After saying good-bye to family, we packed up and headed to South Dakota. I can say this much about the state that has less than 1,000,000 people living there, they have a vast amount of open land, and it is VERY windy. We stopped for Saturday night in Mitchell. We set up the trailer and immediately left to go to Cabela’s (Tom’s mothership!). We spent some time wandering through the guns area, the hunting items and everything else they had to offer. Although we battled 45 mph winds we were not deterred. Nothing can keep Tom from Cabela’s! Tom and Chad have been to South Dakota to hunt pheasant and they had previously gone to the Cabela’s in Mitchell before travelling to Mt. Vernon to the hunting lodge. Tom took me by the newly remodeled lodge so I can see where he went, it also gave him the bug to put a trip together with all the Latourelle boys!
Sunday was Mother’s Day and we left early to drive to Rapid City where we stayed for the next 3 days. On the way we continually saw signs advertising Wall Drug Store. These signs went on for over 300 miles – from Minnesota to Wall, South Dakota. With so much advertising we felt we needed to stop, and the signs assured us they had free RV parking. Now we’ve been in Texas and experienced Buc-ee’s and in my head that’s what I was expecting, a truck stop with lots of “stuff” to buy. That is NOT what Wall Drugs is. It started out as an actual drug store in 1931. They offered free ice water to hot thirsty travelers and quickly made a name for themselves. Wall Drugs is now more like an entire town with shops including restaurants, boot sales, gift shops, leather-goods, a bookstore, and even has a traveler’s chapel. The entire site is 76,000 square feet of Americana!
Between stopping for fuel and stopping at Wall Drugs we got to Rapid City a little later than anticipated. Kristin called and we chatted for a while and then Chad and Brigette Face Timed us because allegedly Peyton wanted to see us. However, she was submersed in a drawing project and was waiting to go swimming, so we just talked to Chad and Brigette for a while! Although it was a different Mother’s Day it was good to talk to all of the kids. Since we hadn’t done any laundry for over a week, we did our laundry and then went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
It rained Sunday night (what a surprise!) and was drizzling on Monday. We had originally planned on going to Mt. Rushmore, but because of the weather we decided to drive to Deadwood, which is in the Black Hills. The name Black Hills comes from the Native American Lakota tribe words Paha Sapa, which means “hills that are black”. From a distance the pine tree covered hills appear black.
Of course, it was raining when we got to Deadwood, but we have decided if we wait until it stops raining we will never get to do anything. Deadwood is mostly small casinos, bars/restaurants and gift shops. Apparently Big Foot is very popular here and we saw an amazing one in that a local artist had carved. After walking the length of the town, we were wet and cold so we stopped into an Irish pub, Tom had a beer and I had an Irish coffee. Between the whiskey and the coffee, it warmed me right to my toes. We visited two museums while there, both were interesting and fun. Deadwood was fun, and we were glad we made the trip. On the way to Deadwood you go through Sturgis, which is a sleepy South Dakota town until 10 days in August!
On the way back to Rapid City we saw an RV dealership that had KZ 5th wheels and trailers. We have been eying a Durango fifth wheel, but have never seen one in person, so we stopped in and took a look. No, we did not buy a new RV, but we really did like it and we’ll keep that in mind if we decide to change. So far, the one we have has been great on the trip and we haven’t gotten on each other’s nerves too much.
Tuesday, we headed to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Badlands National Park. First about Mt. Rushmore, it was spectacular! I was moved by the grandeur and just how difficult it was to carve. The museum on the grounds went in-depth about how much consideration was given to each face as well as the placement of each one. Teddy Roosevelt’s glasses are amazing and at a certain angle, it actually looks like there is glass in them. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum chose Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln to represent the nation’s birth, growth, development and preservation, respectively. While looking at the monument, a gentleman offered to take our photo, we are laughing in the pictures, because this was one of the funniest people I have met in a long time. We also chatted with two couples from New York, they were not traveling together but lived only a few miles apart! We chatted about travel, Mt. Rushmore and the amount of wind in South Dakota. It was a crystal-clear day, but windy and less than 60 degrees.
Next we went to Crazy Horse monument, we were glad we went, but would not go back. It’s been in progress since 1948 and there is no completion date in mind. Because it is privately funded, it is expensive ($12 per person to park and see the museum and another $4 per person if you want to take a bus up to the monument.) The principle behind the monument is to showcase indigenous people and pay homage to them. The fact that after 74 years it isn’t even close to completion is a little disturbing.
Finally, we drove to Badlands National Park and took the loop through the park. I had no idea what to expect and was absolutely blown away! Just inside the entry gate there were bison roaming around, eating and sleeping. To look out and realize there were once 30 to 60 million bison roaming the plains until hunters killed them almost into extinction. In 1905 there were approximately 540 bison living in the United States. Today there are an estimated 400,000 animals in the United States. When we got out of the truck to take a photo of the bison, the area was also covered with prairie dogs. The prairie dogs make a loud chattering sound, however I apparently cannot upload a video, so just take my word it was very cool.
The rest of the Badlands made me say “wow” more often than I can count. Many of the rock formations looked like God was making sandcastles, the ones where you take a handful of wet sand and dribble it over and over, making it taller and taller. Then there were rock formations that had so many colors, Tom stopped so we could get out and just take it all in.
I’m not certain if my explanations can do these national treasures justice, so I hope the photos at the bottom helpful as well. We are off to Wyoming!
Tom and Patti's RV Adventure 
Looks like so much fun! Glad you guys are having a good time!
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