stayed in the tent to work on the blog.


And he did manage to spot ONE bull Elk – hooray!


JUST before the sun went down


When animal photography comes to this!


Murray and Helen saw this storm coming RIGHT at them – so they left in a hurry and headed back to Custer


It looked nasty – and wow was it. I pulled all of our stuff inside the tent, and waited it out while reading my book by lamplight – not bad. Although we did hear the next day that the winds got up to 90mph! Let’s just say Helen drove back VERY slowly – those crazy winds and heavy rain do not equal good driving weather.

Day 242 – June 27

We were going to get a very early start to Custer State Park, but because it stormed all night, keeping us up, we slept in a bit and headed off by 8.


We spent the morning driving the ‘wildlife loop’ and wow was it fantastic


This is hilarious – a startled bicyclist came around the corner to THIS site! Scary – Bison can be really mean.


Custer State park is home to as many as 1,500 head of North American Bison





WOW check out those amazing horns


Custer is famous for its burros. They are not native to the park, but once hauled visitors up mountain trails. Not they roam all over the park, and often come up to cars begging for food.






HEY – no more photos!












A cute fluffy pronghorn bum

After finishing the wildlife loop we went back to our campground to pack up. Then we went into town for lunch (And so that Murray could download his photos onto the laptop). Then it was back to Custer for more wildlife viewing.


We hiked the 3 mile Lover’s Leap loop – which was gorgeous


We even spotted this very unusual looking mushroom – poisonous I would guess


We had QUITE a few tricky river crossings – but no one got wet!


We even spotted some lovely whitetail deer near the trail


They spotted us too!




After checking out the visitors center, we drove up the scenic Needles Highway


We had an AMAZING view of the Cathedral Peaks from the road


And some narrow kinda scary tunnels to negotiate


Eeeeeeeeekkk!


Me at the Needle’s Eye


This is the Needle’s Eye - quite unique looking and VERY tall


The tunnel

We drove back down to the park and had a lovely sandwich dinner by a gorgeous lake – perfect ending to the day. We drove around a bit more looking for Elk – but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Day 243 – June 28

We got up, showered, and set off to go – but Dolph wouldn’t start! We tried jumping him, but he showed no signs of life, so eventually we called AAA. A crabby old guy showed up 45 minutes later, got him started, and swore at me after I turned the truck off just after he got it started (I didn’t know to let it run)!!! But anyway, we were ready to go.


We drove to Rapid City for a Walmart and Target shop (for food and other stuff we needed) and spotted this jacked up truck – wow.


Then we drove on to Deadwood – here’s me with Wild Bill Hitchcock – Deadwood’s most famous inhabitant (along with Calamity Jane).



There is SUCH a lovely old west feel to the town


We even went to watch a gun fight in the street!


It was silly – but fun to watch





Ahhhhh I’ve been shot!


We also stopped by Saloon #10


Sawdust all over the floor - which Murray is modeling with his cool new Adidas shoes


Wild Bill Hitchcock was shot in the back of the head here in 1876 while gambling


Eeekk – a wild cat on the wall

Scary – death masks behind the bar

Deadwood was settled during the gold rush era, and was known in the Wild West as a hell-raisin’ town


Bill is what they used to call Cowboys – thus his nickname

I tried to win us millions – but darn it only won a few quarters back – which I immediately redeposited and lost.

And we stuck around for Wild Bill’s reenactment of the night he died

The show was great – he even chose Helen to act as his wife! He gave a thirty minute monologue about his life, and then pulled people from the crowd to reenact how he was shot. A great show actually – very interesting!

Me, Helen & Dolph back at the parking lot

And then it was off to...................... Wyoming