After dropping off our stuff we grabbed something to eat and headed off to see the sights. We started off by going to Custer State Park and driving the Wildlife Loop. The gentleman who took our money at the entrance gate was visibly excited about the number of buffalo we were going to be seeing, and told us where they were. He also told us about the burros. We didn't see any buffalo during the 18-mile route, or at least none that could seen with the naked eye, but it was very nice nonetheless. We did see a number of antelope, deer, and prairie dogs, as well as some beautiful flora.
And, of course, there were the burros.
We were expecting Ranger to go ballistic, defending us from the rabid, killer burros, but he came to an uneasy truce with them - though I don't think he liked them sticking their heads into the car.
Heather liked it even less....
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After the Wildlife Loop we drove to Mt. Rushmore. The roads which took us there were, especially at the time they were carved into the mountain, feats of wonder. They were designed so that as you go through a giant piece of rock you see Mt. Rushmore framed in the stone as you exit. We enjoyed looking at the giant faces carved into stone, but once we saw them we didn't spend much additional time looking at them.... there were other things to see.
From Rushmore we drove the Needles Highway, where there are some fantastic rock formations, and some equally amazing roads.
It was almost dark by the time we got home so we just ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut and hung out in the hotel room reading.
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The following day we left the Black Hills heading toward home.
Our first stop along the way was Wall Drug. I don't know if you've heard of Wall Drug but it has an interesting history. The town of Wall, in South Dakota, is one of the most godforsaken places you can imagine, or at least it was in 1931 when Ted Hustead bought the drugstore there. Only 326 people lived there, and it was during the Depression so NO one had any money. He had received some money from his father's inheritance and decided to give it five years to see if they could make it work. After four and a half years they were no better off, and had a couple of kids to feed. Then Dorothy, Ted's wife, came up with the idea of putting out signs along the highway advertising free ice water.
The first signs were scattered along the road like the old Burma Shave placards: "Get a soda . . . Get a root beer . . . Turn the next corner . . . Just as near . . . to Highway 16 & 14 . . . Free Ice Water . . . Wall Drug.
By the time he got back, the store was already filling up with people. In addition to getting the free ice water, people were buying ice cream and other items. The following summer the Husteads had to hire eight girls to help out because they were so busy.
Now, Wall Drug brings in up to twenty thousand people a day, and the interesting thing about it is that it's still a godforsaken place. There is absolutely nothing there other than Wall Drug, which has grown simply because of the tourists.
You can see the Wall Drug signs for miles and miles before your arrival. Now, people have begun to place Wall Drug signs all over the world, even the South Pole.
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As we were leaving Wall Drug we realized how close we were to the Badlands, so we decided to make a detour to see it.
Unfortunately, the pictures don't do the scenery justice. We later learned that it was more green (for this late in the summer) than it has been in the last ten years.
In spite of the dangers we experienced in this part of the country, we managed to survive....
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Our last stop for the day was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. As its name illustrates, it's a palace.... made of corn.
It was built 75 years ago, and has been redecorated annually. The inside has giant murals made of corn, but those aren't changed each year. Like Wall Drug, there really isn't much else to bring people into town other than the Corn Palace. We spent about half an hour inside then climbed back into our car and headed home.
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