Blogs from South Dakota, United States, North America - page 11

On our way to Rapid City, stopped by the Corn Palace (a palace made of corn), it was a necessary drive-by. Not much in SD as I can see but corn! Bob is having fun driving the 80 MPH speed limit, with some "peddle to the metal" moments. We had a beautiful day to drive through the Badlands, and to see Mt. Rushmore. There were acres and acres of sunflowers. Their heads were drooping from the weight, but I managed to get a pix from the car. In addition to the corn and sunflower fields the billboards for Wall Drugs were everywhere, so of course, we had to stop to see the scene. It's a drug store that's grown to a "buy everything" store, cowboy boots (pretty good ones) and lots of tourist stuff and an ... read more

Got a good start on the day and had first gear by 7am. Rode out to Devil's Tower and through the park. It's a pretty impressive monolith created by geological activity. It's still eroding with a slow attrition of boulders which sit at her feet. We rolled into Sturgis listening to Justin Bieber, just kidding, managed to find some ZZ Top for the occasion followed by Foo Fighters. We arrived here around 10am in 30 degrees. What an awesome town, a real rustic feel with great down to earth people. I can see why they have the Harley rally here each year. At the moment they are having a mustang rally so there's some fabulous cars here too. Trev and I went to a local coffee house as we were in dangerous need of caffeination, had ... read more

According to MapQuest, the drive from General Sibley Park in Bismarck ND to Farm Island Recreation Area in Pierre SD would be a little over 200 miles and would take about 3 ½ hours. I took I-94 east to its junction with US 83 south and traversed rolling hills covered by seemingly endless grassy plains. The fields of grazing cattle and bales of hay awaiting relocation were enjoyable and relaxing, and the countryside was sprinkled with pockets of trees along streambeds and stock tanks frequented by both thirsty livestock and wild game. I arrived in Pierre without incident. My first tourist stop in Pierre was the South Dakota State Capitol. There are no guided tours (except by reservation), but an excellent self-guided booklet provides as much or more information than I or the average tourist needs. ... read more

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We're back! I know it's been a very (very) long hiatus, and most likely the only people to read this will be those who get the emails and those who they alert, but I figured I'd put my last few entries up tonight, just in case. Also, for those family members I haven't yet seen. Today, we drove. We drove for about 10 hours, to be precise, with only a handful of stops. The first 2-3 hours were, in fact, the best driving on the planet. Look it up. Trail Ridge Road is the highest paved road in the country, peaking at a bit over 12,000 feet, and it is curvy and windy, breezy and windy. Parts are above the tree line, views are out of this world, and the second half can be coasted in ... read more