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Published: July 13th 2008
Most of the midwest along our route has proven to be pretty bland, albeit pretty—essentially lacking variety in the various features of the landscape. Until the Badlands, that is. We began our fourth straight day of driving after having over-nighted in a rest area for a few hours which was none too comfortable. I was immediately surprised by how hot the sun felt and how that was balanced out by the cold breeze.
Being completely honest there is a lot more to see than there is to tell about the Badlands. They are vast, impressive and seem to come out of nowhere. Hiking around in them makes you feel like you have landed on another planet, while the hordes of tourons help reassure you that in fact you are very much on planet earth. We only took in a small bit of the hiking but there is a great deal which can be done. No overnight permits are required for back-country hiking which is nice. Due to the complete lack of water sources, it would probably be more suited to cooler weather.
Next on the agenda was the tourist haven of Wall Drug- a town with a population just
fields
stef perched atop a hay baleabove 1000 souls. I vaguely remember stopping here as a little kid on the way to Alaska when we went in 1985. From a much different perspective I am far less impressed with the trinkets and souvenirs than I can recall being at that time. I took a quick walk through paying homage to my past and then got the hell out, without spending a nickel on silly nick-knacks. I have plenty of dust gathering devices as it is…
Shortly after that we arrived in Custer SD after having driven by Mt Rushmore and seeing the Crazy Horse monument. We will hit Rushmore during the week in hopes of getting away from the crowds…Crazy Horse was impressive but also somewhat sad. Apparently the idea of honoring your heritage has become synonymous with selling trinkets to chubby, white-legged tourists and their bratty kids. The monument itself was impressive. The Indians make nice trinkets, for what its worth.
We will be staying in the Black Hills for a few weeks for some climbing, hiking and general sightseeing. More Later.
SR
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Tony
non-member comment
you're a touron too! ;)
Blah, blah, hordes of tourons is it. Well you are in fact one of them at the moment! Not that that's bad, but quit your yammering about them already. Tell us some funny stories about the hordes, that way we can see how you are in fact different from them. ;) Love ya, Tony